Play Time
Rubbabu Bouncy Ball Toy Torpedo Aqua
$6.00 – $10.00A soft, velvety ball that bounces well on floors and carpets. Made from foamed natural rubber it's squishy and safe for babies and toddlers. The tactile texture makes it fun...
Abrams Appleseed Book My Grandma Is Great!
$7.99Is your grandma more fabulous than a flock of flamingos?More magical than a million mermaids?More adventurous than a pack of pirates? Celebrate all the things that make Grandma great with...
Abrams Appleseed Book My Grandpa Is Grand!
$7.99Is your grandpa more fun than a ton of treehouses?More adventurous than a sea of sailors?Smarter than a school of fish? Celebrate all the things that make Grandpa grand with...
Abrams Appleseed Book Bananas For You!
$7.99From the superstar creators of My Mom Is Magical! and My Dad Is Amazing! comes this vibrant, humor-filled board book—the perfect way to tell your loved ones you're bananas for them. Do you...
Phaidon Press Boats Are Busy
$9.95The first book of boats for the youngest enthusiasts, featuring 15 different boats and a bonus nautical flag per vessel. From sailboats to ferry boats, tankers to clippers, young...
Mudpuppy Coloring Book Andy Warhol
$9.99Mudpuppy's Andy Warhol Coloring Book features the iconic pop artist's greatest hits ready to be colored in and customized by young artists. Introduce well-known classics like Andy's Campbell's Soup Cans...
Chronicle Books Let’s Look at Numbers
$9.99This book is the perfect introduction to counting, part of a brand-new series of board books Let's Look At ... and with beautiful artwork from bestselling author and illustrator Marion Deuchars. Make learning...
Chronicle Books Let’s Look at Shapes Board Book
$9.99Let’s look at shapes! With beautiful artwork from best-selling author and illustrator Marion Deuchars, this book is a fun and lively introduction to simple shapes. Boardbook 24 pages 11 images...
Abrams Appleseed Book In Your Cozy Bed
$9.99From Jo Witek and Christine Roussey, the team behind In My Heart and the Growing Hearts series comes this soothing bedtime board book, In Your Cozy Bed. Told from the point of view...
Penguin Where's the Dog Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Bear Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Rubbabu Little Vehicle Toy Car Fuchsia
$10.00The Rubbabu Fuchsia Car - is simple, safe and fun. With soft rubber foam wheels and a tactile fuzzy body this toy soon becomes a favorite. Easy to roll, safe...
Rubbabu Little Vehicle FireTruck Toy Red
$10.00The Rubbabu Fire Truck in red and black is a unique toy truck for ages 0+. Soft, simple and safe, it's perfect for long hours of pretend play. A handmade...
Rubbabu Little Vehicle Dump Truck Toy Orange
$10.00The little Rubbabu Little Vehicle Dumptruck, in bright orange, is a 4" soft toy car great for any age. It can be a nursery accessory for a newborn, a party...
Rubbabu Choo Choo Train
$10.00The Rubbabu Choo Choo Train is the smallest sized train and some say the cutest. Made from soft rubber foam with rubber wheels. Size: 3.5" Length Safe for ages: 0+...
Gibbs Smith Book Black and White/Blanco y Negro
$10.00The colors black and white paint a fun story in this bilingual Spanish/English board book. Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this charming board book...
Gibbs Smith Book Christmas Carol: A BabyLit Color...
$10.00This series celebrates the tradition of literary naturalists—writers who embrace the natural world as the setting for some of our most euphoric and serious experiences. These books map the intimate...
Gibbs Smith Book Good Night Buenas Noches
$11.00A bilingual slide-the-tab board book, with text in English and Spanish. Cleverly provides a number of gentle good night wishes for baby at bedtime, as baby along with the cat,...
Gibbs Smith Book Good Morning Buenos Dias
$11.00A bilingual slide-the-tab board book, with text in English and Spanish. Cleverly introduce basic ideas about what happens in the morning when you wake up, including a rooster crowing, an...
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...
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 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 a Dinosaur Or...
$13.50Life as a dino is one big stomp, as you'll find out in If I Were A Dinosaur! Happy, bold, and easy to hold, this board book is full of...
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...
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.