Shop our picks from Good Housekeeping's 2026 Toy Awards
Good Housekeeping's 2026 Toy Awards are here!
Lexie Sachs, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute, is on "Good Morning America" to share some of the winning toys.
Toys were evaluated in a lab, with engineers and analysts evaluating toys for safety, durability and ease of assembly. Kids also tested the toys at home and at the Good Housekeeping Institute to find the toys children enjoyed the most.
Below, shop some of the top toys for kids of all ages, including imaginative toys for preschoolers, interactive toys for big kids and toys focused on learning and development for babies and toddlers.
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Preschool (ages 3-5)
Winning toys include the LeapFrog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Parlor, featuring a magic cooper and play money. "Being able to roll it around the home was a favorite aspect," Sachs said. "Parents said young kids were constantly rolling it all over to make ice cream for their families."
There's also the BRIO World Space Station Set with an outer space theme including a space rover and an astronaut. "It’s very well constructed; that stood out to parent testers," Sachs said. "It was also a hit with young kids during our in-person toy testing day when they had a room full of toys to choose from."
The Little Tikes Sweet Spaces refrigerator has a retro design and includes 20 different accessories. The PAW Patrol Megasaurus Dino Vehicle "is a hit because it combines dinosaurs with PAW Patrol, plus it delivers a wow factor thanks to its blow up dino," Sachs said.
"Kid testers were obsessed, and parents said it inflated quickly, stayed inflated during play, then quickly deflated when it was time for cleanup," she said.
Little Tikes Sweet Spaces Kitchen Refrigerator – Sea Foam, Play Kitchen, Ages 3+
- $69.97
- Walmart
Little kids (ages 5-8)
The Cool Maker Charm'd Accessory Studio stood out amongst other jewelry kits: "There are lots of jewelry kits out there, but what’s great about the Cool Maker Accessory Studio is that kids can actually customize the charms themselves and use them for things like bracelets and bag charms," Sachs said.
The MAGNA-Tiles 25-piece coral reef set has an underwater theme and "parents said it kept kids occupied for long stretches," she noted.
Lastly, the Exploding Kittens game "is sort of like cornhole, except much sillier. For starters, you’re tossing cat bean bags and the target is a cat condo, with each level representing different points," Sachs explained. "There are also challenge cards that mix things up each round, like for example saying you have to toss it backward over your shoulder. Parents said it was great for playing as a family; it kept them entertained for an hour and they were constantly laughing together."
Big kids (ages 8-10)
Two winning toys were the Clickeez Series 3 Keyboard and the Fat Brain Toys Air Toobz EVO.
"Clickeez is especially great because it combines a keyboard-like clicky toy with a fun unboxing collectible experience: Each Clickeez is a different surprise character that are called Bubble Pops," Sachs said.
The Air Toobz EVO is an interactive toy, allowing you to connect twisting and turning tubes and send foam balls flying through. "Parents loved it just as much as the kids; families had a great time creating paths and said they spent long stretches playing with it," Sachs said.
Babies and toddlers (ages 0-2)
"This work bench from Jasey’s Toy Chest includes wooden tools and wooden shapes for kids to 'saw' apart, screws, nails, bolts, and shapes," Sachs explained.
"Great for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, but it also doubles as a push walker for toddlers who are learning to walk. Toddlers loved using the tools and pretending to repair things at home," she said.
