Great Birthday Gifts for a 1 Year Old

I have a son that recently turned one. He received many things for his birthday, and while we definitely appreciated the fact that people were thoughtful enough to give him gifts, we often wondered why they chose to give him those gifts. He received many toys that were for children more than twice his age and many clothes that were too big as well. It seems that he actually got very few age appropriate items. At first I was puzzled about this but then I realized that maybe people just don't realize what 1 year old babies need.

Toys are always a great hit with 1 year olds. Many babies love toys that make noise, but be sure and check with parents before actually buying any loud ones. They could get you in big trouble otherwise. Also, when buying toys be sure to check the label for an age recommendation. Some 1 year olds are ready for toys that say 18 months + but many are not. If you don't know the baby well enough to know what they are and aren't capable of, just stick with the toys that say 12+ or younger. Babies get too frustrated by toys that are too advanced for them.

Books are also a great idea. Most 1 year old children love simple, colorful books. When looking for books for children, it can be a little trickier than toys because most don't have age recommendations on them. For a 1 year old, you should definitely look at construction. Babies tend to put anything and everything directly in their mouth. Board books and cloth books are both excellent choices for babies. Also, look for books with just a few words on each page. Too many words cause babies to get bored before someone gets all the way through reading each page. Pictures of babies and/or animals always seem to be a hit for babies as well.

Movies are a good gift, as long as you choose carefully. Toddlers have very short attention spans so you don't want to get them movies that last longer than about 30 minutes. Most won't even be able to watch for that long. I've found that on average, my son will watch TV for about 20-25 minutes, tops. Full length movies are still much too long for him at this age. He does enjoy watching Baby Einstein movies and Nick Jr episodes on DVD, though. Sesame Street ones are favorites along with Disney channel's early morning line up as well. They are all short and simple.

Clothes are a good idea for children, too. You just need to be sure and check with the parents to see what size the baby is wearing. Clothes may say size 12 months on them, but there are many 12 month olds who wear a size 18 or 24 months instead. There are also babies that are still in size 6-9 months at 12 months of age. As you know, not all babies grow at the same rate, and sometimes it's hard to judge what size a baby is in just by looking at him/her. It's generally not a good idea to just estimate and buy the baby a size you think might be too big, either. You have to consider how fast babies grow, and the fact that if they are in a size 18 months now, by the time they grow into that cute little 24 months outfit you bought, it might be the middle of summer and they will never get a chance to wear it.

If you are looking for gift items on a low budget, you can check out clothes on clearance racks, books, or cheap toys. Generally, movies tend to run you $10-15 or even more and are rarely on clearance. Good sturdy books for a 1 year old typically run anywhere from $5-25. You can get them on sale sometimes, but usually not with a substantial amount of savings. Clothes, however, you can find on clearance for less than $5 and toys as well. Just check clearance racks and sales aisles.

In closing I will say, no matter what you choose to buy for the 1 year old in your life, try to get something age appropriate. While you may think you are doing parents a favor by buying something that they can grow into, in reality, many times the item is lost, broken, or already too small, by the time we remember that we have it. Many parents of toddlers just have addled brains. We easily misplace things and don't see them again for weeks or months. We are much less likely to do that if the item works for our child when we first get it.