Play Time
Ooly Sketch And Show Standing Sketchbook S...
$12.00Sugar Joy kids art sketchbook cover has delightful sweet treat designs accented with glitter that are sure to please. And Sketch and Show Standing glitter sketchbook allows you to draw...
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...
Smart Games Smartmax Basic Stunt
$78.00Smart Games Smartmax Start+ is the perfect construction set for your little one to use during play time for endless fun and creativity! This set is includes everything needed for...
Smart Games SmartMax My First Animal Train
$42.00Build your own traveling zoo with magnets! Magnetic rods fit inside the train engine and the three train cars while magnetic spheres connect them in a line and let them...
Smart Games SmartMax My First Dinosaurs
$29.00Travel back in time (to a land before time?) with Smartmax My First DInosaurs! This 14 piece set includes magnetic bars to connect the bright, flexible dinosaur parts together. Encourage...
Smart Games Smartmax Power Vehicles Max
$42.00Smart Games Smartmax Power Vehicles Maxis the perfect construction set for your little one to use during play time for endless fun and creativity! This set is includes everything needed...
Smart Games SmartMax Roboflex
$34.00 – $45.00Let your little ones expand their imagination with the SmartMax Roboflex set as they build and create their own version of robots. Age: 3 years+ Roboflex Medium includes 12 pieces Roboflex...
Smart Games Smartmax Start XL 42 Pieces
$78.00Smart Games Smartmax Start XL is the perfect construction set for your little one to use during playtime for endless fun and creativity! Suitable for children 3 years+ Compatible with...
Ooly Smooth Stix Watercolor Gel Crayons 24...
$24.00Begin your next art project with a rainbow of colors with a set of Smooth Stix watercolor gel crayons. With 24 brilliant colors there’s a near endless amount of creative art...
Hape Smoothie Blender Toy
$24.00Healthy smoothies are a delicious way to eat your fruit and vegetables! Make your own play smoothies with this cool blender set that comes with two cups and includes fruits...
Sophie La Giraffe So'Pure Bath Toy
$24.00A fun Sophie La Girafe takes on the traditional rubber duck! Fun bath toy made with the same all-natural rubber as the original Sophie teether. Made with 100% natural rubber from...
LLorens Soft Baby Doll Charlotte
$60.00Charlotte is dressed in a pretty triangle-shaped peach polka-dot dress and bloomers, with a complimentary hooded knit sweater and booties. Charlotte has adorable pigtails adorned with pom-poms. She has blue...
Llorens Soft Baby Doll Harper
$50.00Harper is dressed in a pretty pink floral dress and complementary knit hooded sweater, booties and hat. Harper has lovely brown hair with a fashionable flip and bangs. She has...
Bear Company Some Bunny Loves You
$44.00White Plush Stuffed Animal Bunny Rabbit, Adorable, Cuddly, Great Gift for Bunny Lovers of All Ages. Size: 12 inches Suitable for 1 year+
Sophie La Giraffe Sophie Bath Book
$18.00The Sophie Bath Book by Calisson is the perfect addition to the tub to make bath time fun! Features: Book consists of 8 pages filled with different kinds of...
Le Toy Van Sophie's Wooden Car
$32.00A pretty pink wooden car scaled for Le Toy Van dolls. Includes stylish matching luggage! Age: 3 years+ Made from durable, sustainable wood to allow long-lasting fun, whilst caring for...
Le Toy Van Sophie's Wooden Doll House
$250.00Sophie's Doll House includes a wooden staircase that plays the role of room divider. Fully painted and decorated, the wallpaper is full of details children love to spot. It also...
Kid O Sort a Shape House Toy
$35.00Kid O’s Sort-a-Shape House is the perfect toy to help your little one practice color and shape sorting! Suitable for infants 1 year+ Match the forms to assemble doors, a...
Eeboo Spanish Bingo Language Game
$22.00Spanish words describing nature, vehicles, market, animals, clothing, and colors are learned as players match them to their cards. A pronunciation guide is included for each of the 48 Spanish...
Tonies Spanish Lullabies Audio Play Figurine
$17.99Enjoy this beautiful and soothing collection of traditional Spanish lullabies as you are gently lulled to sleep. Tonies Spanish Lullabies Audio Play Figurine Details: Age: 3 years+ Includes 15 Songs...
Tonies Spanish Playtime Songs Audio Play Fig...
$17.99It’s time to dance! These vibrant songs will get you up and moving as we hear some of the best traditional Spanish playtime songs! Tonies Spanish Playtime Songs Audio...
Manhattan Toy Spiral Activity Space Rocket
$26.00Spiral features space-themed fun from end-to-end, featuring a rocket with baby-safe mirror and crescent moon. Three dangling attachments include a crinkle star with a flexible elastic cord, stars with textured...
Guidecraft Stackable Wooden Cylinder Steps
$50.00Stackable, colorful Cylinder Steps encourage fine motor and identification skills while exploring seriation and color gradients. Five rows of appealing, rubberwood cylinders in increasing size and transitioning colors are easy-to-grasp...
Hape Stacking Music Toy Set
$38.00Your little musician will create wonderful music and explore melody and rhythm with this Stacking Music Set by Hape! Children can stack differently sized blocks in any way they wish...
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.