Play Time
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Baby Koala
$7.99With a plush finger puppet permanently attached to the book and peek-a-boo holes in every page, this charming board book is a fun way for parents and children to play...
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Baby Fish
$7.99With a plush finger puppet permanently attached to the book and peek-a-boo holes in every page, this charming board book is a fun way for parents and children to play...
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Baby T Rex
$7.99Newborns will love snuggling up with Baby T. Rex! Baby T. Rex learns to stomp, roar, and explore her world before drifting off to bedtime with her loving family. Featuring...
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Little Love Bug
$7.99Little Love Bug Finger Puppet Book is a sweet, entertaining board book with a finger puppet built right in. In this feel-good finger puppet book, a parent and their little...
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Baby Narwhal
$7.99Baby Narwhal swims, dives, meets new friends and drifts off to bedtime with his family. Featuring a plush finger puppet that peeks into each lovingly illustrated page, this entry in...
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Little Moose
$7.99Tiny tots will enjoy going for a dip in a mountain lake with an adventurous calf in Little Moose. These simple, comforting stories feature a permanently attached plush finger puppet and...
Bear Company Shaker Ratle Lamby Lamb
$9.00Adorably cute rattle toy with plastic shake ring. This soft plush shaker rattle provides comfort and is a fun play activity for newborns and babies. A great gift for baby...
Itzy Ritzy Silicone Teething Mitts Bunny
$9.99Itzy Ritzy Teething Mitts are safe on baby’s gums, and the glove design keeps the baby from getting scratches on his or her face. It's also ideal for babies who...
Bear Company Shaker Rattle Lil Alma Llama
$10.00Adorably cute rattle toy with plastic shake ring. This soft plush shaker rattle provides comfort and is a fun play activity for newborns and babies. A great gift for baby...
Manhattan Toy Atom Teether Toy
$12.00The Atom Teether Toy is out of this world! Twelve bendy arms perfect for teething, surround the colorful plastic ball center. Each arm features vibrantly colored plastic clacking rings that...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Mini Apple Farm Avocado
$12.00Fruity fun for little ones on the go! This avocado travel toy has a variety of soft textured fabrics, crinkle leaf, embedded chime and embroidered facial features. The pit features...
Manhattan Toy Activity Toy Under The Sea Narwhal
$12.00Under The Sea Narwhal activity toy features a variety of fabric textures, soft sparkly tusk and giggle function. These Under The Sea-themed travel toys all feature a C-clip for easy...
LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething Ring Set Pastel
$12.00LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething Ring Set Pastel is lightweight and easy to grab and hold for soothing teething relief. Free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and cadmium. LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething Ring...
LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething Ring Set Ginger Honey
$12.00LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething Ring Set Ginger Honey is lightweight and easy to grab and hold for soothing teething relief. Free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and cadmium. LouLou Lollipop Wild Teething...
Bella Tunno Under the Sea Teething Flashcards
$13.00These are not your average flashcards. They are learning tools that are also toys and teethers. A trifecta of toys. A hattrick of teethers, a three-peat of learning. LEARN: ...
Bella Tunno Count On It Teething Flashcards
$13.00These are not your average flashcards. They are learning tools that are also toys and teethers. A trifecta of toys. A hattrick of teethers, a three-peat of learning. LEARN: ...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Polar Bear
$13.50Jellycat’s exciting If I were a polar bear book is colorful and sturdy enough for your child to grip by themselves, perfect for interactive play. Product Details: Suitable from birth. Features...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Puppy Black...
$13.50If you were a dog for a day, would you chase rabbits or roll around in the garden? Would you have long ears or pointy ones? So many questions! Looks...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Lamb
$13.50If I Were a Lamb' is a leaping, springing, joyful ride through the imagination. Little lamb fans can picture being a lamb with this fun and funky board book. They...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were an Elf
$13.50Skip into Santa's workshop with If I were an Elf! This beautiful board book has fun feely panels and lots of jolly, joyful pictures. A present to whirl little helpers...
Chewbeads Chewpals Teether Dinosaur
$14.00Chewbeads’ Chew Pals Dinosaur Teether is perfect for distracting your little one anywhere and ideal for soothing their sore gums with its textured surface! The size of this teether is...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Cactus Garden Jet Bee
$14.00Jet, the bee themed travel toy features a crinkle paper wing, knotted string antennae and soft ribbon loop legs. This little bumble jiggles when you pull the bee down from...
Fat Brain Toys Dimpl Clutch
$14.00The Fat Brain Toys Dimpl Clutch has three unique sensory experiences ready to clip and go anywhere! Each Clutch features a dimpl bubble on one end and squishy silicone textures...
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...
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.