Play Time
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Rainbow Stacking To...
$40.00This tall and colorful stacking toy features 10 brightly colored rings on a blue base with a natural wooden dowel at its center. A classic wooden toy that grows with the child,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pebbles Blocks Fire
$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...
Dena Silicone Large Rainbow Neon
$55.00Dena Silicone Large Rainbow is manufactured with platinum silicone, which is BPA free, PVC Free, Latex Free, Phthalate Free, and 100% safe. Platinum silicone is a soft material that feels great...
Maileg Maileg Big Sister Princess Mouse Doll...
$28.00The little princess is dressed in her finest dress, shawl, and golden-grown. This royal mouse can be paired with Big Brother Prince Mouse. Maileg Big Sister Princess Mouse Doll Dusty...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Turtle
$18.00 – $28.00Splash! Bashful Turtle is here and flipping gorgeous! This gentle turtle has a soft grey-beigey shell and flopsy, minty, chunky flippers! A perfect companion for trips to the seaside, this...
Jellycat Jellycat Tawny Reindeer
$60.00Tawny Reindeer has the coziest coat on, in a two-tone fluff. This elegant deer has soft caramel fur and brown booties to match her antlers. The delicately detailed ears, stitched eyelashes,...
Jellycat Jellycat Birdling Cardinal
$17.00Adorable little Birdling Cardinal has elegant red fluffy fur and a typical black face. They are aggressive when defending their territory but loves to sing different melodies. Suitable from birth. Hand wash only;...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Red Hearts Building...
$48.00Making sculptures and training fine motor skills. Also ideal as a desk toy and a wonderful decoration. These fantastic building blocks open new possibilities in building and creating, in combination...
Maileg Maileg Little Brother Beach Mouse in ...
$34.00Little Brother Mouse is ready to join Big Brother Mouse to swim! Matches his striped swim shorts is a yellow beach towel and floaters. His cozy cabin is also always ready when...
Jellycat Jellycat Fuddlewuddle Medium Dragon
$30.00Jellycat’s Fuddlewuddle Dragon 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 Unicorn
$25.00 – $67.50Sugar-sweet in pink and white, Bashful Unicorn is such a delight. Full of magic and moonlight, she loves the forest, so be sure to take her on any picnic. So...
Jellycat Jellycat Louie Lion
$32.50 – $120.00Louie Lion is a glamorous fellow, with a silky mane, soft honey fur and a milk-white muzzle. Loveably lazy, this royal rascal has a long tassel tail and soft, squishy...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Little Land Yachts ...
$100.00Your child is the captain of these vessels, as they sail the Seven Seas -- rolling along on any smooth surface! Included on board each is a captain of the...
Jellycat Jellycat Odyssey Octopus
$18.00 – $130.00Dive to the depths for high adventure with wonderful Odyssey Octopus! Squishably soft in sea-moss green, with eight super-squiggly springy arms, Odyssey loves to give cordy cuddles. A splendid friend...
Jellycat Jellycat Fuddlewuddle Cat Medium
$30.00Fuddlewuddle Cat is a cocoa cutie, with scrumple-soft fur in warm mocha brown. With a long, lazy tail, squashy trumpet paws and double-cream ears and muzzle, this ruffly truffle will...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Mixed Forest Toy
$24.00The small Mixed Forest is perfect in combination with our building blocks. Perfect to combine with: Grimm's Houses, Geo-Blocks, Small Bobbins, and 7 Friends Authentic Grimm's Mixed Forest Toy Details:...
Jellycat Jellycat Bartholomew Bear
$25.00 – $50.00Tawny-tousled and full of softness, Jellycat Bartholomew Bear is the perfect bedtime buddy. Read him a story, sing him a teddy bear lullaby, or maybe just rest on his fluffy...
Jellycat Jellycat Tails Book Garden Blue
$18.50JellyCat’s Garden Tails Book enables your little one to play with a variety of soft and safe textures that have a variety of vibrant colors! This cuddly cloth book...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Hippo Lilac
$28.00This quirkly cute critter from Jellycat is perfect for an abundance of affection! Super soft to touch and weighed down with beans in it's bottom, it's hard to ever put...
Maileg Maileg Iron and Ironing Board Toy
$22.00The new iron and ironing board are sized just right for the dollhouse and just the right height for our Mini friends, including Size 1 Bunnies and Rabbits. Includes bright...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Wooden Large Truck ...
$34.00These rugged vehicles are impressive, simple in design, and easy to load. They work quite well off-road and are suitable for rides in the countryside. Vehicles don’t need a full...
Miniland Sensory Balls
$54.00The Miniland Sensory Balls are 100% made of natural rubber from hevea trees. Their especially soft natural material makes them very easy to grip and suitable for handling and biting by...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Puppy Toffee
$18.00 – $28.00Jellycat Bashful Puppy Toffee is a gorgeous retriever, but he’s still learning how to spell that! This supercute, soft little pup wants to be a guide dog when he grows...
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.