Stack them up, stack them down, watch em push them to the ground! Babies and toddlers love to stack objects. Did you know that stacking is actually your baby accomplishing a major milestone? Stacking toys happens somewhere between 8-12 months of age. Your baby will start to take an interest in stacking blocks 2-3 at a time and then more and more as they master the skills of stacking objects.
Stacking toys can be pricey, and babies don’t need a lot of bells and whistles when it comes to stacking. Create fun, inexpensive DIY stacking toys with some common household objects.
What Are Stacking Toys?
Stacking toys are any object, that can be stacked or nested on top of each other. These may be nested cups, rings, blocks, wooden stackable objects, geometric shapes that have to be stacked a certain way, or box like objects.
Stacking Toys And Development
When your child is stacking toys they are developing extremely important skills like:
- Working on problem solving
- Fine motor skills
- Working on the creative part of the brain
- Working on gross motor skills
I love how this post breaks down some of the nitty gritty when it comes to development and stacking toys. It even suggests that stacking can help advance your child’s early language development skills.
Stacking Toys Age
As mentioned above your baby may start to learn the fundamental concepts of stacking around 8-12 months of age. Those skills will blossom and change over time, and stacking can take on other shapes and ways of playing later on in your child’s life.
These DIY stacking toys are meant for children between the ages of 12 months and older. My son (or model in this post) was 14 months at the time of stacking.
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DIY Stacking Toys
Paper Towel Holder & Cut Up Paper Towels
Making your own toys has never been easier. If your family uses paper towel (or toilet paper) and you have a paper towel caddy hanging around, you also happen to have all the elements needed to make an epic DIY stacking toy!
Simply cut up the paper towel rolls into about 2inch pieces (I actually cut where the glue lines are) and place them all into a small container.
Use a paper towel holder as your base! You can easily find these at the dollar store for,…well $1!
Now take those pieces and show your child how to stack them onto your paper towel caddy. Then allow them to stack the paper towel pieces themselves. If your baby/toddler is still putting everything in their mouth make sure to watch them as they play with the cardboard pieces.
Small Plastic Containers As Stacking Blocks
These small plastic containers are great for when you are on the go and need to bring your own dipping sauce, or salad dressing…BUT they can also be converted into an easy DIY stacking toy! You can find these containers at your local dollar store, for yet another dollar. If you can’t find similar containers, use small pieces of Tupperware instead.
I like to fill each cup with some different objects that my child can also shake, rattle, and roll! I fill them with a few teaspoons of rice, beans, pasta noodles, barbie doll acessories, etc, and then tape them shut. It is any easy way to add some sensory play into the mix as well.
Show your child how you can easily take the different cups and stack them on top of each other.
Plastic Cup Stacking
Big plastic cup, I fill you up… then knock you down! Cups are such an EASY way to stack and play. Grab some plastic cups you already have around the house and let your baby stack them up and down. You can even show them home to stack the items into pyramids.
Other Stacking Toys
Can’t get enough stacking in your house? Here is a look at some of my favorite stacking toys on the market that would make a great addition to your playroom or as a gift:
- Wooden stacking toy
- Bathtub stacking toy
- Fisher Price Stacking Toys
- Nesting and Stacking Blocks
- Counting Stackers
- Geometric Stacker
3 Comments
Love these! It is good to be reminded that even the simplest things can be really fun and developmentally beneficial toys for our kids!
The paper towel holder is genius! These are all easy and cheap ideas.
I love your creativity with these sensory activities! I need to think outside the box more…or maybe just use a box haha.