I think Toddlers need an equal amount of educational toys and independent environmental experiences. It’s amazing the things you can entertain a toddler with! At 16 months they love to dance to music (maybe educational songs), musjcal instruments, Playdough, they love to read, Puzzles are great, bubbles, beanbags, crayons. Anything that stimulates motor skills at this age is appropriate. They should be learning how to color, kick, attempting to jump, rocking on a toy horse, the idea of balance (bean bags on head), throw a ball/bounce a ball, using a spoon to eat, just to name a few.
I use to work with one year old’s in a pre-school environment. We would also use our imaginations a lot. Imagine what you can do with a box. Pretend your rowing a boat, racing a car, Puppet shows.
Exploring outdoors is most important, this is where they learn about the world, sun, sky, grass. Magnifying glasses are neat, any outdoor exploring toys, or just a bird feeder, so they can watch/explore birds. Just some ideas, hope it helps.
Good Luck,
Ace