Play Time
Itzy Ritzy Bitzy Busy Ring Teething Activity Toy...
$14.00Teethe, Play & Explore! A sensory sensation, the Itzy Bitzy Busy Ring™ has all the love in the details with multiple features for the baby to explore. Textured teethers and...
Haba Haba Clutching Larum Toy
The Haba Clutching Larum is a versatile toy for your little one. Twist, bend, shake. A beech wood rattle on an elastic chord. Clutching is easy for small hands. Encourages...
Mudpuppy Board Book Set Little Artists
$14.99Mudpuppy's Little Artist Board Book Set is comprised of colorfully illustrated portraits of visual and performing artists who have made a historical impact on the world. Illustrations by Lydia Ortiz and words...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Lamb
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Bunny Beige
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Unicorn
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Black and Cream ...
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Smudge Elephant
$15.00Soft and soothing this doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Hand-wash only; do not tumble dry, dry clean or...
Bella Tunno Happy Links Soft Bloom
$15.00The Happy Links set includes 5 links for teething playing and organizing. Attach them to the stroller, rocker, play gym, or carrier to bring the fun wherever you go. ...
Bella Tunno Happy Links Cool Sky
$15.00The Happy Links set includes 5 links for teething playing and organizing. Attach them to the stroller, rocker, play gym, or carrier to bring the fun wherever you go. ...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Carrot
$15.00Cordy, colorful, cute, and kooky, that's Vivacious Vegetable Carrot! Gorgeously textured and squeezably soft, this bright orange buddy has a punky green leaf-do! A veggie with plenty of energy, this...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Eggplant
$15.00Vivacious Vegetable Egg Plant just arrived in a very special veg box! Stretchy-soft in blush plum fur, with a sweet friendly smile and a green stalk hat, this one is...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Small Donkey
$15.00Time for a trot with this fuzzy, squashy donkey! Hee-haw! That’s Bashful Donkey chuckling. He’s a practical joker who loves to play pranks! He’s a softy though, in squashy...
Bella Tunno Bella Tunno Happy Links Ombre
$15.00The Bella Tunno Happy Links set includes 5 links for teething playing and organizing. Attach them to the stroller, rocker, play gym, or carrier to bring the fun wherever you go. ...
Hape Stay Put Rattle Set
$16.00Babies will be enchanted by the Stay-put Rattle Set’s differing sounds, bright colors, and aquatic animals. Moreover, with their handy suction cups, playtime is possible anywhere, anytime! Age: 0+ Months...
Chewbeads Baby Gramercy Stroller Toy Grey
$16.00100% silicone baby car seat toy and stroller toy attachment. The soft and flexible design adds a great distraction for curious babies who like to touch, tug, and chew on...
Chewbeads Baby Gramercy Stroller Toy Rainbow
$16.00100% silicone baby car seat toy and stroller toy attachment. The soft and flexible design adds a great distraction for curious babies who like to touch, tug, and chew on...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Stim Mobile To Go
$16.00The beloved infant stim-mobile is now available on the go! We've turned the award-winning infant stim-mobile into a compact, easy-to-attach stroller mobile. This mobile features six reversible cards that contain...
Manhattan Toy My UFO
$16.00My UFO will instantly abduct baby's attention, with bright colors and a rotating bottom half that clicks. The internal rattle ball will keep your young one occupied for hours. This...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Black and White Co...
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board book material, these cards will stand up...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Original Collection
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board book material, these cards will stand up...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Ocean
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board, these cards will stand up to baby's...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Farmer's Market Peas in a Pod
$16.00Zip open this soft velvety pod and there are three little peas tethered inside - one with crinkle paper, one that rattles, and one that squeaks - each with sweet...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Rainforest Collection
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board book material, these cards will stand up...
Play is essential for children because it contributes to their intellectual, physical, emotional and social development. When children play, they exercise their creativity, develop their imagination, master their dexterity, improve their cognitive ability and build physical strength. Experts agree that the best kinds of play allow kids to set their own goals, negotiate challenges, develop and share ideas, and make their own rules.
But how can we make sure our kids are getting enough healthy, unstructured play time when they’re growing up in an overscheduled and stressful environment, when parents are overly focused on producing high academic achievers, and safety concerns prevent us from letting our kids roam around freely and unsupervised? Perhaps the best thing we can do for our kids is to make sure they have the right kinds of toys at home to make play time most rewarding.
First and foremost is safety. Safe toys for young children are sturdy, without sharp parts or splinters, free of pinching hazards, and easy to clean. If the toy will be used by an infant, it’s important that parts aren’t small enough to become a choking hazard.
Toys must be made from non-toxic materials and coated with lead-free paints. You should steer clear of antique toys, second-hand toys and homemade toys that have not been tested and approved by a certified testing lab, or may have been produced before the current regulations governing toy manufacturing were in effect.
In addition to being safe, a good toy will match the child’s appropriate stage of development and abilities.
The best baby activity toys for infants between 0-6 months are things they can reach, grasp, suck on, shake, and make noise with. Some age-appropriate toys for little babies are squeeze toys, teething toys, soft dolls, textured balls, and board books.
Infants between 6-12 months are starting to crawl, sit up and pull themselves to a standing position. They are capable putting things in and out of containers and placing objects on top of each other. Some of the best baby activity toys for this age group are dolls, vehicles with wheels, bath toys, large beads, nesting toys, large soft blocks, wooden blocks, and push & pull toys.
As your child continues to grow, look for toys that will encourage them to explore, create, pretend, imagine, and learn from trial and error.