Between the ages of 2 and 3, children make a huge leap in their development. Their motor skills refine, their vocabulary grows exponentially, and they discover more and more about themselves and the world around them. This phase lays the foundation for many future skills. The right toys help children practice, explore, and grow—all in a playful way.

Motor Skills
Children improve their gross motor skills: they learn to run, jump, climb, and climb stairs. At the same time, they develop their fine motor skills—they can grasp, stack, draw, and manipulate small objects more effectively.

1. Stacked stones
   Children aged 2 to 3 are in a phase of rapid development of gross motor skills. They are learning to walk, run, jump, and maintain their balance. Stapelstein offers the opportunity to practice these skills by balancing on the stones or using them to create simple obstacle courses.
   Gift tips: Stapelstein
2. First magnets
   Placing magnets on the magnetic whiteboard helps young children practice grasping and placing objects. This improves their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and grip.
   Gift tips: Noriter Project x LUDE - Magnetic whiteboard Lille Hus , Noriter Project - Felt magnets
3. Bicycles and balance bikes
   Children learn balance and motor control by riding a balance bike or a small bicycle.
4. Sensory play box
   Kinetic sand or rice encourages young children to develop their fine motor skills. They can push, scoop, move, and create shapes with the sand or rice. This helps strengthen their hand muscles, which are essential for learning to write and other fine motor skills later on.
   Gift tips: Grennn - sensory play box , Grennn - play rice , Grennn - magic sand
5. Climbing equipment or play furniture
   Climbing, sliding and clambering improve balance, coordination and muscle strength.
   Soft, modular play furniture encourages these skills in a safe, homely way and grows with age. Children can climb, stack, build, or relax on it—and increasingly use it for imaginative play.
   Gift tips: Present Stories - Play furniture
6. Blocks (e.g. Duplo or wooden blocks)
   With blocks, children learn to build and stack, which stimulates their fine motor skills.
   Gift tips: Wooden Story - wooden blocks , Grimm's - blocks , Chack Chack Cube - Magnetic blocks , Maison Rue - Block sets lucient
7. Stringing beads
   Children can string beads on a thread, which helps develop hand-eye coordination.
   Gift tips: Grimm's - threading game
8. Coloring books and pencils
   Simple coloring books and thick colored pencils help children get a grip on a writing instrument and improve their hand movements.
   Gift tips: Kitpas - (window) chalk , Grennn - pencil holder , Grennn - paint holders

Cognitive development
Children aged 2–3 make connections between cause and effect and learn to solve simple problems. They discover logic, sort objects by color or shape, and learn that their actions have an effect.

1. Puzzles
   Large wooden puzzles with simple pictures help children develop problem-solving skills.
2. Blocks and building sets
   Building not only stimulates motor skills but also logical thinking and spatial awareness. With open-ended building sets, children can experiment endlessly and unleash their creativity.
   Gift tips: Connetix - mini pack , Connetix - starter pack , Plus Plus - BIG
3. Toys with buttons, sliders or spinning wheels
   Interactive toys that allow children to perform different actions to get reactions (such as musical instruments or educational devices).
4. Educational sorting sets
   Sets that allow children to sort objects by different characteristics (such as size, color or function).
   Gift tips: Small foot - wooden sorting box , Mushie - Sorting box

Language development
Between the ages of 2 and 3, children's vocabulary expands dramatically. They learn more and more words and short sentences and use them to express themselves. They can answer simple questions like "What is this?" and also begin to understand grammar (such as plurals and tenses). They start using longer sentences and can hold short conversations. They understand simple instructions and can ask questions like "What is that?" or "Why?"

1. Toy phones and microphones
   These can help to role-play conversations, which promotes social and language skills.
   Gift tips: Kidywolf - Kidymic
2. Dolls, dollhouses, figurines
   These allow children to engage in role-playing activities, practising dialogues and expanding their vocabulary.
   Gift tips: Dollhouse - Unfold, read and play , The Wooden House - dollhouse , Bajo - wooden play figure sets
3. Books with simple texts
   Books with large pictures and simple, repetitive sentences especially help children learn new words.
   Gift tips: Books

Social-emotional development
Children develop stronger self-awareness and begin to perform tasks independently, such as dressing, eating with cutlery, or playing by themselves. They also begin to better understand the world around them and develop a sense of self-confidence.
They're beginning to understand emotions and how to express them. They're also learning about social interaction, such as sharing, taking turns, and playing together.

1. Dolls, cuddly toys or figurines
   Role-playing helps children understand emotions and practice social situations. With wooden play figures, they can create stories, act out dialogues, and let their imaginations run wild.
   Gift tips: Dollhouse - Unfold, read and play , Bajo - wooden play figure sets , The Wooden House - dollhouse , We Are Gommu - pocket
2. Kitchen sets or shops
   For social play and imitation of adult behavior.
   Gift tips: Tré Timber Toys - wooden kitchen box , Tré Timber Toys - wooden workbench box , Maison Rue - Beauty playset
3. Board games
   Such as simple versions of memory or domino games for collaboration.

One beautiful, shared gift
Children are often showered with gifts, both on their birthdays and during the holidays. But eventually, one gift will become their favorite, and the rest will prove unnecessary. Save up all your money and opt for one beautiful gift that will be enjoyed for years to come.
Quality over quantity. Open-ended toys are the answer. They have a long lifespan because they grow with your child, fostering ingenuity, creativity, and imagination. And siblings can play with them too. But toys that you can expand and collect are also valuable.
Investment gift tips: Noriter Project x LUDE - Magnetic whiteboard Lille Hus , The Wooden House - dollhouse , Stapelstein , Sensory play box with accessories