Play Time
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Puppy Black...
$13.50If you were a dog for a day, would you chase rabbits or roll around in the garden? Would you have long ears or pointy ones? So many questions! Looks...
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 Koala
$13.50Do you like climbing trees? How about eating leaves? If I Were A Koala is a charming chunky board book, with feely panels and joyful pictures. Tots can ponder being...
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 a Sloth
$13.50If I Were A Sloth is a beautiful board book in search of curious readers! Discover a world up high in the trees, with feely panels and fabulous pictures! Fluffy,...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Rabbit Grey
$13.50If I Were A Rabbit is a beautiful board book that's so much fun to read together. Encouraging tots to think and create, this bouncing bunny is a story star....
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...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Hedgehog
$13.50What would it be like to have spines and paws? The If I Were A Hedgehog Board Book invites little ones to think and imagine. With tough board pages and...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Butterfly
$13.50A beautiful board book for your little ones to enjoy, full of feely panels and perky pictures! Have a think and a giggle, flap your wings and play make-believe, butterfly...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Flamingo
$13.50Take a dip in the lake and spread your wings with If I Were A Flamingo! A beautiful board book for tots to enjoy, full of feely panels and perky...
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Turtle
$13.50This adorable board book wonders what it would be like to live as a turtle. Imaginative and colorful, this little book is sure to be a hit with your child....
Jellycat Jellycat Book If I were a Penguin
$13.50Little Jellycat, in association with the Council For Promoting How Brilliant Penguins Are, presents the If I Were A Penguin Board Book! Bright, fun and very strong, with a cute...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Radish
$13.50More stretchy than crunchy, Vivacious Radish is a refreshing friend! Perky in pink-white ombre fur, with a plume of stitchy green velour leaves, this affable vegetable pops up to say...
Fat Brain Toys Teeting PipSquigz Loops Orange
$14.00Little 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...
Fat Brain Toys Teething PipSquigz Loops Teal
$14.00Little 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...
Chewbeads Chewpals Teether Dinosaur
$14.00Chewbeads’ Chew Pals Dinosaur Teether is perfect for distracting your little one anywhere and ideal for soothing their sore gums with its textured surface! The size of this teether is...
Penguin Pop Up Ocean Book
$14.00Dive into a cool underwater who’s who and what’s what of the sea in this palm-size pop-up treasure. Discover ocean dwellers like the crab, octopus, and sea horse as they...
Penguin Pop Up Things That Go Book
$14.00Modes of transportation are exciting and ever popular — and here they get an attractive makeover in a kid-friendly pop-up with pages of things that go, from ice-cream trucks to...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Cherry
$14.00The bubbly Fabulous Fruit Cherry buddies are stretchy-soft and squidgy in scarlet! These twins share a stalk in cocoa brown and a groovy green leaf with stitchy detail. Fuzzy, friendly,...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Banana
$14.00Fabulous Fruit Banana is so laid-back, lounging in stretchy golden fur! With a dapper brown stalk, stitchy peel and a splendid sunny smile, this bright banana might just hang out...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Orange
$14.00Fabulous Fruit Orange is holiday-happy, with zingy, stretchy, summery fur! Jolly and juicy, with cute stitchy freckles, this citrus silly wears a green leaf as a sun-hat! Time to find...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Apple
$14.00Goodness me! It's Fabulous Fruit Apple! With short, stretchy fur in fresh orchard green, this friendly fruit is squishably soft. Sporting a sweet stalk and deep green leaf, our apple...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Melon
$14.00Fabulous Fruit Melon brings the summer every day, with a green textured rind and squashy golden fur. Stretchy-soft, this chunky champ is even shaped like a smile. Grab a slice...
Jellycat Jellycat Fabulous Fruit Strawberry
$14.00Bursting with scrumptious stitchy seeds, it's Fabulous Fruit Strawberry! Squishy and stretchy in rich red fur, this merry berry has a mop of soft green leaves! Pick this poppet for...
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.