Top 18 'Emotion-Identifying' Educational Toys to practice Empathy and Sharing for Toddlers Navigating Their First Friendships
Watching your toddler navigate their first friendships is like watching a tiny, adorable, and often very loud social experiment. One minute, they’re sharing a block and giggling; the next, a full-blown meltdown erupts over who gets the blue crayon. It's a whirlwind of big emotions in little bodies, and as parents, it can be tough to know how to guide them through it.
These early interactions are the very foundation of their social-emotional development. This is where they learn monumental concepts like empathy (understanding another person's feelings), sharing (a toddler's Everest), and emotional regulation (not throwing the blue crayon). While these skills take years to master, the groundwork is laid right now, in the playroom and on the playground. But how do we teach something as abstract as empathy to a two-year-old?
The answer, as it so often is in childhood, is through play. The right toys aren't just for fun; they are powerful tools that give our children the language and practice they need to understand themselves and connect with others. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we’ve curated a comprehensive list of the top 18 "emotion-identifying" educational toys that do just that. These aren't just flashcards with smiley faces; they are dynamic, engaging toys that foster connection, cooperation, and kindness.
1. Learning Resources See My Feelings Mirror
This clever toy is brilliantly simple: it’s a child-safe mirror with a set of interchangeable photo slides depicting real children expressing different emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised). Toddlers are naturally fascinated by faces and reflections, making this an intuitive tool for learning.
When your child looks in the mirror, they can mimic the face on the slide. This physical act of making an "angry" face or a "surprised" face helps them connect the external expression to the internal feeling. It builds self-awareness, which is the first step toward understanding the feelings of others.
Pro Tip: Use it during real-life emotional moments. If your toddler is frustrated, you can grab the mirror and the "frustrated" slide and say, "You look a little like this friend. Is this how you're feeling inside?" It gives them a tangible way to label their big emotions.
2. Hape Eggspressions Wooden Emotional Eggs
This adorable set features six wooden eggs, each with a different facial expression, nestled in an egg carton. The set comes with a book that tells a simple story, helping kids link the feelings of the "egg-motions" to specific situations.
These eggs are wonderful for storytelling and role-playing. You can ask your child, "Which egg is feeling excited about going to the park?" or "This egg looks sad. I wonder what happened?" The smooth, tactile nature of the wooden eggs makes them very appealing for little hands to hold and explore.
Pro Tip: Keep the eggs in an accessible place. When you read a book together, ask your toddler to find the egg that matches how the main character is feeling. This reinforces emotional literacy in different contexts.
3. LEGO DUPLO My First Big Feelings & Emotions
LEGO DUPLO has created a fantastic set specifically for social-emotional learning. It includes characters with two-sided faces (e.g., happy on one side, sad on the other) and various blocks that represent things like weather (a sun, a rain cloud) to help tell stories about feelings.
Building is a natural way for toddlers to process information. As they construct different scenes, you can talk about the characters. "Why is this character feeling sleepy? Oh, you built him a bed!" This set transforms abstract emotional concepts into concrete, buildable scenarios, promoting both fine motor skills and emotional intelligence.
Pro Tip: Co-build a "feelings tower." Use different colored bricks to represent emotions—blue for sad, yellow for happy, red for angry. Let your child build a tower that shows how they are feeling today.
4. Kimochis (Mixed Bag of Feelings)
Kimochis are plush characters that come with a "mixed bag of feelings"—small, pillow-like icons representing emotions like happy, sad, angry, brave, and left out. The character has a special pocket where kids can tuck the feelings inside, externalizing and "holding" their emotions.
This is an incredibly powerful tool for kids who struggle to verbalize what’s going on inside. Instead of having to say, "I'm angry," they can simply hold up the red, scowling "Angry" feeling. It opens the door for communication without pressure.
Pro Tip: Introduce a "feeling check-in" as part of your daily routine. In the morning or before bed, open the Mixed Bag of Feelings and ask, "How are you feeling today?" Let your child pick one or two feelings to talk about.
5. Peaceable Kingdom Hoot Owl Hoot!
This is a cooperative board game, which is a game-changer for toddlers learning to play together. Instead of competing against each other, all players work together as a team to help the owls get back to their nest before the sun comes up.
Cooperative games are the perfect antidote to the "I want to win!" meltdowns. They inherently teach sharing (taking turns), communication ("Let's move this owl next!"), and working toward a common goal. Success is shared, and if you lose, you lose together, which is a much gentler introduction to handling disappointment.
Pro Tip: Narrate the cooperative aspect as you play. Use phrases like, "Great teamwork!" or "We did it together!" to reinforce the positive social skills they are practicing.
6. Magna-Tiles or PicassoTiles
These magnetic building tiles are a staple in many playrooms for a reason. Their open-ended nature makes them a fantastic canvas for social development. To build something big and impressive, kids almost always need to work together.
This is where sharing and negotiation happen organically. "Can I have the big square?" "Let's connect our towers to make a castle!" They learn to share resources (the tiles), space (the building area), and ideas. As a parenting expert, Goh Ling Yong often emphasizes that this kind of unstructured, collaborative play is vital for developing social competence.
Pro Tip: Start a build and then invite your child and their friend to add to it. This "scaffolding" can ease them into collaboration. You can also set a challenge, like "Let's see how tall a tower we can build together!"
7. A Play Kitchen & Food Set
A play kitchen is a powerhouse for social-emotional learning. It’s the ultimate stage for role-playing real-life social situations. Through play, toddlers can practice turn-taking, sharing, and social etiquette in a low-stakes environment.
Think of the conversations that happen: "Would you like some tea?" "I'm cooking soup for you." "It's my turn to use the spatula." They are acting out scripts of caring, nurturing, and cooperating. This kind of pretend play directly builds empathy as they imagine what it's like to be a chef, a parent, or a customer.
Pro Tip: Be their first "customer." Model polite language by saying, "Please may I have a slice of pizza?" and "Thank you, this is delicious!" They will absorb these social scripts and use them in play with their peers.
8. Slumberkins
Slumberkins are more than just stuffed animals. Each creature (like Bigfoot, Yeti, or Fox) is paired with a beautifully written and illustrated book that tackles a specific social-emotional theme, such as self-esteem, anxiety, relaxation, or family change.
The combination of a cuddly creature and a purposeful story helps make big feelings more understandable and less scary. The story provides the language and coping strategies, while the plush "Kins" offer a tangible source of comfort. It’s a gentle and effective way to introduce complex emotional topics.
Pro Tip: Choose a Slumberkin that addresses a specific challenge your family is facing, whether it’s a new sibling (check out Fox) or managing anxiety (Yeti is a great choice). Read the story together often, especially during moments of calm.
9. A Doctor Kit
Playing doctor is a classic childhood activity that is rich with opportunities for developing empathy. When a child puts a stethoscope on a teddy bear's chest or a bandage on a doll's knee, they are practicing how to care for another being.
This type of nurturing play requires them to imagine how their "patient" is feeling. "Oh, you have a boo-boo? Does it hurt? I'll make it better." They are literally stepping into the shoes of a helper and a caregiver, which is the very essence of empathy.
Pro Tip: Take turns being the doctor and the patient. When it's your turn to be the patient, model how to express feelings: "Ouch, my arm is very sore!" This helps your child connect their actions to another's feelings.
10. Miniland Emotions Detective Game
This is a more structured game designed to help children identify, name, and understand emotions. The game includes cards with different scenarios and a special "magnifying glass" that reveals the hidden emotion of the character in the picture.
It turns emotional learning into a fun "detective" mission. By looking at the context on the card (e.g., a child receiving a gift), your toddler can make a guess about the emotion before "magically" revealing the answer. It’s a great way to practice connecting situations to feelings.
Pro Tip: After a round of the game, talk about a time you or your child felt the emotion on the card. "Remember when you felt surprised on your birthday? Your face looked just like this!"
11. Puppet Theater and Hand Puppets
Puppets provide a safe "mask" for toddlers to hide behind, allowing them to express feelings and explore social scenarios they might be too shy or unsure to act out themselves. The puppet can be angry, sad, or silly without the child feeling personally vulnerable.
This is a fantastic way to work through common friendship challenges. You can use two puppets to model a conflict: "This is my block!" says one puppet. "But I wanted to play with it," says the other. Then you can ask your child, "What should the puppets do now?" It empowers them to become a problem-solver.
Pro Tip: You don't need a fancy theater. A blanket draped over two chairs works perfectly. Let your child lead the show and simply facilitate the storytelling.
12. Play-Doh or Modeling Clay
Sensory and tactile play is a powerful, non-verbal outlet for emotions. Squishing, pounding, rolling, and squeezing clay can be incredibly calming for a dysregulated child. It can also be a way to physically represent feelings.
An angry feeling might be a ball of red Play-Doh that gets pounded flat. A happy feeling could be a long, yellow "snake" that gets rolled out. It doesn't require words, making it accessible even when a child is too overwhelmed to talk.
Pro Tip: Sit alongside your child and describe what you're doing with your own clay. "I'm feeling a little frustrated, so I'm going to squeeze my clay really hard." This models a healthy way to process and express emotions through sensory play.
13. The Feelings Book by Todd Parr
While technically a book, this classic by Todd Parr functions as an interactive emotional tool. With its bright, simple illustrations and direct text ("Sometimes I feel silly. Sometimes I feel scared."), it gives children a straightforward vocabulary for their feelings.
The book normalizes the entire spectrum of emotions, reassuring kids that it's okay to feel whatever they're feeling. It’s a perfect conversation starter and an essential addition to any toddler's library.
Pro Tip: After reading, play a charades-style game. Act out one of the feelings from the book and have your child guess which one it is. Then, switch roles!
14. A Water/Sand Table
Similar to Play-Doh, a water or sand table offers a rich sensory experience that naturally encourages parallel and cooperative play. Initially, children might play alongside each other (parallel play), each doing their own thing. This is a crucial first step in social development.
Gradually, this evolves into associative and cooperative play. They start sharing tools ("Can I use the shovel?"), working on a joint project ("Let's fill the bucket together!"), and navigating the physical space without getting in each other's way. It's a microcosm of a community playground.
Pro Tip: Provide plenty of tools—spoons, cups, funnels, and shovels—but not an identical one for each child. This creates natural, low-stakes opportunities to practice asking, waiting, and sharing.
15. A Baby Doll and Accessories
Caring for a baby doll is one of the most direct ways for a child to practice empathy and nurturing. Feeding, burping, changing, and rocking a doll allows them to reenact the care they receive from their own parents.
This role-play helps them understand the needs of another (even a pretend one) and how their actions can provide comfort and care. It’s a beautiful way to foster a gentle and compassionate spirit from a very young age.
Pro Tip: Engage with their play by asking empathetic questions. "Oh, is the baby crying? I wonder if she is hungry or needs a cuddle?" This helps them think from the doll's "perspective."
16. Schleich Animal Figurines
High-quality animal figurines provide an amazing springboard for imaginative storytelling. Toddlers can create families, act out scenarios, and explore complex social dynamics—like a baby lion getting lost or two bears fighting over a fish—in a safe, third-person context.
It's often easier for a child to talk about why the "mama bear is angry" than to talk about why their own mom is angry. This narrative distance allows them to process and understand relationships, conflicts, and resolutions without feeling personally implicated.
Pro Tip: Use the animals to act out scenes from a book you just read or a situation that happened at the park. This helps them process their real-world experiences through play.
17. Crayons/Paints and a Big Easel
Art is a classic and wonderful way for children to express what they cannot say. Providing access to art supplies without a required "product" (like a coloring book page) gives them the freedom to let their feelings flow onto the paper.
You can gently guide this by asking questions like, "What color feels happy today?" or "If you were to draw an angry scribble, what would it look like?" This links colors and marks to emotions, giving them another language to express their inner world.
Pro Tip: Put on different types of music while they draw. See how slow, calm music inspires a different kind of drawing than fast, energetic music. Talk about how the music makes them (and their drawings) feel.
18. The Time-In Toolkit by Generation Mindful
This is a more comprehensive resource designed to replace punitive "time-outs" with connection-focused "time-ins." The kit includes posters of feelings, calming strategy cards, and a designated space for co-regulation.
While it's more than a single toy, it creates a playful and predictable routine for managing meltdowns. Instead of being sent away, a child is invited to a cozy, safe space to sit with a parent, identify their feeling on the poster, and choose a calming strategy (like taking deep breaths or hugging a pillow). It reframes discipline as an opportunity to teach emotional skills.
Pro Tip: Introduce the "Time-In" space during a calm moment, not in the heat of a tantrum. Explore the posters and practice the calming strategies together when everyone is relaxed and happy.
Play Your Way to Emotional Intelligence
Choosing the right toys is about so much more than keeping our toddlers busy. It’s about intentionally seeding their environment with tools that will help them grow into kind, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent individuals. These toys create a common language for you and your child to talk about the messy, wonderful, and overwhelming world of feelings.
Remember, the toy itself is just the starting point. The real magic happens when you get down on the floor and play alongside them, validating their feelings, modeling kindness, and gently guiding them through the challenges of their very first friendships.
What are your go-to toys for teaching empathy and sharing in your home? Did we miss any of your favorites? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below—we’d love to learn from you
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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