Play Time
Tikiri Zebra Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00Zebra: One of the Tikiri My First Zoo animals, the cute zebra is ever so squeezable and ready for curious minds. Take him in the bath, or as a teething...
Wee Gallery Woodland Alphabet Cards
$20.00Wee Gallery Woodland Alphabet Cards are the perfect gift for newborn baby, toddler, or any age in between. The high-contrast animal and jungle illustrations create a mesmerizing display for babies, while...
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 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...
Manhattan Toy Winkel Sensory Teether Toy
$18.00Colorful loops made from soft, pliable plastic are easy to grasp and hold, plus caregivers can refrigerate it for a soothing teether. The Winkel teether rattle is a must-have for...
Manhattan Toy Winkel Bunny Pink Rattle and Teether Toy
$18.00The Zoo Winkels Rabbit features the same colorful, chewable, bendable loops as the original, which make it easy for infants to grasp and explore. The appeal of the Winkel teething...
Manhattan Toy Winkel Bee Rattle and Teether Toy
$18.00The Zoo Winkels Butterfly features the same colorful, chewable, bendable loops as the original, which make it easy for infants to grasp and explore. The appeal of the Winkel teething...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Stim Mobile To Go
$16.00The beloved infant stim-mobile is now available on the go! We've turned the award-winning infant stim-mobile into a compact, easy-to-attach stroller mobile. This mobile features six reversible cards that contain...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Spiral Tiger
$26.00Tiger spiral features three dangling attachments to encourage grasping, self-discovery, and cause and effect learning. Attachments include rattles, teethers, and a baby-safe mirror. High contrast patterns and colors support the...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Double Feature Mirror
$50.00One side features a mirror for self discovery, while the other side has high-contrast black & white graphics that help baby with visual & multi-sensory development. This toy has ribbon...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Clip and Discover Shapes
$28.00Help little ones recognize shapes and entertain them while they're on the go. In true Wimmer-Ferguson fashion, each shape has simpler black-and-white graphics on one side and more complex color...
Penguin Wild Animals Book
$7.99From a grinning crocodile to an elegant flamingo, from a perky meerkat to an endearing hippo, there are many wild creatures to discover in this captivating book. Adapted from designer...
Chronicle Books Who Am I?
$14.99Simple riddles, bold images, and fun, interactive pull-tabs help make the classic guessing game loads of fun. Who likes to hop on lily pads? Who likes to eat honey from beehives? Pull the...
Penguin Where's the Zebra Book
$10.00Five stylishly illustrated spreads show a series of friendly safari animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s...
Penguin Where's the Unicorn Book
$10.00Lift the felt flaps to discover four hidden magical creatures (a mermaid, a dragon, a fairy, and a unicorn), then find the mirror under the fifth and final flap! Parents...
Penguin Where's the Tiger Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of jungle animals that include a peacock, a monkey, a tortoise, and a tiger all hiding behind bright felt flaps. With a mirror...
Penguin Where's the T Rex Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of dinosaurs that include a stegosaurus, a diplodocus, a triceratops, and a T. rex all hiding behind bright felt flaps. With a mirror...
Penguin Where's the Puffin Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of birds that include a kingfisher, a blackbird, a swan, and a puffin all hiding behind bright felt flaps. With a mirror on...
Penguin Where's the Pirate Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of adventurous pirate friends hiding behind bright felt flaps. With a mirror on the final page, this is a perfect book to share...
Penguin Where's the Penguin 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 Narwhal 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 Ladybug 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 Kangaroo 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...
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.