The tiny PJs, bottles, baby bath tub, and infant car seat you painstakingly selected are getting packed away…and now it’s time for a whole new challenge: choosing the best gear for the next few years. From lunchboxes to potty training accessories, convertible car seats, and more, these Moms Who Get It Award winners are our team’s favorites for the toddler years and beyond.
Eating & Feeding
Favorite Toddler Snacks: The New Primal Snack Mates Chicken & Maple Sticks
With 7 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar per two-stick serving, these snacks will help keep your kid satisfied on the go. Make sure to watch carefully and/or modify for younger kids as needed to prevent choking.
Favorite Toddler Cutlery & Tableware: Ahimsa Mindful Mealtime Set
If you’re looking to ditch plastic, it won’t be cheap or easy—but this set can help. Dishwasher-safe and designed for ages 12 months+, these stainless steel dishes and utensils still have a cool, colorful look that will appeal to little ones.
Favorite Lunch Box: Bentgo® Kids Chill Leak-Proof Lunch Box
Once you start packing meals and snacks for daycare, preschool, and other adventures, you’re going to need a solution that keeps food cold. We love that this Bentgo box has a built-in ice pack—just throw it in the freezer the night before, snap it into place in the morning, and you’re done.
Favorite On-the-Go Food Container: GoBe Kids Original Snack Spinner
When you need to seriously shake up snacktime, look no further. Fill the multiple compartments with your kiddo’s favorite fruits, vegetables, crackers, or other snacks, then let them smack the button in the middle and watch in delight as it all goes spinning around.
Favorite Water Bottle: CamelBak Eddy+ 14 Ounce Kids Water Bottle
A basic, reasonably priced workhorse of a water bottle that comes in 25 different patterns and is easy to clean in the dishwasher. Replace well-loved straw and mouthpiece components with extras here.
Play
Favorite Musical Toys: The Music Set by Lovevery
Looking for high-quality kids’ musical instruments that won’t break the very first time they’re dropped or stepped on? Like everything Lovevery makes, this six-instrument kit is thoughtfully designed, sturdy, and actively educational. Not to mention a lot of fun.
Favorite Ride-On Toy: SEREED Baby Balance Bike
A great gift with a reasonable price tag, this little bike is powered by feet, not pedals, and only weighs about three and a half pounds—so you won’t mind too much when you end up carrying it home from the playground. One Skimm mom says her son “rode this bad boy all over the sidewalks and parks of Chicago and it held up so well.”
Favorite Creative Toy: Usborne Magic Painting Books
Sick of keeping paint in the house, so it can either dry up or get spilled everywhere? These books help your kids make colorful paintings with minimal mess—since all they’ll need is water to bring the detailed scenes to life.
Favorite Building Toy: MAGNA-TILES
What can’t these things do? Build castles, cities, garages, museums, and more—especially with the many expansion sets on the market. Then knock them down and start all over again.
Favorite Play Centers: Melissa & Doug Play Centers
These realistic play centers from Melissa & Doug help supercharge the pretend play in your house, helping kids picture themselves everywhere, from the grocery store to a coffee shop. With more than enough detailed props for several kids to share, they’ll be playdate favorites immediately.
Everyday Essentials
Favorite Mattress: Helix Kids Mattress
A Greenguard Gold Certified mattress with a water-repellent finish that’s designed specifically for kids? We’re into it. Use the firmer side for kids ages 3-7, and the softer one for kids 8-12. Bonus: It comes with two pillows.
Favorite Sound Machine: Hatch Rest
From your baby’s first days home from the hospital, well into the big kid years, this sound machine (complete with a night-light that offers multiple color options) can offer comfort and security. Best of all, you can control the whole thing from your phone, which means this makes a great okay-to-wake clock, too.
Favorite Potty Training Tool: BabyBjorn Potty Chair
Sometimes toddlers are really put off by trying to use a regular toilet, even with a special kids’ seat on top—and that’s okay. Keep this toddler-sized chair in the bathroom so it’s ready when they are.
Favorite On-the-Go Potty: Jool Baby Folding Travel Potty Seat
Help your newly potty-trained little one use any toilet seat with confidence. This portable potty seat cover can be folded down and stored in the included travel bag. Keep it in your car or stroller for easy access anywhere.
Favorite Travel Car Seat: Cosco Kids Scenera Next
Light, portable, safe, and inexpensive: everything you need in a travel seat, and it’s perfectly good as an all-the-time seat, too. Use it for babies and kids weighing 5-40 pounds.
Favorite Convertible Car Seat: Nuna RAVA Convertible Car Seat
It has a hefty price tag, but we love the Nuna RAVA for ease of installation and sturdiness once installed. The “true tension door” at the base of this seat helps you ensure a really tight fit every time, and the seat pads are easy to clean.
Clothing & Accessories
Favorite Affordable Kids’ Clothes: Old Navy
Extra affordable because it’s almost always on sale (sometimes at really eye-poppingly low prices), Old Navy is a Skimm mom go-to for cute, trendy clothes that you can stock up on.
Favorite Luxury Kids’ Clothes: Janie & Jack
When you’re shopping for something special, it’s hard to beat a fancy dress or little suit from Janie & Jack. Skimm moms especially love their spring and holiday collections, full of fancy dresses, adorable sweaters, and statement coats you’ll admire in family pictures for years to come.
Favorite Walking Shoes/First Shoes: See Kai Run
With a Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association, See Kai Run’s early walker shoes are a first shoe option you can feel great about. Plus, they have some irresistibly cute designs.
Favorite Kids’ PJs: Hanna Andersson Long John Pajamas
We’re always recommending these—and buying them for our own kids. These long-lasting, 100% organic cotton long-sleeved pajamas come in whimsical patterns that change every season, plus adorable special prints for holidays like Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, and more.
Bath
Favorite Bath Toys: Green Toys Water Boats
These big, beautiful car-, boat-, and sea plane-themed toys are bound to be fast favorites. They’re made from 100% recycled plastic, and since we all know bathtime doesn’t exactly keep toys clean, you’ll be glad to know they can go in the dishwasher when needed.
Favorite Bath Interactive Activity: Crayola Scribble Scrubbies
As one Skimm mom puts it, these may not be designed specifically for bathtime, but since they’re fully washable…let your kids have at it. This mega pack comes with washable markers, 12 little creatures to color on, a little tub, and two scrub brushes.
Favorite Toddler Towel: Brooklinen Sesame Street® Hooded Bath Towel
You may shed a tear when it’s time to replace those newborn hooded towels, but these big, plush, friendly-looking Sesame Street-themed replacements (made from Turkish cotton) are a worthy upgrade. They also make a great gift.
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