Play Time
Rattan Doll Day Bed Meadow
$130.00Tuck me in! Poppie’s fashionable day bed will provide the basis for endless play. Children love to play mummy or daddy, placing their soft toys under blankets and telling them made-up stories. For...
Maileg Maileg Bunny Albina Plush Toy
$32.00This adorable and soft Bunny Albina has a floral detail on her ears and a pink ribbon on her neck. Washing instruction: 30 C Material: Linen Height: 8.27 inches
Cuddle + Kind Cuddle + Kind Hand Knit Doll Claire t...
$72.00 – $92.00I live in a beautiful treehouse perched high in the sky. Won’t you come to visit me? We can go on adventures in the magical treetops, take long, delicious naps,...
Gund Gund Happy Birthday Puppy Animated Toy
$40.00Animated Birthday Puppy Sings Happy Birthday! Candle lights up. A perfect cuddle buddy for your little one. 3 AA replaceable batteries are included Size: 10in H x 7in W x...
Maileg Maileg Bunny Size 3 Doll Red Dress
$54.00The bunny & rabbit collection is made of soft natural linen & cotton fabric - which gives a lovely hand feel and look. This bunny wears a red dress -...
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...
Dena Silicone Small Rainbow Nature
$27.00Dena Silicone Small 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...
Dena Silicone Kids & Houses 6 Pack Nature
$50.00Dena Silicone Kids & Houses are 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...
Abrams Appleseed Book Cityblock
$16.95Cityblock explores city life in an exciting and unique way, from up in a high-rise building to down in the subway. Divided into three sections—things that go, things to see, and...
Maileg Maileg Set of 3 Micro Rabbit Doll
$78.00This sweet rabbit in micro size is dressed in a striped suit knitted in a soft linen/cotton blend. It fits all the micro size furniture and will secure many hours...
N&L Find Bunny Plush Toy Pink with Gray Ears
$33.00 – $106.00Bunny in Pink with Gray Ears! Looking for tiny, loving person to cuddle and can be your child's best friend, or companion in sleep, on a journey, and in playing. Perfect as...
N&L Find Bunny Plush Toy Gray with Gray Ears
$33.00 – $106.00Bunny in Gray with Gray Ears! Looking for tiny, loving person to cuddle and can be your child's best friend, companion in sleep, on a journey, and in playing. Perfect as a...
Smart Games Smartmax Start
$42.00Have fun building incredible structures with SmartMax! SmartMax allows children to explore magnetism safely. The oversized pieces are specifically designed for handling by young kids as they learn about the...
Scoot and Ride Highwaykick 1 Convertible Scooter Kiwi
$130.00Scoot & Ride HighwayKick 1 is a 2-in-1 kickboard that provides a seat for its littlest riders. When your child is ready, the seat easily folds into the handlebar converting the...
Tegu Magnetic Wooden Swivel Bug Pink and P...
$16.00Twist & Pull this Swivel Bug to experience the magic of magnets! Turn the wings and then flip them back into place to hear the magnets “click!” together. Experiment with...
Tegu Original Pocket Pouch Magnetic Wooden...
$32.00The Pocket Pouch is the perfect introduction to the world of Tegu magnetic wooden blocks. It's just the right sized toy for the purse, restaurant, airplane, or desk. Age: 12...
Bajo Wooden Animal Gorilla
$64.00This adorable wooden Gorilla is lightweight and easy to play with. Their limbs can be moved so your child can imitate the real movements of the living endangered species. They...
Sabo Concept Wooden Castle Building Blocks Light Pink
$125.00Let your child's imagination run wild with this beautiful Castle Building Blocks Set that features all the shapes needed to build their own castle, city, race track, or whatever their creative minds...
Sabo Concept Wooden Rainbow Toy Mustard
$58.00This set of 7 gorgeous rainbow stacking elements come nested inside each other. Let the creativity of your child grow as they can building mazes and tunnels for cars, making mountains and...
Sabo Concept Wooden Rainbow Toy Marsala
$58.00This set of 7 gorgeous rainbow stacking elements come nested inside each other. Let the creativity of your child grow as they can building mazes and tunnels for cars, making mountains and...
Sabo Concept Wooden Multicolored Cubes 24 Pieces Set
$54.00These 24 pieces of wooden cubes set are made out of linden tree covered with water-based paint that you can see the structure of wood through. Together with deep unconventional...
Wee Gallery Wooden Stacker Bear
$28.00This sweet bear is ready to stack like this and stack like that! These Wood Stackers are designed to help the baby's hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and imagination with the added...
Maileg Maileg Bunny Size 4 Plush Toy Night Suit
$68.00This lovely bunny will be sure to make any child extremely happy! She gets cozy for the night her red and white striped night suit that is as soft as...
Maileg Maileg Best Friends Doll Kitten
$38.00Best Friend Kitten is the "Purrfect" companion. You can find this friend playing Peek a Boo from inside the beautiful gift box. Kitty will arrive wearing a pomegranate stripe top...
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.