Switch your kids from naughty to nautical with these marine-themed toys and trinkets. We have spent countless hours scouring the internet to find some of the best gift ideas that are perfect for children of all ages.
1. One of these cute kids’ lifejackets, which will give your child (and you!) extra independence on pool days.
Review spotlight: ” He’s 10 months-old today, weighing about 8.5 kg/ 19 lbs and has decided that he is too big for a baby floatie ring. He loves the independence of the Puddle-Jumper and independently changes from feet forward to feet under to feet back, all with head out of the water. He deliberately dips his mouth in though to taste the water! I’ve used these before for kids 15 months to 8 years, but 8 months was a first. He cries in protest if we put him in the baby ring! The Puddle Jumper gives freedom!! Big brother is the sizeof a 6-7 year-old and still wears the same Puddle-Jumper on a looser setting.” – Dayyana.
2. Build your child’s creativity block-by-block with this awesome Lego set.
Review spotlight: “We bought this an the other sport boat that came with the truck and trailer. This boat alone is very nice. Floats great, my son likes to play with it in the spa.” – Amazon customer.
3. This piscine edition of Monopoly so your young fishing fanatics can share their passion with the whole family when the weather’s too grim for them to get outside and do the real thing.
Review spotlight: “This was a birthday gift for my 6 year old nephew. He LOVES fishing. Him and my brother played it for hours!” – jessica.
4. A pair of water shoes to give your kid the flexibility and comfort of being barefoot without having to tread so gingerly on slippery or rough surfaces.
Review spotlight: “Got these for my grandson who is almost 2. He has very wide and thick feet. He also inturns his feet some so shoes just never fit or work. He hates shoes of any kind but loves to play outside. I ordered these and they came fast. Put them on his feet yesterday and they fit perfectly. He never tried to kick them off and played all day in them. They fit and he kept them on. I highly recommend these.” – Amazon Customer.
5. This cute storybook about a father-son camping trip will get your sprog hooked on the outdoors before they can even walk.
Review spotlight: “My 21 month old son loves when I read this book to him. I’m not sure if it’s the pictures or the content, but he loves it. When it’s time for bed this is always one of the books he grabs for me to read. As for the adult opinion, I think it’s a fun, simple book for getting the camping bug into your child at an early age. Each page only had one or two sentences so it’s great for my 1 year old, but too simple for my 4 year old.” – Louis Fleming.
6. Teach your toddler how to discern all the colours, shapes and patterns of the ocean floor with this vivid picturebook.
Review spotlight: “My 3 year old is a huge Maisy fan so I thought I would give this book a try since it comes from Lucy Cousins. The book does not disappoint as my daughter LOVES to read it. The story is short yet entertaining for kids and the crazy colors and appearances of the fish will help keep them engaged. I like how my daughter recognizes the uniqueness of each fish and asks lots of questions and encourages to use her imagination. I highly recommend this book to your toddler.” – MY4.
7. A toy tugboat that your nipper can navigate merrily across puddles, paddling pools and bathtubs.
Review spotlight: “I bought this boat for my infant grandson, once he was old enough to sit up and participate in his bath. I wanted a simple, sturdy, and safe toy. This Green Toys boat did not meet my criteria; it exceeded it. It is well crafted, well finished piece in appealing colors. As a bath toy, it is superb; not only is it a fun floating boat, but having a pitcher spout on the bow, also handy for pouring water. My little grandson loves his boat so much that I got him a second one for his house. (I have since bought several other toys, also good, but the boat is, so far, the baby’s favorite.) Green Toys constructs their toys from recycled, PBA free milk jugs.” – Sloho.
8. Baby getting bored in the bathtub? Bring Nemo, Dory and Squirt along for a swim and watch hours of fishy fun unfold.
Review spotlight: “These are great tub toys and he loved them. Kept him occupied for almost the prune stage. Each little Character spewed water bubbles except the Dory. Dory however, was easy for him to hole. He is 9 months old. I pop them in the dishwasher and they steam dry and are ready to go. No safety issues as far as I can tell. They also look cute in a little basket with rolled washcloths. Pop them inside with their eyes up and they look adorable.” – Donna.
9. Augment your child’s articulacy and their attraction to angling with this word-themed magnetic fishing game.
Review spotlight: “The wooden, magnetic fish are really well made and will survive a lot of use. Packs up neatly in a small box for easy storage. The pool and fishing rods are small, but could easily be replaced with a kiddie pool and larger fishing rods if you wanted to use the fish with a much larger group of kids. Perfect as is for 2 children. My 5yo loved fishing and never noticed we were having fun and learning sight words. Better than worksheets any day! Would definitely recommend this product to teachers or homeschool families.” – Melanie L.
10. Or for slightly older children, use this enjoyable magnetic fishing game to enhance their motor skills, coordination and logic
Review spotlight: “If you are looking for a toy fishing pole set for your kids, this is definitely the one to buy!!! My daughter is 3 and a friend of ours had this exact set with them when we went with them for a play date. My daughter couldn’t stop talking about it, so I got on Amazon and bought it that day. I was a little hesitant at first because of the cost, but this fishing set has exceeded my expectations. If you watch the video, you can see that the fish actually swims!!! My daughter likes to take a bath with it swimming around her and then afterwards, we dress her and let her “go fishing” for about 10 minutes! I can’t wait until summer time when she can play with it in the pool! This set also comes with a magnetic worm and the rod and reel actually work.” – Tiffany D.
11. This floating ferry, which your child can use to transport their other toys safely from one side of the tub to the other.
Review spotlight: “My 18 month old son was obsessed with the ferry at the beach, watching the cars get on and off and the ferry move across the channel for as long as we’d stand there! So this toy was a very appropriate gift, and he absolutely loves it! We’ve only played with it dry, outside the tub, for now, but he has so much fun with it! He lowers the ferry ramp, pushes the cars up the ramp, closes the ramp, and pushes the boat around. The cars might actually be our favorite part, which is surprising since they seemed so incidental to the ferry when I was buying this toy, but they’re cute, light and just the right size for little hands, and they fit so well on the ferry. Overall, a really darling toy, and one my son has spent endless hours playing with on his own and with us playing along.” – Tawn.
12. Ba-by shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo! Just got the song out of your head? Sorry. Young Jaws is back to help with your kid’s creativity in this mess-free colouring book.
Review spotlight: “If you, like me, have a little Baby Shark obsessed child on your hands, this is the perfect, inexpensive gift for them. My son is 18 months and absolutely loves Baby Shark, and he was thrilled to receive this. If you’re not familiar with the Color Wonder set from Crayola, it only colors on special paper. This means you can let your child color without worrying about your furniture, walls, or their skin/clothes. Obviously, remove the caps before giving to a younger child and supervision is key with anything. The pictures are adorable and it’s a great addition to your Baby Shark collection.” – Michelle Daniels.
13. This baby fishbowl, whose rattling, crinkling, squeaking inhabitants will give your infant hours of fun while developing their dexterity.
Review spotlight: “Each fish is different. Each fish makes a different sound. Each fish is a different color in different fabrics new to a baby’s touch. Then, there’s the fishbowl itself! It is made so well of such quality material that my grandson found it just as much fun to play with the empty bowl. The inside of the bowl is actually lined with a pillow-soft, satin, water-design fabric that is very attractive to the little ones. The clear sides are of touch vinyl that won’t give way to any abuse by someone for whom this is made. It’s so neat that even I like playing with it. This is as good as it gets, and I hope to purchase more toys made by Lamaze. If you want fun–if you want learning–you get both with this toy.” – Marlene E. Hinrichs.
14. Watch your child flit from flying to floating with this barnstorming bathtime beauty.
Review spotlight: “Bath time for my son had gotten to the point where he would almost refuse to take a bath because he was bored. He didn’t enjoy bathing at all. This was a Christmas gift and ever since, he asks if every night can be bath night. This toy is durable, can be played with in and out of the water, and has no metal parts so no need to fear rust. You can take it apart to fully scrub the inside as well. I love the company’s ethics and production methods, and I know that each purchase is a ecologically sound choice.” – Ashleigh Blandin.
15. Let your kid explore the underwater terrain of the tub with this toy sub, and use its scoop and handle to practice bailing.
Review spotlight: “This is a great bath toy. I read lots of reviews trying to confirm whether this version is the one that will open to more easily drain water — so let me confirm for you: YES, this one will open! The top yellow handle piece easily snaps open. (Easily for adult, I should clarify – my one year old doesn’t accidentally pull it open when playing, which is nice. Just the right amount of resistance.) We love Green Toys – especially bath toys, since they can be washed in the dishwasher if you accidentally let it sit with water or it gets icky. Made in the USA from foodsafe plastic, which I love since my kiddo puts everything in his mouth.” – Meg.
16. Inject some life and colour into your pool or bathtub with this magnetic fishing set.
Review spotlight: “The kids have played with this toy more than others – WIN! Ages 1.5 and 3….they love it! There is a board game like element of it that i didn’t notice when I bought it. You refer to a paper that tells you which fish has the most points, so the kids “catch” a fish, then we look for it on the paper (it is laminated). I like it because we talk about colors and shapes when we find the fish. A lot of fun!” – Julie AC.
17. Or pick this classic fishing game, which allows you and your kids to stay dry as a bone while using.
Review spotlight: “Great toy. Just like the one my daughter had in the 80’s. My granddaughters love playing this. They are ages 3 and 5 and both play it very well.” – Amazon Customer.
18. Improve your kid’s imagination with this immersive Lego set, which they can use to construct their favourite underwater fauna. Your bairn can construct three different models from the same set of bricks, giving triple the fun for a third of the cost!
Review spotlight: “The build was really fun! Both the shark and crab both look great and have a ton of posability. These look great on display in my room. I think it’s pretty good as a parts pack too since you get some ball-joint pieces and a handful of dark blue pieces. It’s great for building your own creatures.” – Hey.
19. Raise the next Ray Mears and help your child develop their love of bugs, creepy crawlies and the great outdoors with this kids’ safari kit.
Review spotlight: “I was really impressed by the quality of this product and how much it came with. It has everything a kid needs to go outside and explore. For this price point you get a good product. We were looking for a net and a bug container to look at bugs in, we ended up with this set because the to items we were looking for looked the nicest in this larger set. I would definitely recommend this product. The age range to me seems between 5-8.” – BrunkBooks.
Ryan is the founder of Tideschart.com. Originally from New Zealand, Ryan has traveled to more than 20 countries and has combined more than 10 years of development experience with his passion for the ocean.
