Play Time
Manny & Simon Push Toy Grey Elephant
Manny and Simon's eco-friendly wooden Elephant push toy is a contemporary and brightly colored twist on classic kid's heirloom toys. With an easy-grip built-in handle perfect for little hands to grab...
Tonies Puss in Boots and Other Fairy Tales A...
$17.99A clever cat devises a plan to save his own skin by promising to transform his owner into a noble prince. Tracey Ullman narrates this adaption of the classic French...
Hape Pyramid of Play Blocks Toy
$35.00Hape’s Pyramid of Play is the ideal toy to get your little one to start practicing matching shapes and colors! Suitable for children 18m+ Includes five nesting blocks, each with...
Brio Railway Starter Set
$70.00The Railway Starter Set is everything you need to create your first train set and enter the BRIO World. The 26-piece railway set features a classic figure 8 track layout...
Brio Railway World Deluxe Set
$500.00The ultimate deluxe BRIO Railway set, everything you could ever want in a wooden train set. Who could resist this greatest-hits collection of our railway world? Here you’ll find all...
Magformers Rainbow 26 Piece Toy Set
$44.99Let your child’s imagination run wild with Magformers Rainbow 26 Piece Set and utilize all the shapes and magnets to bring their dreams to life. 2 Geometric Shapes. Step-by-step idea booklet...
Magformers Rainbow 50 Piece Toy Set
$79.99Create 3D structures from 2D nets with the Rainbow 50Pc Set. Little fingers can start using squares and triangles to build houses, towers and our ‘magic ball’. Learn our unique...
Magformers Rainbow 62 Piece Toy Set
$99.99Let your child’s imagination run wild with Magformers Rainbow 62 Piece Set and utilize all the shapes and magnets to bring their dreams to life. Includes 62 pieces; of these...
Hape Rainbow Bead Abacus Educational Toy
$30.00Count familiar items your child sees in your daily life, such as shirts, snacks, or plates at the table with Hape’s Rainbow Bead Abacus! Rainbow Bead Abacus Details: Suitable for...
Tender Leaf Toys Rainbow Birthday Cake
$26.00A wooden rainbow birthday cake topped with 6 brightly colored candles. Each cake slice is held together with velcro. Cut open the cake with the cake slice to reveal the...
Guidecraft Rainbow Blocks Shimmering Water
$40.00A great addition to the block plays family. Smooth hardwood frames with acrylic windows; choose from shimmering water, sand or crystal bead interiors. Sized to standard unit block measurements. Eight...
Tonies Rapunzel and Other Fairy Tales Audio ...
$17.99Five lovingly retold fairy tales take your little listener on a journey of imagination where magic is real and anything is possible. Tonies Rapunzel and Other Fairy Tales Audio...
Plushies Raven Panther Plush Toy 20 Inch
$48.00This Raven Panther is a jet black feline made with amazingly soft fur that is in a resting position. Its understuffed body gives an extra comforting feel in your arms....
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Capuchin Monkey
$46.00Hansa Portraits in Nature is a hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. Artists working in a socially responsible and environmentally responsible studio create each Hansa animal from portraits of the...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Chihuahua Red ...
$48.00Hansa Creation brand is internationally recognized for its handcrafted, true-to-life collection of realistic stuffed animals, plush toys, and puppets. The Hansa collection is created by skilled artisans working within Hansa's...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Chihuahua with...
$48.00Hansa Creation brand is internationally recognized for its handcrafted, true-to-life collection of realistic stuffed animals, plush toys, and puppets. The Hansa collection is created by skilled artisans working within Hansa's...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Chihuahua with...
$66.00Hansa Creation brand is internationally recognized for its handcrafted, true-to-life collection of realistic stuffed animals, plush toys, and puppets. The Hansa collection is created by skilled artisans working within Hansa's...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Giraffe Ride O...
$1,000.00Family Giraffidae. Tallest land mammal. Its long neck enables this unmistakable inhabitant of Africa"s savannah to browse on vegetation w/c is its primary food. Male ave. 5.3 m in height,...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Giraffe Ride O...
$220.00Family Giraffidae. Tallest land mammal. Its long neck enables this unmistakable inhabitant of Africa"s savannah to browse on vegetation w/c is its primary food. Male ave. 5.3 m in height,...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Giraffe Ride O...
$540.00Family Giraffidae. Tallest land mammal. Its long neck enables this unmistakable inhabitant of Africa"s savannah to browse on vegetation w/c is its primary food. Male ave. 5.3 m in height,...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Giraffe X Larg...
$1,370.00Family Giraffidae. Tallest land mammal. Its long neck enables this unmistakable inhabitant of Africa"s savannah to browse on vegetation w/c is its primary food. Male ave. 5.3 m in height,...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Hyacinth Blue ...
$78.00Hansa Portraits in Nature is a hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. Artists working in a socially responsible and environmentally responsible studio create each Hansa animal from portraits of the...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Jack Russell T...
$50.00Hansa Creation brand is internationally recognized for its handcrafted, true-to-life collection of realistic stuffed animals, plush toys, and puppets. The Hansa collection is created by skilled artisans working within Hansa's...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Leaf Monkey Brown
$32.00Hansa Portraits in Nature is a hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. Artists working in a socially responsible and environmentally responsible studio create each Hansa animal from portraits of the...
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.