Top musical toys for toddlers: Approved by experts, Loved by tots

Father and daughter playing music in kitchen

by Lizzie Hutchinson |
Updated on

If you’re looking for a toy to keep your toddler entertained for hours, then a musical toy for toddlers is the way to go.

Musical toys are fun, educational, and can teach your toddler lots of fundamental skills. There are so. many. benefits.

As well as teaching them how to express themselves through song and dance, these playthings also encourage curiosity and build their fine motor skills and coordination.

Likewise, repetition when using toys can help improve their memory, their sensory development and improve their language if you're singing along and making up songs with them.

Toddlers love nothing more than rocking out to their favourite song and making up their tune and it's so worth seeing the cheeky grin on their face.

Need something more suitable for smaller tots? Read our round-up of the best musical toys for babies.

How to choose the right musical toy for your toddler:

We’ve taken a look at some of the best musical toys out there, that will hopefully capture your little love's attention for more than five minutes, and will give you a chance to relax a little. Perhaps you'll even get to drink that mythical cup of hot coffee that we parents have heard so much about.

You'll have your little ones' tunes stuck in your head all day long, no doubt.

Best musical toys for toddlers:

Baby Einstein Magic Touch Ukulele - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £24.99

This cute little wooden ukulele will have your toddler strumming along to over 30 melodies. It has a freestyle mode for them to make up tunes. Or you can switch it to the play-along mode, where they can pluck along to the music. It even has a volume control button for the parents. Bonus.

Baby Einstein Hape Magic Touch Xylophone  - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £29.99
Alternative retailers
Walmart$29.98View offer

What a fun little wooden xylophone musical toy. We adore that it comes in two modes - freestyle and instructor. Let your tot tap out a tune or learn some classics by following coloured lights that show them the next key to press. Thanks to its magic touch technology, your toddler will have hours of fun with over 30 songs to play along with.

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Baby Einstein Hape Magic Touch Piano - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £25.49 (was £29.99)
https://redirect.viglink.com?key=eb32892e8a408657289072c26bd927b5&prodOvrd=PCR&opt=false&u=DRZHQksDHUpPFkMeT1dZWlNKTR5UXQ4dXxJLa1peDApPfFBZVV5IawlVW11EGgUDCQkJBABS&x=v1&prdId=11076997836&barcode=VVIDBQwNB1QAUAUADwQ%3D
Alternative retailers
Blain Farm & Fleet$19.99View offer
Target$28.99View offer

This bestselling Magic Touch Piano is perfect for budding young musicians. It has magic touch technology, so no buttons or keys are needed. Your toddler can enjoy playing along to familiar songs by following the colour coded music sheets or can freestyle to some classics. I’m sure this little wooden piano will provide hours of fun.

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Baby Einstein Toddler Jams Musical Toy - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £8 (was £15.99)
Alternative retailers
Target$14.99View offer
Walmart$22.19View offer

If you have a toddler who loves to bop along to all sorts of tunes, then this Toddler Jams Musical Toy will be right up their street. It features over 30 different songs and melodies, covering classic, pop and global genres. Kids can pause, skip, rewind and mix the songs too, providing hours of fun.

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 Stoie's Musical Instruments Set - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £23.99 (was £29.99)

This wooden musical instrument set would be the perfect addition to any toy box. Wooden toys are all the rage, and this gorgeous set features instruments from around the world, introducing your toddler to different cultures. It comes with a lovely cotton drawstring bag too, perfect for quick storage.

We love this musical toy for toddlers.

This set includes:

  • Tambourine
  • Castanet
  • Hand drum
  • Two handbells
  • Maraca
  • Flute
  • Wooden block with a stick
  • Wood sounder with a stick
  • Chime bar with a stick

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 Vtech 150003 Playtime Bus - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £18 (was £29.99)

Toddlers are just drawn to busses, and for whatever reason that may be, this Playtime Bus will aid their curiosity and will go down a treat. It’s fully interactive and features a range of songs to get your little one up on their feet. It’s a fun yet educational toy that will help with language development through a range of songs, phrases and question time. It also helps with learning numbers, counting, phonics, safety rules and more.

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CubicFun Touch; Go Musical Light Crawling Dinosaur - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £16.11 (was 19.98)
Alternative retailers
Ulta$2.00View offer
Target$5.99View offer
DICK'S Sporting Goods$6.49View offer
Walmart$6.58View offer

Dinosaurs are huge in the toddler world, and this CubicFun Musical Light Crawling Dinosaur will make the perfect companion for any dino loving toddler. Aimed at younger toddlers, this musical dino moves around avoiding objects and plays an array of sounds and songs. It even roars! We love this musical toy!

Baby Einstein Hape Magic Touch Drums - musical toys for toddlers
Price: £20
Alternative retailers
Walmart$21.99View offer
Target$24.49View offer

A toy box isn’t complete without a drum kit, but this one comes with volume control! Your little musician will have lots of fun playing along with songs or creating music with this wooden drum set.

Looking for a fun and educational way to introduce your little one to music? The Lovevery Music Set is the perfect solution! Designed for children ages 18 months to 4+ years, this set includes real instruments like a xylophone and drums, a working metronome, a music book, and song cards. It’s an amazing way to help your child develop essential skills like pattern recognition and memory while building a love for music.

The set makes learning to play easy by using a color and letter-matching system for notes, and the pentatonic scale ensures every note always sounds good together. Plus, with a Rhythm & Songs Book, your child can even create their own music. The included Stage-based Play Guide walks you through music activities that grow with your child, making it a wonderful way to nurture creativity and brain development from a young age.

How we test and choose recommended products

Our product recommendations are based on a combination of real-world testing from our burgeoning army of mum testers and the extensive knowledge of our experienced editorial team and product specialists. Where we can, we also consult experts who specialise in that field to ensure you get the right advice along with the right product, and we listen to what you say as well.

Our thriving mum community on our Facebook group #mumtribe consistently provides great insights into which products mums like best and why, helping us highlight the products that will meet your needs.

For essential products, our annual Mother&Baby Awards shortlist the top products tested. Full reviews from our mum testers can be found on our product pages. The winners and runners-up for each category will also appear in our top picks article for that product, along with other products that were rated highly by our team.

About the author

Lizzieis a freelance writer and mum of twin babies and a toddler. In her spare time Lizzie loves keeping fit, feasting on a good pub lunch and spending time with her family. Lizzie also runs a Motherhood and Lifestyle Blog Life with WIT. She studied Publishing with Media, Communication and Culture at Oxford Brookes University and has recently returned to her writing roots.

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