Play Time
Mudpuppy Ring Flashcards My ABC's
$16.00These flashcards will help children learn their ABCs using colorful pictures! The back of the card pictures uppercase letters. Use as flashcards, practice sorting by color or type, or separate...
Mudpuppy Ring Flashcard Little Learner
$16.00Little Learner Ring Flash Cards from Mudpuppy teach children age 1 years+ colors, shapes, and numbers with modern, high-contrast artwork. The re-closable ring makes these sturdy flashcards convenient for on-the-go...
Manhattan Toy My UFO
$16.00My UFO will instantly abduct baby's attention, with bright colors and a rotating bottom half that clicks. The internal rattle ball will keep your young one occupied for hours. This...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Ocean
$16.00Babies 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...
Wee Gallery Art Cards Baby Animals Collection
$16.00Babies 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...
Wee Gallery Wee Galley Art Cards For Baby Jungle ...
$16.00Babies 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...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bee
$16.50 – $25.00If you like to plant flowers, Bashful Bee has a few requests! He loves lilac, honeysuckle, and poppies - perfect for making heavenly honey! This beautiful bug is a real...
Jellycat Jellycat Storm Octopus
$16.50 – $53.00Storm Octopus is a bubbly sort, and you would be too, with eight amazing tentacles! Squishy and cheery in terrific teal, this softy is scrummy to curl up with. Shake...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bunny Cream
$16.50 – $100.00Bashful 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 to let go. Irresistibly cute and...
Sophie La Giraffe Bath Sophie Blue
$16.99The Sophie Bath Toy by Calisson from the Sophie La Girafa is the perfect addition to the tub to make bath time fun! Floats When squeezed, the Sophie bath toy...
Jellycat Jellycat Birdling Dove
$17.00Cute little Jellycat Birdling Dove has elegant creamed white fluffy fur. He loves to rise up early in the morning! Jellycat Birdling Dove Details: Suitable from birth. Hand wash only; do...
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;...
Jellycat Jellycat Birdling Robin
$17.00A gorgeously soft and squidgy Birdling Robin has a snuggly soft orange cream and brown fur with a suedey bill. He loves to fly around the garden and chirp all day. ...
Sophie La Giraffe Sophie Bath Book
$18.00The Sophie Bath Book by Calisson is the perfect addition to the tub to make bath time fun! Features: Book consists of 8 pages filled with different kinds of...
Hape Happy Buckets Toy Set
$18.00Three colourful buckets featuring water drainage providing fun interactions. Perfect for water play! Fill up the buckets with water, bubbles or carry your bath time friends around in the pails....
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 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 Bashful Dragon
$18.00 – $28.00Bashful Dragon is a fierce little friend, with plenty of attitudes! With super soft fur in pale sage green, suedey horns, and a long, squidgy tail, this brilliant beastie is...
Jellycat Jellycat Blossom Bunny Blush
$18.00 – $28.00Jellycat 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 to let go. Irresistibly cute and...
Sophie La Giraffe Bath Sophie Yellow
$18.00The Sophie Bath Toy by Calisson from the Sophie La Girafa is the perfect addition to the tub to make bath time fun! Floats When squeezed, the Sophie bath toy...
Bunnies By the Bay Bye Bye Buddy Plush Toy Bunny Grey
This security blanket is ready to be on the go. With a handy loop on the back to attach to the car seat, stroller or crib you're sure to never...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bunny Tulip Pink
$18.00 – $28.00Bashful Bunny is a popular fellow with scrummy-soft Jellycat fur and lovely long flopsy ears mean that with just one cuddle, you’ll never want to let go. Irresistibly cute and...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Black and Cream Puppy
$18.00 – $80.00Silky-soft and lovingly loyal, Bashful Black & Cream Puppy wants to play all day! He comes in five sizes, from huge and huggable to itsy bitsy baby. His smudgy black...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Giraffe
$18.00 – $28.00The perfect present for a caring keeper, Jellycat Bashful Giraffe is loving and loyal, if a little shy! His toffee and white fur is as velvety as can be, 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.