Play Time
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil' Willow Fawn
$48.00The Lil' Willow Fawn Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and...
Steiff Steiff Musical Pull Toy Hoppie Rabbit
$46.00Hoppie Rabbit is one of the best-selling styles for children, and she’s now available in a music box version for infants. Pull her string, and delight your baby with a...
Sophie La Giraffe Multi-Support Activity Mirror
$46.00Sophie La Girafe Multi-Support Activity Mirror is ideal for entertaining your baby while on the move! Use the 2 rings to easily attach it to multiple supports (pushchair, bed, playpen,...
Lilliputiens Jungle Sensory Keyring Activity Toy
$46.00This sensory keyring includes a variety of materials, colors, and sounds make this keyring a real discovery journey for the little ones featuring the jungle friends. There is something rattling...
Moulin Roty Hanging Activity Toy Pakou Toucan Dan...
$46.00This hanging activity toy features Pakou a colorful toucan that will surely delight and stimulate your little one's senses. Size: 11.5 inches Age: 0+
Gund Gund Animated Alora The Unicorn Plush...
$45.00Gund Animated Alora The Unicorn is ready to sing and clap with babies as they learn their numbers and ABCs! Baby GUND is proud to present Alora, a whimsical...
Jellycat Jellycat Huddles Bunny
$45.00Huddles Bunny is a delightful baby-and-parent combo in tousled, coffee cream fur. Is baby trying to wriggle away to fit in some extra playtime before bed, or has the little...
Jellycat Jellycat Huddles Duck
$45.00It's bathtime for Huddles Duck – this little flapper can't wait to splash down but loves to be cared for and held. Lower that baby in, gently now! With scruffled...
Manhattan Toy Toadstool Cottage Fill and Spill Toy
$44.00A mushroom-themed fill and spill adventure. This whimsical mushroom is covered in a variety of fabric textures and offers fill and spill play for busy little ones. It comes with...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Cream Orchid
$42.50Amuseable Cream Orchid is putting on a fine display! Just look at those big, marshmallowy blooms – like puffs of silky steam! With a linen pot, fluffy choc soil, and...
Sophie La Giraffe Rollin' Sophie La Girafe
$42.00A roller to climb, roll, and sit astride and to develop baby's motor skills and balance. The inflatable structure covered with fabric provides comfort softness and security. Sophie La Girafe Rollin'...
Sophie La Giraffe Shake Shake Rattle
$42.00The Sophie La Girafe Shake Shake Rattle is an innovative and electronic rattle with a motion detector to awake baby and develop his curiosity! 2 choices of playing mode: Awaking...
Manhattan Toy Magnetic Stacker Toy Cactus Garden
$42.00Mix, match, stack and magnetize! This soft toy cactus-themed set includes three fabric stackers. Each cactus stacker has three pieces that feature soft fabrics, embroidered designs and internal magnets that...
Manhattan Toy Manhattan Toy Put and Peek Birdhouse
$42.00The Put & Peek Birdhouse offers fill-and-spill play for young toddlers. The set includes four colorful rattle birds all featuring a variety of fabric textures, and an easy-open roof and door perfect for tiny...
Jellycat Jellycat Odette Ostrich
$40.00Jellycat Odette Ostrich is the perfect special companion for your little one anywhere, with her silky feathers in a unique dusty pink, and her long fluffy legs, whether it is...
Maileg Maileg Poodle Dog Plush Toy
$40.00If the dream about a dog is far away, it can come true now with this sweet puppy. It is made in exclusive materials that give the dog a beautiful...
Maileg Maileg Dog Plush Toy
$40.00If the dream about a dog is far away, it can come true now with this sweet puppy. It is made in exclusive materials that give the dog a beautiful...
Jellycat Jellycat Amore Cat
$40.00Jellycat Amore Cat is a great snuggle in cat form. This sleepy silly is perfectly podgy in textured fur. With waggly whiskers, dreamy eyes, a swooshy tail, and teeny paws,...
Madame Alexander My First Powder Pink Medium Skin Doll
$40.00Dressed in pink plush, this baby is the perfect first doll for any little one. Cute and cuddly, this 12"newborn baby doll with a soft fabric body is ready to...
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...
Madame Alexander My First Powder Pink Dark Skin Doll
$40.00Dressed in pink plush, this baby is the perfect first doll for any little one. Cute and cuddly, this 12"newborn baby doll with a soft fabric body is ready to...
Madame Alexander My First Powder Pink Light Skin Doll
$40.00Dressed in pink plush, this baby is the perfect first doll for any little one. Cute and cuddly, this 12"newborn baby doll with a soft fabric body is ready to...
Maileg Maileg Safari Friends Medium Elephant...
$40.00Safari Friends Elephant is made of the softest fabric and comes in great colors. They can sit by themselves and are just waiting for you to come and give them...
Maileg Maileg Safari Friends Medium Elephant...
$40.00Safari Friends Elephant is made of the softest fabric and comes in great colors. They can sit by themselves and are just waiting for you to come and give them...
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.