Play Time
Maileg Maileg Miniature Small Basket Toy
$8.00The basket can be used everywhere in the miniature home for storage. The design is fashionable and fits the rest of the Maileg interior articles perfectly. Age: 3 years+ Material:...
Babalu Finger Puppet Wizard
$8.99This adorable finger puppet brings the much-loved story to life. The puppet is beautifully designed with wooden head and bright fabric bodies and skilfully hand made to bring the favorite...
Babalu Finger Puppet Fairy
$8.99This adorable finger puppet brings the much loved story to life. The puppet is beautifully designed with wooden head and bright fabric bodies and skilfully hand made to bring the...
Abrams Appleseed Book Happy Llamakkah
$8.99Celebrate Hanukkah with the Llama family in this joyful, rhyming picture book Follow along with the Llama family’s Hanukkah traditions as they light their menorah, spin the dreidel, fry latkes,...
LB Kids Book Dream Big Little One
$8.99Featuring 18 trailblazing black women in American history, Dream Big, Little One is the irresistible board book adaptation of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.Among these women, you’ll find heroes, role models,...
LB Kids Book Follow Your Dreams, Little One
$8.99This beautifully illustrated board book highlights true stories of black men in history. The exceptional men featured include artist Aaron Douglas, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, lawman...
Mudpuppy Coloring Book Andy Warhol
$9.99Mudpuppy's Andy Warhol Coloring Book features the iconic pop artist's greatest hits ready to be colored in and customized by young artists. Introduce well-known classics like Andy's Campbell's Soup Cans...
Chronicle Books Let’s Look at Nature
$9.99Part of the Let's Look at... series of board books from bestselling author and illustrator Marion Deuchars, this book is the perfect introduction to the wonders of nature.From green grass and fluffy...
Chronicle Books Let’s Look at Opposites
$9.99Part of the Let's Look at... series of board books from bestselling author and illustrator Marion Deuchars, this book is the perfect introduction to the world of opposites.From up and down penguins...
Hape Art Paper Roll
$10.00Perfectly sized for Hape art easels. Perfect for drawing, painting, and other creative expressions.
Kid O Wooden Book Things That Go
$10.00Kids on the go learn to identify their favorite modes of transportation on land, sea, and air - from a helicopter to a baby carriage. Made from wood from sustainable...
Candylab Candylab Dart Wagon Toy Car
$10.00Peachy and pink, The Dart a sweet little addition to our Candycar line. Everything is just peachy keen with The Dart. Materials: Solid Beech Wood, water-based paint and clear urethane coat. ...
Candylab Candylab B Berry Toy Car
$10.00Get berry excited for our little Candycar. This lilac Candycar, is the berry best addition to your Candycar collection. Materials: Solid Beech Wood, water-based paint and clear urethane coat. ABS...
Candylab Candylab B Nana Toy Car
$10.00Our most appealing Candycar yet, meet B.Nana! This cute Banana colored Candycar will have you craving some Banana Bread, a Banana Split maybe even Banana pudding? Materials: Solid Beech Wood,...
Maileg Maileg MY Babysitter Toy Polka Dots
$10.00With this babysitter it is easy to bring your little friends to sleep. The base is made of metal and covered by the most lovely dotted fabric. It fits the...
Gibbs Smith Book El Chapulin Colorado: Sounds/Son...
$10.00Latin America’s beloved superhero El Chapulin Colorado introduces your baby to the natural sounds around them in both English and Spanish. For many years, children all over Latin America have...
Gibbs Smith Big Friends, Little Book
$10.00Teach the concepts of opposites and friendship in a colorful way. Paula Vásquez’s charming illustrations of best friends, Bird and Alligator, help teach opposite concepts of up and down, little...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Space Galaxy
$10.00These cups feature multilayered dough colors, fun surprises, and charming patterns that are sure to delight. Let them hold the galaxy in the palm of their little hands. A backdrop...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Mermaid Lagoon
$10.00On an enchanted island in the sparkling sea, there’s a mystical lagoon where the mermaids swim. Shimmering purple tails sparkle through the aqua water, while pink sand shimmers all around....
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Princess Pink
$10.00Pretty in pink. Shades of blush, rose, and magenta topped with sparkling pixie dust create a fairytale world where any little dreamer can be a princess for a day. Product...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Unicorn Dream
$10.00These cups feature multilayered dough colors, fun surprises, and charming patterns that are sure to delight. Make unicorn dreams come true! Perfect for imaginative play, mythical magic comes alive in...
Penguin Welcome to Florida Book
$10.99Welcome to Florida! We’re glad you’re here! Introducing a new series of picture books about each US state.Children from Florida and those who’d like to visit Florida one day will...
Laurence King Publishing Stickyscapes Superheroes Sticker Book
$10.99Try out your superpowers with this superhero sticker book! This astonishing double-sided panoramic play scene folds out to a length of four feet and contains a superheroes' cityscape on one...
Laurence King Publishing Stickyscapes at the Museum Sticker Book
$10.99Take a sticky trip to the museum! Stickyscapes at the Museum includes an 8-page sticker booklet, brimming with over 100 stickers; and a huge, double-sided fold-out panoramic scene for you...
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.