Play Time
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...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Foldable ...
$165.00This scooter has it all! The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Foldable LED offers our customers favorite Maxi features - foldability AND light-up wheels! The Maxi Deluxe Foldable LED takes the multi-award-winning,...
Sunnylife Sunnylife Mini Lucite Chess & Checker...
$160.00A range of luxurious and limited edition Lucite games in the new gleaming Neon colorway are inspired by the warm sunshine beaming through the sky on a hot summer's day....
Le Toy Van Alex's Work Bench
$160.00Let's fix it! Alex's Work Bench is a sturdy workbench. The base is equipped with a flatbed circular saw, a measuring gauge and a vice. The back wall features...
Hape Wooden Gourmet Grill with Food Toy
$160.00Double-sided grates, a collapsible side table, moveable wheels, and an open-and-close hood make this grill a gourmet's dream. Watch out for the hot coals! Food and accessories included. ShishKabob Basics...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Strolley Rose
$159.00Meet Olli Ella Strolley, a revolutionary design in imaginative play. This hand-woven rattan basket on wheels switches from a stroller to a shopping cart, by just lowering the hood. A new kind...
Wobbel Waldorf Balance Board Natural
$159.00What 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...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Strolley Natural
$159.00Meet Olli Ella Strolley, a revolutionary design in imaginative play. This hand-woven rattan basket on wheels switches from a stroller to a shopping cart, by just lowering the hood. A new kind...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Pro Scooter
$155.00The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Pro Scooter offers wide front wheels, a cool chopper-style handlebar, and five trendy color combinations. Besides its unique new look, this classic kickboard scores high with...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe LED Scooter
$155.00The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe LED Scooter takes the multi-award-winning, much-revered children's three-wheeled scooter to the next level. This deluxe version has LED light-up front wheels, an anodized stem for extra...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Building Blocks Set...
$152.00Even little master builders realize the fascination of architecture Romanesque with its self-supporting round arcs and the bulky stonework of great churches, castles, or city walls. This can be used...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Peacock
$152.00Hansa 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...
PlanToys PlanToys Fire Station Toy
$150.00Get ready and prepare for an emergency! Kids will enjoy pretending to be firefighters and creating a story. Age: 3 years+ This set consists of a fire station with 15...
Le Toy Van Sky Doll House
$150.00Sky Doll House has two storeys plus an attic room that is found in the opening roof. The gender-neutral design features natural wood, beautiful blues, and unique artwork throughout. Plant...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Wooden Building Set...
$150.00Experience the world of 1001 nights! Even younger children will be fascinated by the intense colors and beautifully formed elements. As the children get older, they will create more and...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Racer Black
$150.00Baghera’s Racer baby ride-on enables your child to find their feet quickly and to move about easily. While having loads of fun, your tot will instinctively understand how to move forward...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Twister Red
$150.00A Multi-directional ride-on toy, fun and easy to use. Compact, robust, and quiet, this ride-on is constructed from durable and heavy plastic. The black twister ride-on is perfect for your...
Baghera Baghera Ride On Toy Car Racer Red
$150.00Baghera’s Racer baby ride-on enables your child to find their feet quickly and to move about easily. While having loads of fun, your tot will instinctively understand how to move forward...
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.