Play Time
Jellycat Jellycat Smudge Large Elephant
$75.00Smudge Elephant loves naptime, and keeps falling asleep on the march! Flop this supersoft silly down to sit on those squishable trumpet paws. With warm grey-brown fur, bright black eyes...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Semi Circles ...
$63.00This unique Semicircle Platform Building Set opens the door to a world of new possibilities for budding architects! Included are 11 wooden half-round pieces, each of diminishing size. These versatile platforms can be...
Jellycat Jellycat Odell Octopus
$18.00 – $130.00Get tangled up with gorgeous Odell Octopus! A squishy, splendid brick-red octopus, she has so much love to give! Smiley and silly, with bright, glossy eyes, she's a very friendly...
Jellycat Jellycat Dashing Dog
$70.00 – $120.00Flopsy, friendly Dashing Dog is as soft and creamy as an ice-cream sundae! Mottled in grey, with cute foldy ears, this loyal layabout will be your best friend. Don't forget...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Lion
$18.00 – $67.50For the King of the Beasts, Bashful Lion is looking sweetly, well, bashful! He wants a caring companion to ruffle his luxurious caramel mane. Give this squeezy, butter-bellied big cat...
Jellycat Jellycat Fuddlewuddle Medium Puppy
$30.00Jellycat’s Fuddlewuddle Puppy is the perfect cuddly companion for your little one anywhere, whether it is snuggling in bed at night or during a nice stroll in the park. Product...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Medium Raccoon
$25.00So, so soft and ever so pretty, Bashful Raccoon is a brilliant soft toy buddy for bedtime. This cuddly raccoon, with her cloudy-soft fur and fuzzy brown nose, is the...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Pony
$16.50 – $80.00Bashful Pony has caramel charm, with soft hooves, round tum, and silky mane and tail! A fabulous foal in toffee tones, with a peachy muzzle and perky ears, this trot...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Fudge Puppy
$18.00 – $67.50Bashful Fudge Puppy loves trotting along and snuffling about for sticks! A cocoa-cream spaniel with rumply ears, a podgy tum, and long tufty paws, this poppet pup loves sharing big...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Seven Wooden Friend...
$58.00These 7 little rainbow friends in 7 matching bowls are a wonderful Waldorf toy for any kiddo! These friends have simple forms to allow little ones' creative spark. Play with...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Medium Penguin
$27.50A fuzzy, cuddly penguin makes a perfect playtime companion and bedtime buddy for your little one. Jellycat Bashful Medium Penguin Details: Hand wash cold, air dry Size 9" H
Jellycat Jellycat Percy Penguin
$27.50 – $40.00Perky Percy Penguin will toddle and waddle right into your arms! A squat little sweetie, this fluffy grey chick still has his baby feathers! With supercute markings in charcoal and...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Handpainted Small H...
$74.00Grimm’s Hand-painted Small Houses is the perfect toy set for your little builder to create cities or villages with houses, barns, towers, and more! Authentic Grimm's Handpainted Small Houses Toy...
Manhattan Toy Soft Activity Book Deer One
$18.00Soft textured fabrics for tummy-time play. The animal-themed soft activity book folds out flat doubling its as a pat-mat for tummy time. Each page features nostalgic illustrations, various fabric textures,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pebbles Blocks Flam...
$23.00These pebble blocks are perfect for balance and stacking challenges, decorating scenic play, making a stony puppet show landscape, and building cairns. This four-piece set is painted in gorgeous graduated...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Semi circles ...
$63.00This unique Semicircle Platform Building Set opens the door to a world of new possibilities for budding architects! Included are 11 wooden half-round pieces, each of diminishing size. These versatile platforms can be...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pastel Rainbow Toy ...
$34.00Grimm’s Pastel Rainbow is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Your toddler can have endless fun stacking the rainbow, and as they grow your children can use the...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's 30 Colored Geo Blocks
$45.00A smaller, beginner set of 30 colored wooden blocks in geometric shapes. The thirty pieces include triangles. cubes and rectangles. The unvarnished finish helps prevent the blocks from slipping while...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Dino
$18.00 – $28.00Most dinosaurs were scaly and tough, but Bashful Dino is the softest stegosaurus we’ve ever snuggled! He likes to stomp around so his squishy spines wobble, and practice his adorable...
Jellycat Jellycat Mellow Mallow Pig
$26.50Mellow Mallow Pig is a pink delight! This cushion-soft pig has a huge squishy muzzle, wrinkly legs, and stretchy-warm grey pink- perfect for dozy cuddles. Wee foldy ears, a little straight...
Jellycat Jellycat Leffy Elf
$20.00 – $27.50Leffy Elf is a helpful pal, making toys and games for Santa. It's cold at the North Pole, so Leffy's cheeks are as red as those boots and candy cane...
Jellycat Jellycat Beatrice Butterfly
$33.00Fluttering in with a cheeky grin, it's beautiful Beatrice Butterfly! Rosy and cozy with a beany bottom, soft textured wings and suedey antennae, this bobbly buddy loves yummy nectar and...
Jellycat Jellycat Blossom Bunny Sage
$18.00 – $28.00Playful and sweet, with flowery feet! Blossom BUnny is a popular fellow with scrummy-soft Jellycat fur and lovely long flopsy ears means that with just one cuddle, you’ll never want...
Jellycat Jellycat Wally Whale
$23.50 – $32.50Fresh from the ocean and full of smiles, it's wonderful Wally Whale! He's a beautiful buddy with vibrant teal fur and the softest, most tickly underbelly. This quirky whale holds...
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.