When your child blows out those two candles on their birthday cake, it signals the beginning of many changes. A 2-year-old is leaving babyhood behind and is now in toddler territory and everything that it entails, including potty-training, temper-tantrums, talking, and the beginnings of independence and independent-thinking that will set her on the road toward the person she will become. The best toys for 2-year-old girls will help her along that important journey toward selfhood.

When a 2-year old plays, they are no longer playing in the way they did as infants and crawling babies. Instead of just chewing on a toy and exploring it by mouth, or shaking a toy to listen to the sound it makes, a 2-year-old is better able to manipulate toys with their fingers, stack blocks for large towers, take things apart and put them back together, and make purposeful lines and shapes with a drawing utensil.

A 2-year old will soon begin to enjoy more imaginative play. A box becomes a rocket ship or doll’s cradle. A pair of mom’s shoes allow her to become a princess or a doctor. She probably enjoys imitating adult behaviors like pretending to cook, dress up to go off to work, or having make-believe tea parties and picnics with parents or with her dolls and stuffed animal friends.

While a two-year-old is not yet fully able to play with other children her age—sharing toys isn’t easy when you still think everything is yours—she may begin to enjoy playing in the same room as other children around her age and watching the ways that they play. This is a good introduction to playing with others and the beginnings of the kind of cooperative play that will come later.

When choosing the best toys for 2-year old girls, it’s important to keep in mind the ways that 2-year-olds play and to choose the toys that capture their imagination, encourage critical thinking skills and support their developing fine-motor skills. And above all, a toy should be fun, stimulating, and engaging so she will want to play with it!

Children love puppies. One of the best toys for 2-year-old girls is the VTech Pull and Sing Puppy. This puppy has a short cord with a cord-storage compartment to store the cord safely away when it’s not in use to protect your child’s safety.

Toddlers will love to pull their fun toy puppy-friend around with them wherever they go. The puppy’s legs move as he pulled, his tail wags, and his ears turn 360 degrees for fun, interactive play.

The VTech Pull and Sing Puppy is cute and interactive and has fun sound effects including puppy noises, cheerful musical melodies, and introductions to important early skills such as body parts recognition, numbers, colors, and more. The cute spotted puppy has a light-up nose that flashes as he moves. It also features words and phrases, adorable sounds, and music to keep your 2-year-old interested and entertained. With over 60 sounds, including songs, phrases, and funny puppy noises, your two-year-old will stay happily entertained and want to take her puppy along with her everywhere she goes.

Pushing the colorful, numbered buttons not only teaches number and color recognition, but it also promotes fine motor skills while the flashing nose and wagging tail keep your toddler’s attention. Just pulling the puppy by the cord also activates the songs and fun sound effects.

The VTech Pull and Sing Puppy is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls not only for learning but also to be her new best friend!

Key Features
  • Cute interactive puppy for pulling or pushing
  • Three brightly-colored buttons encourage fine-motor skills
  • Fun introduction to colors, body parts, and numbers
  • Puppy's legs move when being pulled along, tails spins, and ears turn 360 degrees
Pros
  • Nose lights up in coordination with voice, sounds, and music
  • Storage compartment to tuck in pull string for safety when not in use
  • Happy cheerful voice for singing and introducing concepts
Cons
  • String is short for safety purposes but it makes it difficult to pull the puppy along
Buy This Product
VTech Pull and Sing Puppy

Shape sorting toys are beloved classics for a reason. Not only do toddlers love them, but they also support hand-eye coordination and fine motor skill development. The Melissa & Doug Take-Along Sorting Barn is one of the best toys for two-year-old girls from one of the most trusted names for high-quality wooden toys—Melissa & Doug.

This wooden barn is bright and colorful. The handle makes it easily portable, and the roof is a flip-open lid for easy access. It includes colorful farm figures that are light, but chunky, just right for little hands. Play pieces include brightly painted farm animals with a pig, sheep, duck, goat, chicken, dog, horse, and cow. It also has a cute farmer wearing a hat and overalls and a tractor. The barn has cut-out shapes that match the animals so children can have fun matching up the animal shapes and putting each animal into the barn through the correct shape.

The thick, chunky figures stand upright so children can also play imaginative games with the farmer, animals, and tractor. The handle on the barn roof makes this toy great for taking on the road for travel to keep a two-year-old entertained in the car seat.

The Melissa & Doug Take-Along Sorting Barn is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls to encourage imaginative, unstructured play away from screens as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The cute, colorful design and well-made wooden pieces also make this a toy that will look adorable in her room.

Key Features
  • Beautiful wooden barn and 10 wooden pieces for shape-sorting
  • Shape-sorting barn with shapes to fit play pieces into the matching holes
  • Flip-up barn roof for storage and easy access with a handle for carrying
Pros
  • Thick, chunky pieces for little hands
  • Supports hand-eye coordination
  • Perfect for both shape-sorting and imaginative play
Cons
  • Paint may wear on the edges of the animals with frequent use
Buy This Product
Melissa and Doug Take Along Sorting Barn
Best value

1. Counting Ladybugs

9.40 / 10
Read Reviews

The adorable Kenley Counting Ladybugs are one of the best toys for 2-year-olds to introduce them to counting and number recognition in a way that they will only see as sheer fun and games. This set of 11 beautiful wooden ladybugs are bright red with black faces and black spots. All paint is non-toxic. Each ladybug has a number on the bottom to correspond with the number of black spots on her back.

The cute counting ladybugs come in a sweet, cylindrical green carrying and storage container with adjustable shoulder straps to carry like a purse, and a zippered top. Best of all, the carrying container is a pretty green felt fabric with removable white daisy appliques, that any 2-year-old girl will be proud to carry. It has durable reinforced stitching, child-friendly fasteners, and 8 stick-on flowers for fun rearranging into new patterns so she can decorate her bag as she desires.

This set of ladybugs not only introducing counting concepts, but it also enhances fine motor skills with the zippers, button, and fasteners on the carrying case. The case full of pretty wooden ladybugs also allows for many opportunities for structured games such as seek and find the hidden ladybugs. Best of all, it’s one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls to encourage fun, imaginative play with colorful toy ladybugs and a pretty carrying case with daisies that she can also use a purse or as a lunch bag for school. This is sure to be one of her favorite toys!

The Kenley Counting Ladybugs also comes ready to wrap in a nicely presented box.

Key Features
  • A Montessori Counting Toy for Toddlers
  • Toddlers are introduced to numbers with adorable ladybugs in a pretty carrying case
  • All natural materials including wooden ladybugs and zippered carrying case with daisy appliques
  • Also fun for imaginative play
Pros
  • Children learn numbers through play
  • Improves fine motor skills through sorting, zipping and and button fasteners
  • Adorable bright red ladybugs with numbered spots
Cons
  • Decorative daisies could be a choking hazard for younger siblings
Buy This Product
Counting Ladybugs

One of the best toys for 2-year-old girls for important STEM activity is the Megablock Building Block Set. This set of 103 magnetic tiles comes in pretty pastel colors to appeal to little girls. These pink, yellow, purple, and blue magnetic tiles snap together for constructing an endless array of structures, including castles, bridges, vehicles, and more.
Megablock Magnetic Building Blocks have gently rounded edges to be safe and friendly for little hands. They are made with safe, non-toxic, ABS plastic that’s durable and child-friendly. The magnetic sides on the tiles allow the building block tiles to snap together and remain firm throughout the building process.

This building set allows creative building with 24 triangle tiles, 45 squares, 6 isosceles triangles, 2 hexagons, 2 wheels, and 24 castle tiles. More tiles are available for purchase for even larger building projects. This set also comes with a handy idea guidebook with building suggestions.
Building blocks and tiles are recommended by experts in early childhood development for important STEM play. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) This encourages problem-solving and cognitive skills. Plus, it’s sheer fun!

Megablock Magnetic Building Blocks contain small magnets. Though the magnets are firmly attached, children under three, or children of any age who may put the magnets in their mouth if they are dislodged from the blocks, should be supervised by an adult.
Megablock Magnetic Building Blocks come with a handy tub for storage. They are the best toys for 2-year-old girls who want to build and create!

Key Features
  • Magnetic tile building blocks in fun pastel colors
  • 103 tiles in triangle, square, isosceles triangle, hexagon, whiles, and castle cards
  • Rounded edges for child safety
  • Includes wheels for building vehicles
Pros
  • Non-toxic ABS plastic
  • Includes booklet with building suggestions
  • Comes in a handy storage tub
  • Meets standards for beneficial STEM toys
Cons
  • Supervision required for children under 3 due to small magnets that could potentially be removed and swallowed
  • Structures collapse easily
Buy This Product
Magblock Magnetic Blocks

One of the best toys for 2-year-old girls is the Lofee Magna Drawing Doodle Board. Unlike most magnetic doodle boards that feature only dull, gray lines, the four color-zones in this doodle board allows children to make colorful drawings and doodles.

Designed to keep children’s artwork off of the walls, floors, and furniture, a magnetic drawing board allows for many hours of mess-free fun and creative drawings. It’s also perfect to take along for entertainment in the car seat during travel.

The Lofee Magna Drawing Doodle Board comes in kid-friendly colors including pink, blue, orange, or purple. The magnetic pencil is attached by a short cord to prevent loss. Also included are two fun magnetic stamps to create a perfect circle or a flower. Best of all, this magnetic doodle board draws colorful designs thanks to the four color-zones, including green, blue, yellow, and red. This creates much more fun and colorful drawings and doodles that children will love. The drawings erase easily through a simple sliding eraser so a child can make one drawing after another. It’s also a great way to introduce writing letters and numbers to preschool-aged children.

The Lofee Magna Drawing Doodle Board has a kid-friendly curved design with no sharp corners. The smooth, flat back of the board has no sharp or rough edges. The doodle board also has two collapsible foot stands for a more ergonomically friendly easel shape for your budding artist.

This is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls to encourage creativity and fine motor skills—plus, it’s just plain fun!

Key Features
  • Fun magnetic doodle board with four color zones
  • Cute curved designed board with carrying handle and feet for standing
  • Includes magnetic pencil and fun magnetic stamps
  • Simple slide for erasing
Pros
  • Available in pink, blue, purple, or orange
  • Color zones for colorful drawings rather than flat, gray doodles
  • Pencil is attached to avoid loss
  • Smoothly designed back with no sharp or rough edges
Cons
  • Magnetic stamps are not attached and easily lost
  • Packaging needs improvement
Buy This Product
Lofee Magna Drawing Doodle Board

Some of the best toys for 2-year-old girls are those that give them a special space to call their own. The Playz Unicorn Kids Play Tent is a fun alternative to the popular princess style tents. It’s also roomy to easily fit three children and tall enough for “big kids” so she can invite friends and get years of use out of it as she grows.

This beautiful play tent features decorative artwork including unicorns, candy, butterflies, and colorful flowers. The interior floor is also a fun candy board game. Two unicorn horns built into the tent come with six colorful rings for fun ring-toss games and inside is a tic tac toe game with nine velcro candy pieces. Kids can play the fun “What’s your unicorn name game” with 4 name badges.

The Playz Unicorn Kids Play Tent is one of the best toys for two-year-old girls to give them a special space of their own to decorate, play imaginative games, read bedtime stories with a parent, and even for napping. It comes with a handy storage or carrying case to take on the go for shade at the beach, or for any outdoor use.

The Playz Unicorn Kids Play Tent is lightweight but durable with thick steel frames with safety padding and double stitching techniques. The play tent includes dual windows for light and airflow. The tent assembles easily and can collapse for folding in minutes, It folds flat for storage inside the case and can be easily be stored in a closet or under the bed.

The Playz Unicorn Kids Play Tent adds to any child’s room decor and is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls to keep set up in their room for their own special play place.

Key Features
  • Fun pop-up tent with beautiful unicorn and candy artwork, windows for air flow, and purple top
  • Includes fun, built-in games, Unicorn Candy board game, Unicorn horn ring toss, velcro Tic Tac Toe, and What is your Unicorn Name?
  • Fits three children
  • Includes carrying and storage case
Pros
  • Durable design with double stitching
  • Includes windows for light and airflow
  • Padded steel frame tent poles
  • Tall enough for "big kids" at 53 inches
Cons
  • Assembly instructions need improvement
  • Designed to be lightweight, but this means it may easily tear if children play rough or fall on the tent
Buy This Product
Playz Unicorn Kids Play Tent for Girls

Some of the best toys for 2-year-old girls are those toys that let them imitate adult behaviors for fun imaginative play. The Click N’ Play 8-Piece Pretend Play Purse gives a little girl her own version of mom’s purse, complete with all of the things she loves to find and try to play with from her mother’s purse—only these are her own things so she can play with them to her heart’s content!

This adorable child’s purse is a durable pink canvas bag with cute detailing featuring a butterfly, cloud, tree, and flowers. It has a zippered closure and dual handles for easy carrying. A little girl will love this pink purse for playing dress-up or to take with her on-the-go just like mom. Even better, the zippered purse contains all the toy accessories a little girl loves. The set includes a battery-operated toy smartphone with fun sound effects. The toy car keys have a push-button key fob that makes realistic noises when a child presses the buttons. It also has a real, usable hairbrush, a toy powder compact, toy roll-up lipstick, and a play credit card. It’s everything a little girl needs for hours of play. She will enjoy bringing her purse along with her everywhere she goes—just like mom!

All of the toys in the Click N’ Play 8-Piece Pretend Play Purse are safe and non-toxic for small children. The purse is durably constructed and made to withstand even rough play by energetic toddlers. It easily wipes clean when needed.
This is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls and a must-have for any little girl who is constantly getting into mom’s purse!

Key Features
  • Beautiful pink canvas purse featuring decorative butterfly detailing, dual handles, and zipper closure
  • Includes mom-like purse accessories including toy phone, keys, brush, lipstick, compact, credit card, and keys
  • Toy smartphone is battery-powered and makes fun sounds
  • Keys have realistic sound effects
  • 7.5
Pros
  • Fosters important imaginitve play in 2-year olds who love to imitate adult behaviors
  • Phone batteries are included
  • Brush is real and usable
Cons
  • Compact can be difficult for toddlers to open
  • Phone sound effects are loud with no volume control
Buy This Product
Click N' Play 8-Piece Pretent Play Purse

Many little girls love baby dolls. Playing with baby dolls allows a child to engage in hours of imaginative play, expanding their nurturing and empathetic instincts, and imitating adult behavior. One of the best toys for 2-year-old girls is the JC Toys La Baby Doll Gift Set with Travel Case. This is the perfect choice for little girls who love baby dolls. It’s a complete set with fun accessories and a handy case for storage or travel.

The JC Toys La Baby Doll Gift Set with Travel Case comes with an 11-inch soft-bodied doll with a sweet vinyl face. The soft, cuddly design encourages holding, rocking, and nurturing. It includes adorable footed baby pajamas in a pretty floral pattern and a matching hat. The pajamas easily fasten with velcro and encourage fine motor skills in children when they dress and undress their baby. The hat is also removable.

This gift set includes a pink pacifier on a ribbon, a play baby bottle for feeding, and baby’s favorite toy—a plush pink bunny with sweet ribbon bows on the ears. Everything a two-year-old girl needs to care for her baby doll.
JC Toys La Baby Doll Gift Set with Travel Case is one of the best gifts for two-year-old girls who love babies. Any little girl will enjoy caring for her baby by dressing, feeding, rocking, and playing with this realistic baby doll. This perfectly sized baby doll is safe and suitable for younger children such as toddlers and preschoolers at 11 inches long. It is beautifully detailed down to each tiny finger and toe and soft and cuddly for loving.

Key Features
  • Travel case gift set with reusable case and realistic 11 inch baby doll with soft body
  • Also includes accessories with hat, pacifier, baby bottle, and plush stuffed bunny
  • Baby doll includes adorable footed pajamas with floral print and velcro closure
Pros
  • Perfectly sized for toddler and preschool aged children
  • No harsh plastic odor
Cons
  • Product video also shows black and Asian baby dolls, but no option to choose them is included
Buy This Product
JC Toys La Baby Doll Gift Set with Travel Case

Experts in early childhood development agree that experimenting with musical instrument play is highly beneficial for toddlers and young children. Not only does it help to develop both gross and fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, but it also helps to inspire musical creativity that can last a lifetime. The Benelet Wooden Musical Instruments Set for Children is one of the best toys for 2-year-old girls to get their rhythm going with a complete 9 piece set of real wooden instruments. All of the instruments are made with natural materials that are safe and non-toxic.

The Benelet Wooden Musical Instruments Set includes a fun tambourine, 2 smooth wooden shaker eggs, two colorful maracas, a set of handbells, two touch bells, and a wooden tone block with a hammer. It’s everything a 2-year old needs to be a one-man band, or to share with siblings and playmates for fun musical sing-alongs with sound effects.
All of the instruments in this fun set are thoughtfully designed and constructed and include smoothly sanded wood to be friendly to little hands. The tambourine is professionally designed with real wood and sheepskin. The five bell handbell is wood, leather, and steel and has passed rigid safety standards for use with toddlers and preschool-aged children. The maracas come with built-in hand grips to prevent slipping even during the most energetic shaking.

The set comes with a handy mesh carrying bag that’s perfect for taking the band on-the-go or for storing the instruments so they don’t become separated or lost.

This is one of the best toys for 2-year olds to get them started on the road to musical stardom!

Key Features
  • Fun 9-piece musical instrument set for children with natural materials
  • Includes tambourine, 2 shaker eggs, a pair of maracas, 2 touch bell,s hand bell, and tone block with hammer
  • Handy mesh bag for carrying and storing
Pros
  • Perfectly sized for little hands
  • Natural, non-toxic wooden instruments are hand-polished
  • Colorful maracas have non-slip grips on handles
  • Higher quality than plastic toy instruments
Cons
  • Maraca color is random so you could receive any combination of blue, red, green, yellow, or pink
  • Maracas are quiet
Buy This Product
Benelet Wooden Musical Instrument Set

Puzzles are not only beloved classic toys for children, they are also highly recommended by experts in early childhood development for enhancing the development of important critical thinking skills, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. A set of Sendida Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles is one of the best toys for 2-year old girls to help support cognitive development. Plus, they are a lot of fun and toddlers love them!

Sendida Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles have a kid-friendly design for little fingers. The thick, chunky shapes with smooth, rounded edges are toddler-friendly and fun to handle. They are made of high-quality wood so they are naturally free of BPA. The bold, bright colors come from non-toxic, water-based paint.

This set of 6 wooden puzzles are bright and colorful to encourage sensory stimulation and capture a young child’s interest. The puzzles include a bumblebee, frog, bug-eyed fish, puppy, elephant, and duck. When assembled, the chunky wooden animal puzzles stand upright for fun, imaginative play. They are fun, toddler-friendly, and designed with safety in mind. Each chunky wooden puzzle piece has smooth, gently rounded corners and cannot be swallowed.

Sendida Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles are the best toys for 2-year old girls that are both cognition-enhancing puzzles, and also stand upright for fun and imaginative games once assembled. They are bright and colorful, with cute animal themes that little children love. The wooden frames are stackable for storage and are a great addition to any child’s play area or toy collection.

Key Features
  • 6-Pack of colorful wooden jigsaw puzzles with fun animal pictures
  • Includes cow, fox, elephant, fish, bumble-bee, and duck
  • Stackable for storage
  • 3D puzzles can also stand upright after assembly
Pros
  • Made of BPA-free, high-quality wood with smooth edges
  • Water-based, non-toxic paint
  • Thick, chunky pieces are toddler-friendly and too large to swallow
  • Encourages hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and sensory stimulation
Cons
  • Both sides of each piece are painted which increases the difficulty level because they can be placed backwards
  • Puzzle outlines are unclear, increasing the the difficulty of the puzzles
Buy This Product
Sendida Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles

How to Choose the Best Toys for 2-Year-Old Girls

Your 2-Year-Old knows what she likes and doesn’t like, and she’s very vocal about letting you know as well. At 2-years old, a child’s temperament can change in a blink. She may want snuggling, cuddling, and babying one minute, and the next minute she’ll be pulling away from you and shouting that she wants to do it herself. The best toys for a 2-year old girl are those toys that let her practice her independence. This means toys that allow her to develop important skills such as critical thinking and fine motor skills. It may also mean toys that allow her to experiment on her way to self-discovery by imitating a variety of adult behaviors. But of course, none of this matters if she won’t play with the toy because it doesn’t capture her imagination or hold her attention. Above all, a toy should be something fun and engaging to keep a little girl’s interest and spark her imagination.

The Best Toys for a 2-Year-Old Girl’s Imagination

At two years old, a little girl may not be ready to play cooperatively with friends. Chances are she still feels that any toy in the room is hers and only hers. With a play-mate in the room, she will probably only play alongside the other child without really engaging together. However, she will enjoy playing imaginative games with her toys by herself or with a willing parent. Some of the best toys for a 2-year-old girl are toys that let her imagination soar. She will enjoy imitating adult behaviors, such as playing dress-up or pretending to cook dinner or pour tea for her favorite dolls and stuffed animals. She may want to imitate adults in her life such as her mother, father, doctor, or daycare teacher.

Toys that inspire this kind of play in a 2-year-old are play foods and toy cooking utensils, tea sets, doctor kits, or anything that helps her to pretend to be an adult. She may also want to imitate characters from her favorite storybooks, movies, and shows. She may want to be an astronaut one week, and a ballerina or mermaid the next. And at 2-years old, she’s finally using some words to tell you what it is she wants to be!

The Best Toys for a 2-Year Old Girl to Enhance her Development

A 2-year old girl is beginning to experiment with her fine motor skills. She is no longer simply shaking and banging her toys or chewing on them. Instead, she is much more likely to be using her fingers to more carefully manipulate objects. She wants to learn how things go together, come apart, how to zip, snap, stack, and build. She may be experimenting with crayons and markers to make straight lines, curves, and fun scribbles.

Some of the best toys for a 2-year-old girl are those that enhance her fine motor skills, encourage critical thinking, and allow her to build, design, and create—and then proudly show off the fruits of her labors to anyone who is willing to look!

Toys such as building blocks, drawing utensils, and puzzles encourage fine motor skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving. But they should also be fun, brightly-colored, and whimsical enough to capture her fancy. After all, a toy is only good if she’ll play with it. The best toys for 2-year-old girls are those that keep her happily entertained, while also setting her on the path toward self-discovery!

Resources— WebMD,  Understood, RaisingChildren