Play Time
Brio Cargo Railway Deluxe Set
$200.00With this 54 pieces cargo railway deluxe set, the freight and cargo world is almost complete. An action-packed BRIO train track world filled with mechanical and loading functions through the loader...
Hape Happy Grand Piano Pink Musical Toy
$200.00Budding concert pianists will easily scale the 30 keys of this colorful wood grand piano, made for small hands and big sounds
Hape Happy Grand Piano Musical Toy Black
$200.00Hape’s Happy Grand Piano is the perfect toy for your growing little musician! This music-maker lets your child practice scales, encouraging musical expression, creativity. Suitable for children 3 years+ Includes...
Wobbel Waldorf Balance Board Natural/Wild Rose
$199.00What is WOBBEL? It is a sturdy, beautifully crafted beechwood rocking balance board, a seat, a safe haven, a bridge, a house, a step, a slide, a yoga aid, a...
Wobbel Waldorf Balance Board Natural/Foliage...
$199.00What is WOBBEL? It is a sturdy, beautifully crafted beechwood rocking balance board, a seat, a safe haven, a bridge, a house, a step, a slide, a yoga aid, a...
Rattan Shopping Cart
$199.00Got Wheels! This toddler size shopping cart is light enough to take with you on a trip to the supermarket and perfect addition for pretend play! Made of sustainably sourced and...
Wobbel Waldorf Balance Board Natural/Grey
$199.00What is WOBBEL? It is a sturdy, beautifully crafted beechwood rocking balance board, a seat, a safe haven, a bridge, a house, a step, a slide, a yoga aid, a...
Wobbel Waldorf Balance Board Natural/Forest ...
$199.00What is WOBBEL? It is a sturdy, beautifully crafted beechwood rocking balance board, a seat, a safe haven, a bridge, a house, a step, a slide, a yoga aid, a...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Creative Puzzle Spa...
$196.00Imaginative young builders can make dimensional graphic patterns and images, and build up or decorate three-dimensional castles and palaces with this Creative Puzzle. By building and playing with the...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Stepped Pyram...
$195.00The 100 blocks of this building set with lengths ranging from 4 - 20 cm are ideal for so many creations. You can build up walls, towers, houses with furniture,...
Beyond123 Playme Pat Bells 8 Bell Set
$190.00Pat Bells is music made simple and fun. No more broken strings, and no tuning required. Simply pat the bells for vibrant and colorful notes! This 8 Bell Set includes...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Speedster Car...
$190.00Let your child experience driving something special, with this great ride-on speedster! It is built to last with a padded seat, sturdy metal body, and rubber tires. Some simple self-assembly...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Speedster Dar...
$190.00Let your child experience driving something special, with this great ride-on speedster! It is built to last with a padded seat, sturdy metal body, and rubber tires. Some simple self-assembly...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Speedster Sil...
$190.00Let your child experience driving something special, with this great ride-on speedster! It is built to last with a padded seat, sturdy metal body, and rubber tires. Some simple self-assembly...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Speedster Silver
$190.00Let your child experience driving something special, with this great ride-on speedster! It is built to last with a padded seat, sturdy metal body, and rubber tires. Some simple self-assembly...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Speedster Pink
$190.00Let your child experience driving something special, with this great ride-on speedster! It is built to last with a padded seat, sturdy metal body, and rubber tires. Some simple self-assembly...
Moulin Roty Moulin Roty Wooden Dollhouse with Fur...
$189.00This Moulin Roty Wooden Playhouse The Big Family has beautiful and detailed wall and floor illustrations along with a complete set of furniture giving this set wonderful play value for...
Ooh Noo Wheelbarrow Toy
$180.00Made in Europe, entirely out of wood from European forests, the ooh noo Toy Wheelbarrow helps kids develop important gross-motor skills in a complex process that requires strength, coordination, balance,...
Ooh Noo Toy Pram White
$180.00This toy pram is just too cute for words. It is made entirely of wood, with the exception of the tiny tires on the wheels. It is extremely appropriate for...
Tender Leaf Toys Wooden Mini Chef Home Kitchen
$180.00A stylish and contemporary looking kitchen with an oven, 2 hobs, a butler’s sink with double taps, and an integral cupboard with doors. Included in this set are a solid...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Standing Lion ...
$174.00Hansa 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...
Le Toy Van Fairy Belle Palace
$170.00Once Upon A Time… A beautiful painted wooden fairy castle with highly detailed floral artwork. The special features include a high tower with flag, a princess balcony, a lifting drawbridge...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Creative Puzzle Spa...
$170.00Imaginative young builders can make dimensional graphic patterns and images, and build up or decorate three-dimensional castles and palaces with this Creative Puzzle. By building and playing with the...
Smart Games GeoSmart Educational Building Set
$170.00The GeoSmart Educational Set is a learning kit featuring 100 pieces and 6 different geomagnetic shapes. Build original constructions, animals, vehicles or just about anything you can imagine. Also includes...
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.