The top toys for any age group that are educational are not always the newest toys. Nor are they the most touted in the stores or suggested by kid experts.   They are the toys that the children find the most interest in. They are the toys that do not bore them after 10 minutes of play. Your child will not learn if the toy will not hold their interest.

If you want to find the top educational toys, take a couple of children to the local toy store, leave them in the educational section and see what holds their interest the longest.  See which toys you will have to literally drag them away from.

When introducing educational toys to 12 and 18 month old children, the discovery has been that they are most interested in those that have a lot of sound, and give some type of verbal interaction.  Examples of these toys would be: Talking Video Phone by Chicco and Smartville Alphabet Train Station by VTech.

Both of the above toys are rich in sounds that correspond to the visual aspect of the toys, as well as talking to the children in a teaching way.  The Video Phone will also teach in English and Spanish.  The train station can recite the whole alphabet as the cars pass over the letters, as well as providing toy animals that can ride in the train and invoke more conversation when they are placed in special hot spots.