Play Time
Sabo Concept Wooden Rainbow Toy Marsala
$58.00This set of 7 gorgeous rainbow stacking elements come nested inside each other. Let the creativity of your child grow as they can building mazes and tunnels for cars, making mountains and...
alilo alilo Smart Bunny Baby Rattle Blue
$56.00Alilo Smart Bunny is a popular media companion especially designed for children aged 0-4 years. Due to its ease of use, robust material, and versatility, it encourages the kids’ creativity....
alilo alilo Smart Bunny Baby Rattle Pink
$56.00Alilo Smart Bunny is a popular media companion especially designed for children aged 0-4 years. Due to its ease of use, robust material, and versatility, it encourages the kids’ creativity....
Miniland Baby Doll Black Curly Hair Caucasian ...
$56.00Miniland Caucasian Black Curly Hair Girl 15" Doll is anatomically correct, which means that they show the physical differences between boys and girls in a realistic way. They are made of soft...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Doll Mousy Pickle
$55.00Meet the newest and most snuggly collectible Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Mousy Pickle! Mousy Pickle, so cuddly and cute, loves to doze in its soft fluffy suit. Made for snuggles and...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Doll Lamby Pip
$55.00Meet the newest and most snuggly collectible Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Lamby Pip! Lamby Pip, so cuddly and cute, loves to doze in its soft fluffy suit. Made for snuggles and...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Doll Bunny Moppet
$55.00Meet the newest and most snuggly collectible Olli Ella Cozy Dinkum Bunny Moppet! Bunny Moppet, so cuddly and cute, loves to doze in its soft fluffy suit. Made for snuggles...
Jellycat Jellycat Quinn Fox
$55.00Keen and curious, Quinn Fox is a huggable rust-red cub! Beautifully detailed with a huge cuddly tail, vanilla-cream accents and chunky-soft paws, Quinn brings the woodland breeze indoors! A gorgeous...
Moulin Roty Moulin Roty Musical Toy Lune The Rabbit
$54.00Moulin Roty Lune the Rabbit is a stuffed musical toy that displays Japanese nursery tunes. She has a lovely embroidered face, large fleecy ears and is dressed in striped bloomers with a...
Miniland Sensory Balls
$54.00The Miniland Sensory Balls are 100% made of natural rubber from hevea trees. Their especially soft natural material makes them very easy to grip and suitable for handling and biting by...
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...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Dozy Dinkum Doll Moppet
$50.00Say hello to Moppet! Your baby’s first baby and lifelong friend with the perfect amount of squish for cuddles and play. Like all the Olli Ella Dozy Dinkums, Moppet is...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Dozy Dinkum Doll Mini
$50.00Say hello to Mini! Your baby’s first baby and lifelong friend with the perfect amount of squish for cuddles and play. Like all the Olli Ella Dozy Dinkums, Mini is...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Dozy Dinkum Doll Pickle
$50.00Say hello to Pickle! Your baby’s first baby and lifelong friend with the perfect amount of squish for cuddles and play. Like all the Olli Ella Dozy Dinkums, Pickle is...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Dozy Dinkum Doll Pip
$50.00Say hello to Pip! Your baby’s first baby and lifelong friend with the perfect amount of squish for cuddles and play. Pip features the sweetest embroidered face with a...
Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Double Feature Mirror
$50.00One side features a mirror for self discovery, while the other side has high-contrast black & white graphics that help baby with visual & multi-sensory development. This toy has ribbon...
Tikiri Marshmallow Collection Natural Rubber...
$49.00This delightful collection of your favorite animals, made from Natural rubber colored in soft pastel shades, each containing an enclosed rattle, will provide stimulation and comfort for any newborn. Includes: Pink...
Plushies Asha White Leopard Plush Toy 20 Inch
$48.00This Asha White Leopard is a spotted feline made with amazingly soft fur that is in a resting position. Its understuffed body gives an extra comforting feel in your arms....
Plushies Raven Panther Plush Toy 20 Inch
$48.00This Raven Panther is a jet black feline made with amazingly soft fur that is in a resting position. Its understuffed body gives an extra comforting feel in your arms....
Plushies Luxe Boutique Jira Jaguar Plush Toy 2...
$48.00This Jira Jaguar is a spotted feline made with amazingly soft fur that is in a resting position. Its understuffed body gives an extra comforting feel in your arms. Suitable...
Moulin Roty Moulin Roty Plush Toy Paprika The Lion
$48.00From Under my Baobab Tree collection, Moulin Roty Plush Toy Paprika The Lion comes in an ideal medium size cuddle plush toy allowing the baby to grasp its long legs....
Moulin Roty Moulin Roty Plush Toy Bibiscus The Gi...
$48.00From Under my Baobab Tree collection, Moulin Roty Bibiscus the Giraffe comes in an ideal medium size cuddle plush toy allowing the baby to grasp its long legs. It features...
Moulin Roty Moulin Roty Plush Toy Bergamote The ...
$48.00From Under my Baobab Tree collection, Moulin Roty Bergamote the Elephant comes in an ideal medium size cuddle plush toy allowing the baby to grasp its long legs and two...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil Spout Grey
$48.00Lil' Spout Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and tail. The...
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.