Play Time
Chronicle Books Finger Puppet Book Little Love Bug
$7.99Little Love Bug Finger Puppet Book is a sweet, entertaining board book with a finger puppet built right in. In this feel-good finger puppet book, a parent and their little...
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...
Jellycat Jellycat Bailey Sloth
$28.00 – $35.00Bailey Sloth is so chilled out, he falls asleep here, there, and everywhere! This groovy guy has soothing mocha fur, with a cute creamy face and a neat eye mask....
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Avocado
$20.00 – $60.00Get your five-a-day in an adorable way with Amuseable Avocado! Scrummily green and soft, our veggie chum has a natty two-tone jacket in speckled fur. We love that squashy, suedey...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Natur...
$96.00Grimm’s 12 Piece Rainbow Natural is a versatile toy perfect for your growing little one. Toddlers can use the rainbow for stacking and sorting, and as they get older your...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Lamb
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Jellycat Jellycat Swellegant Sophie Sheep
$25.00Swellegant Sheep is fabaalous and knows it. With a rich, creamy fleece made of silky-soft fur, long, loping biscuity legs and superlong lashes, this glamour-lamb is looking divine! An elegant...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Soother Bunny Beige
$25.00Rolled up tight and presented with a ribbon round it, Bashful Bunny Soother is the perfect gift for any newborn arrival. When the soother is untied, Bashful Bunny won't let...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Soother Monkey
$25.00Bashful Monkey clutches to this silky soft soother, it's just too irresistible to let go of! The soother is rolled up tight and presented with a ribbon, but once undone...
Dena Silicone Small Rainbow Pastel
$27.00Dena Silicone Small Rainbow is manufactured with platinum silicone, which is BPA free, PVC Free, Latex Free, Phthalate Free, and 100% safe. Platinum silicone is a soft material that feels great...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Stacking Boxe...
$90.00These unique variations and markings are proof of quality, not defects. Enjoy the markings that make your Grimm’s toy unique! Toddlers will love stacking and nesting the six colorful boxes,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Beads Grasper Natural
$22.00A beautifully natural grasping toy to keep the baby's interest. The beads--held together by an elasticized string--can be safely moved about to provide a tactile experience. Feels so great to children...
Jellycat Jellycat Ring Rattle Bunny Beige
$15.00Soft and soothing in gentle sage, the texture treat! This doughnut-shaped rattle has a gently jingling tum! Take this poppet along for buggy adventures! Suitable from birth Made from 100%...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Set o...
$90.00Toddlers will love stacking and nesting the six colorful boxes, which fit perfectly inside one another, all while developing color recognition and hand-eye coordination. As kids grow older, these boxes will...
Cuddle + Kind Cuddle + Kind Hand Knit Doll Everest ...
$64.00 – $88.00Where I come from, the ice and snow are always sparkling. I love building snow forts, slurping marshmallows in hot chocolate, and most of all, helping people. I believe we...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Blue Elephant
$28.00Bashful Elephant has an amazing sense of smell, thanks to that tremendous trunk! If you’re doing some baking, don’t be surprised if you feel a supersoft nudge and find a...
Jellycat Jellycat Snugglet Brodie Monkey
$30.00Brodie Monkey is one funny fellow, with sticky-out ears and hands like feet! A cocoa-cream clambering kerfuffle, Brodie monkey is always in trouble! He's proud of his lovely rumbly long...
Jellycat Jellycat Blossom Bunny Dusky Blue
$18.00Jellycat Blossom Bunny is a popular fellow with scrummy-soft Jellycat fur and lovely long flopsy ears means that with just one cuddle, you’ll never want to let go. Irresistibly cute and...
Jellycat Jellycat Merry Mouse Present
$27.50Merry Mouse Present has a cute little red gift box wrapped in gold ribbon. An adorable gift idea for your little kids during the holiday. Suitable from birth. Hand wash...
Miniland Sensorial Reef
$50.00Sensory stimulation is one of the most important and fun things for your baby. They will have a great time looking, touching, biting, and listening with the Miniland Sensorial Reef. They...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Spiral Tiger
$26.00Tiger spiral features three dangling attachments to encourage grasping, self-discovery, and cause and effect learning. Attachments include rattles, teethers, and a baby-safe mirror. High contrast patterns and colors support the...
Manhattan Toy Click Clack Ball
$20.00The colorful Click Clack Ball features handles that click with every twist. Filled with tiny beads inside, this baby ball also rattles when shaken. Perfect for infant stimulation! Ages 0...
Manhattan Toy Atom Teether Toy
$12.00The Atom Teether Toy is out of this world! Twelve bendy arms perfect for teething, surround the colorful plastic ball center. Each arm features vibrantly colored plastic clacking rings that...
Tikiri Giraffe Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00Giraffe: One of the Tikiri My First Zoo animals, the great giraffe is ever so squeezable and ready for curious minds. Take him in the bath, or as a teething...
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.