Play Time
Penguin Where's the Dog Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Bear Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Manhattan Toy Atom Teether Toy
$12.00The Atom Teether Toy is out of this world! Twelve bendy arms perfect for teething, surround the colorful plastic ball center. Each arm features vibrantly colored plastic clacking rings that...
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 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...
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...
Mudpuppy Board Book Set Little Artists
$14.99Mudpuppy's Little Artist Board Book Set is comprised of colorfully illustrated portraits of visual and performing artists who have made a historical impact on the world. Illustrations by Lydia Ortiz and words...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Lamb
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Bunny Beige
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Unicorn
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Black and Cream ...
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Sweetcorn
$15.00Vivacious Vegetable Sweetcorn is all dressed up in fresh field fashion! Sunshine-yellow, with bobble-soft kernels, this cuddly cob wears a stretchy green husk jacket. Just the thing for the summer...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Carrot
$15.00Cordy, colorful, cute, and kooky, that's Vivacious Vegetable Carrot! Gorgeously textured and squeezably soft, this bright orange buddy has a punky green leaf-do! A veggie with plenty of energy, this...
Jellycat Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Eggplant
$15.00Vivacious Vegetable Egg Plant just arrived in a very special veg box! Stretchy-soft in blush plum fur, with a sweet friendly smile and a green stalk hat, this one is...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Small Donkey
$15.00Time for a trot with this fuzzy, squashy donkey! Hee-haw! That’s Bashful Donkey chuckling. He’s a practical joker who loves to play pranks! He’s a softy though, in squashy...
Hape Stay Put Rattle Set
$16.00Babies will be enchanted by the Stay-put Rattle Set’s differing sounds, bright colors, and aquatic animals. Moreover, with their handy suction cups, playtime is possible anywhere, anytime! Age: 0+ Months...
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 Black and White Co...
$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 book material, these cards will stand up...
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby Original 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 book material, these cards will stand up...
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.