Babies 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...
Hape’s Walk-A-Long is the perfect toy for your little walking explorer, with a pull-string so that he/she can take a friend for play on-the-go! Suitable for children 12m+ Includes snail...
Hape’s Walk-A-Long Puppy is the perfect adorable toy for your little walking explorer, with a pull-string so that he/she can take a friend for play on-the-go! Suitable for children 12m+...
Kiko+ & gg* UFO Wooden Balance Game is an intergalactic game for little outer space fans. Can you help the aliens board their wobbly UFO and get back to their galaxy far far...
The Twirly Whirly Rainbomaker is a delightful real musical instrument which creates a captivating combination of sound and colour. By turning the Rainbomaker, baby will be able to watch as...
This rubber rattle from the ocean buddies collection. Easy-grip for smaller hands. Each marine animal character has an enclosed rattle that creates a soft sound when shaken. Sound Toys, like...
Tsumiki means "building block" in Japanese. This doll-house-shaped wooden block set has beautifully soft colors. A magnetic cover conceals a magical world of shapes just waiting to be piled up,...
This wood activity center is packed full of exciting features! Includes 4 quadrants in the shape of a tree with a variety of activities for baby: 6 tracks with animal-themed...
Introducing TouchThinkLearn books, a format unlike any other. Combining scooped-out die-cuts with raised, shaped elements, each book is designed to offer the youngest learners an irresistible opportunity to explore their...
Everything needed for an afternoon Jam session! this music set of 4 different instruments is perfect for young musicians to explore and discover their talents. Ages 12+ months
A mushroom-themed fill and spill adventure. This whimsical mushroom is covered in a variety of fabric textures and offers fill and spill play for busy little ones. It comes with...
This set contains many of the farm animals the kids know and are the perfect girth for the child’s hand to grab and play with. The packaging of this set...
Little explorers can’t help but get sucked into the sensory excitement of these bendy, rattly, chewy, suction-cup creations!Their vivid textures instantly inspire little fingers to grab and feel while their...
Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Little explorers can’t help but get sucked into the sensory excitement of these bendy, rattly, chewy, suction-cup creations!Their vivid textures instantly inspire little fingers to grab and feel while their...
For baby’s first steps in life 30 alphabet cubes (upper and lower case letters) and numbers. An abacus to play at counting. Dimensions 43.5 x 35 x 41 cm (17.1...
Let the good times shake, rattle and roll! Tap your hand on the wooden play surface or rattle in one hand to make a sound like rain with the multi-colored...
Sweet Nibble Bunny is sweet, tender, and oh-my-gosh unbelievably soft. This stuffed animal has a hand-embroidered face, pink cheeks, and a big fluffy tail. Features rosewater pink and warm white fur, with...
Sweet Nibble Bunny is sweet, tender, and oh-my-gosh unbelievably soft. This stuffed animal has a hand-embroidered face, pink cheeks, and a big fluffy tail. Features eggnog cream and warm white fur, with...
Bananas the Monkey is as much fun as, well, a barrel of monkeys! This 16-inch monkey stuffed animal is adorable in super soft brown Nibble Fur, and has a friendly...
This beautiful multi-activity push-along walker toy is great for helping children learn to walk. It’s suitable for children aged 12 months and over and comes with an invisible, removable brake...
This wooden early-years toy lives up to its name! What could be more fun for little ones aged 12 months and over than picking up the pretty wooden hammer and...
Your child will love to walk this pretty wooden turtle with its rainbow shell composed of 6 wooden arcs of circles. The rainbows pile up at will to form an...
Chewbeads Sunshine Stacker Teether is the perfect addition to any playroom. Made with 100% silicone, this colorful and safe stacking toy provides a world of entertainment, plus introduces fine motor skills, counting,...
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.