Play Time
Kaloo Lapinoo Rabbit Doll Blue
$34.00This cheerful blue rabbit has such long ears that you can hang it anywhere to keep it and never lose it. He can do anything with them: do headstands, go...
Kaloo Lapinoo Rabbit Doll Pink
$34.00This cheerful pink rabbit has such long ears that you can hang it anywhere to keep it and never lose it. He can do anything with them: do headstands, go...
Lilliputiens My First Noah's Ark Plush Toy
$86.00For all the little adventurers out there! Let your little one play with these different famous characters coming in pairs to board the boat. Watch your kids make up stories...
PlanToys PlanToys My First Camera Orchard
$15.00Get picture-perfect views of your surroundings with this PlanToys camera. Point, focus, and click the camera and see the different images through the kaleidoscope lens! Age: 18 months+ With a...
Jellycat Jellycat Smudge Rabbit
$35.00 – $75.00Smudge Rabbit is such a sleepy sweetie - always sprawling out, lazing on the bed or rug! Scrumptiously soft in oatmeal fur, this lop-eared laser just captures the heart. An...
alilo alilo Smart Bunny Baby Rattle Blue
$56.00Alilo Smart Bunny is a popular media companion especially designed for children aged 0-4 years. Due to its ease of use, robust material, and versatility, it encourages the kids’ creativity....
alilo alilo Smart Bunny Baby Rattle Pink
$56.00Alilo Smart Bunny is a popular media companion especially designed for children aged 0-4 years. Due to its ease of use, robust material, and versatility, it encourages the kids’ creativity....
Maileg Maileg Safari Friends Small Elephant ...
$24.00Safari Friends are made in the softest fabric. They can sit by themselves as they have beans in their bottom. They are just waiting for you to come and hug...
Maileg Maileg Safari Friends Rhino Plush Toy...
$28.00Safari Friends are made of the softest linen and are available in many different colors. They can sit and give the best hug you can imagine. Recommended age: All ages...
Maileg Maileg Rabbit Doll Size 2 Classic in ...
$38.00A classic rabbit made of soft natural linen and cotton fabric that gives a lovely hand feel and look. Size 2 rabbits fit into the Maileg dollhouse and all furniture...
Maileg Maileg Rabbit Doll Size 1 Brown in T-...
$34.00This little rabbit is sure to steal your heart! The rabbit looks very handsome in a striped sweater and complementary pants. Have fun watching your little one's imagination unfold to...
Maileg Maileg Rabbit Doll Size 1 Classic in ...
$34.00A classic rabbit made of soft natural linen and cotton fabric that gives a lovely hand feel and look. This adorable rabbit doll wears a classic striped t-shirt and brown...
Tender Leaf Toys Counting Carrots
$28.00Learning how to count has never been more fun with the carrot stacker. Teach your child to count to 10 with the numbered carrot rings. This toy also encourages color...
Tender Leaf Toys Sunshine Baby Activity Walker
$140.00A contemporary and stylish activity walker designed for toddlers learning to take their first steps. Inspired by the weather, including a sun that flips to a mirror, a windmill that...
Gibbs Smith Book Frankenstein: A BabyLit Anatomy ...
$12.00A BabyLit® Anatomy Primer BabyLit® is a fashionable way to introduce your toddler to the world of classic literature. With clever, simple text by Jennifer Adams, paired with stylish design...
Jellycat Jellycat Maurice Macaroni
$32.50Maurice Macaroni is a blue-grey penguin, gorgeously squat with a round cream bib and custard-yellow tufts. With waggly flippers, stitched suedette feet, and a down-turned piped orange bill, Maurice is...
Jellycat Jellycat Bartholomew Bear Bedtime
$30.00Tawny-tousled and full of softness, Jellycat Bartholomew Bear Bedtime is the perfect bedtime buddy. Wearing a red plaid pjs you can read him a story, sing him a teddy bear lullaby, or...
Abrams Appleseed Book Bugblock
$17.99Learn all about insects in Christopher Franceschelli’s Bugblock, a buzz-worthy addition to the bestselling Abrams Block Book series, featuring full-color art by David Partington, a member of Peski Studio. In Bugblock, readers will...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Moon
$30.00 – $60.00Gorgeously textured with velvety craters, Jellycat Amuseable Moon is full of fun! A midnight matey for bedtime hugs, this pearly-white pal is curvy and cuddly. With squidgy cord booties, a weighted...
Jellycat Jellycat Maya Octopus
$18.00 – $130.00With eight soft jumbo corduroy tentacles and a wide embroidered smile Jellycat Maya Octopus is the perfect companion for giving the biggest of hugs. Her sil-like fur in a dusky...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Rainbow Birthday Cake
$32.50 – $60.00Celebrate in color with Jellycat Amuseable Rainbow Birthday Cake! This joyful cake has four soft layers in pink, purple, yellow and green, fluffy icing with chocolate flecks and a suedette...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Ramen
$40.00Jellycat Amuseable Ramen is full of kawaii charm, from the cream-and-red bowl to the suedette chopsticks. Filled with wavy cord noodles, suedette spring onions and fluffy boiled eggs, as well...
Jellycat Jellycat Tails Book Kitten
$18.50The Jellycat Kitten Tails Activity Book is crammed with cats! This crinkle fabric book is full of fun pictures and kitty tails of many kinds! Cordy, stripey, spotty, fluffy –...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Taco
$33.00Jellycat Amuseable Taco is a bundle of fun with a very colorful hairdo! Fiesta-funky with foldy suedey lettuce and tomato, it's all about the green and scarlet! With a soft...
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.