Looking for toys that will keep little ones happily occupied for more than five minutes?

From baby sensory toys and tummy-time activities to toddler balance boards and open-ended construction sets for preschoolers, these clever playthings encourage exploration, experimentation and of course, fun.

Chosen for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, our team’s hand-picked edit of the best toys for independent play supports everything from visual development and fine-motor skills to balance, concentration and imaginative thinking…with no screens in sight!

Start with the perfect play base: Totter + Tumble Playmat

Before choosing the toys, it’s imperative to create a comfortable place to play. A Totter + Tumble playmat provides a soft, supportive base for everything from newborn tummy time and learning to roll to toddler construction projects and preschoolers games.

Made from thickly cushioned memory foam, the single piece mats are wipe-clean, reversible and designed to resemble an interiors-friendly rug. Suitable from newborn onwards, this is a playroom investment that stays useful long after the baby stage, giving children a familiar, inviting space in which to move, explore and play independently.

 

Totter + Tumble Team picks of the best sensory and movement toys for under-fives

Best tummy-time and sensory toys for babies

For newborn vision: Etta Loves Sensory Strip

Designed around babies’ developing eyesight, the Etta Loves Sensory Strip features high-contrast patterns for newborns on one side and more detailed imagery for babies aged five months-plus on the other. Position it nearby during supervised tummy time to encourage visual tracking, head movement and early reaching.

Soft, foldable and easy to take out with you, it is a stylish first sensory toy that adapts as a baby’s vision develops.

For shaking and sensory discovery: Oli & Carol Evolutive Rattle

Made from 100% natural rubber and filled with recycled cherry seeds, Oli & Carol’s Evolutive Rattle creates a gentle sound as babies shake and turn it. Its lightweight ring shape is easy for little hands to grasp, encouraging early coordination, movement and an understanding of cause and effect.

Suitable from birth, it doubles as a soft teething toy and an engaging sensory companion for tummy time or play on the mat. Handmade by the Barcelona-based brand, it is also plastic-free, biodegradable and easy to take on the go.

For happier tummy time: Taf Toys Adventure Tray

Part tummy-time support and part baby activity centre, the Taf Toys Adventure Tray brings mirrors, textures and colourful discoveries within easy reach. It encourages babies to lift and turn their heads, strengthen their neck and shoulders and begin reaching purposefully for nearby toys.

The contained tray also helps keep playthings close, giving babies more opportunity to explore without everything immediately rolling out of reach.

For hands-on story time: Jo & Nic’s Nursery Times Crinkly Newspaper

It looks like a newspaper made for tiny readers, but every scrunch, grab and kick produces a satisfying crinkle. The lightweight cloth pages encourage babies to reach out and get hands on.

Filled with four beautifully illustrated nursery rhymes, it also creates an opportunity for talking, singing and early shared reading. Handmade using safety-tested materials and machine washable, it is a perfect first playtime pick.

For curious little hands: Lilliputiens Jungle Sound Activity Cube

Every side of this soft activity cube offers something new to touch, pull, hear or discover. Designed for babies from nine months, its colourful characters, varied textures and animal sounds encourage grasping, turning and early cause-and-effect play.

Compact enough for the changing bag and machine washable once the sound box is removed, it gives sitting and crawling babies plenty to investigate at their own pace.

Best sensory toys for babies and toddlers

For calm on the go: Petit Boum Sensory Donut

A pocket-sized moment of calm, Petit Boum’s transparent sensory donut is filled with slowly moving colour that responds as children tip, turn and roll it in their hands. The gentle movement supports visual tracking and quiet sensory exploration without lights, noise or batteries.

Compact enough for a changing bag, it makes a lovely sensory toy for travel or winding down after energetic play.

For soft, stackable play: dëna Kid + House

Soft and tactile, dëna’s silicone arches, people and shapes can be stacked, nested, chewed, splashed and transformed into small-world characters!

The flexible pieces begin as baby sensory and teething toys before developing into accessories for stacking, bath and imaginative play and can even be used as baking moulds as children grow.

For balance and big imaginations: Wobbel Board

The original Wobbel is a modern playroom classic with far more potential than its simple curved shape suggests. Younger children can explore it as a rocker, tunnel or bridge, then from around three years, it becomes a balance board, slide, stepping challenge, shop counter or stage.

Because there are no buttons, instructions or fixed outcomes, the Wobbel encourages child-led movement and imaginative play. It is an investment toy that can adapt to different interests and developmental stages.

Best toys for independent toddler play

For building and movement: MODU Dreamer Set

MODU’s chunky foam blocks, connector pegs and wheels combine to make ride-ons, rockers, steps and balance toys. Adults may help with the first constructions, but children soon begin inventing new ways to play with them.

The Dreamer Set supports gross-motor development, spatial thinking and problem-solving while giving toddlers the freedom to test an idea, dismantle it and start again.

For climbing adventurers: bObles Anteater

These sculptural foam animals look smart enough to leave in the living room, but their real talent is getting toddlers moving. Different shapes invite children to climb, rock, slide, crawl and balance, while also becoming tunnels, tables and props for pretend play.

Soft yet sturdy, bObles Tumbling Furniture is particularly useful for energetic indoor play when summer weather refuses to cooperate.

For contained messy play: PlayTRAY

The Inspire My Play PlayTRAY provides a beautifully contained base for wonderfully messy toddler play. Fill it with water, playdough, natural treasures or dried pasta then let children scoop, pour, sort and mix.

Its removable compartments make it easy to clean and create new Play TRAY activities.

For water-table wonder: MOLUK Pluï and Oogi

MOLUK understands that the simplest toys often inspire the most experimentation. Pluï lets toddlers control their own miniature rain shower in the bath or water table, helping them explore pouring, flow and cause and effect.

Stretchy, suction-cup Oogi figures stick to baths, windows and other smooth surfaces, encouraging children to stretch, connect and invent funny characters. Both toys reward repetition and that irresistible toddler question: “What happens if I do this?”

For stepping, stacking and spinning: Stapelstein

Light enough for a toddler to carry but sturdy enough for active family play, Stapelstein’s colourful elements become stepping stones, seats, bowls, drums and obstacle courses.

From around one, children can roll, fill, carry and stack the pieces. As their balance and confidence develop, the same elements invite more adventurous movement games, making them one of the best open-ended toys for indoor and outdoor play.

Best independent-play toys for preschoolers

The viral sensory favourite: NeeDoh Groovy Glob

The pleasingly squishy fidget enjoying a thoroughly viral moment, NeeDoh gives busy hands something satisfying to squeeze, stretch and manipulate. It may not be the centrepiece of a playroom, but it makes an excellent calm-time companion for journeys, transitions and quiet breaks.

Available in an ever-growing collection of textures and shapes, NeeDoh combines tactile sensory play with plenty of collectable appeal. Buy from a reputable retailer, follow the 3+ age guidance and replace the toy if its outer surface becomes damaged.

A brilliant first board game: HABA First Orchard

Designed for children aged two and over, First Orchard is a gentle, cooperative introduction to board games. Players work together to collect chunky wooden fruit before the raven reaches the orchard, learning colour recognition, counting and turn-taking without the pressure of competing against one another.

Between games, the tactile wooden pieces double as sorting toys and pretend food, giving First Orchard more independent-play value than a conventional board game.

Magnetic building with a twist: Clixo Itsy Pack

Clixo gives magnetic construction a brilliantly flexible twist. Its colourful pieces bend, wrap and snap together to create creatures, vehicles and wearable inventions, all without a single correct finished result.

Designed for children aged four-plus, Clixo develops fine-motor control, spatial awareness and three-dimensional thinking. The lightweight pieces are also compact enough for restaurants, holidays and travel.

For budding engineers: OPPI Piks

Part building set and part balancing challenge, OPPI Piks combines FSC-certified wooden boards with grippy silicone cones. Preschoolers can build freely, copy the creative cards or experiment with increasingly precarious towers.

Suitable from age three, Piks encourages concentration, hand-eye coordination and early problem-solving. Every wobble invites children to adjust their design and try again, making the process just as engaging as the finished construction.

Creating space for independent play

The best toys for independent play do not need complicated instructions, instead, they should give children the freedom to move, experiment and invent, which builds confidence , coordination, concentration and creativity.

A dedicated play space can make that independence easier. By keeping a few carefully chosen toys within reach and setting them out on a soft, familiar surface, you create an everyday invitation to play without needing to plan a new activity each time.

From first tummy-time stretches to toddler obstacle courses and preschool construction projects, a Totter + Tumble playmat provides a supportive, wipe-clean base that supports through childhood and beyond.  

Discover our reversible playmats