Play Time
Bunnies By The Bay Cubby Bear Plush Toy
$26.00Lots of pacifiers lost? Say no more, this cute silly buddy will be the solution to this problem. Floppy, sloppy, silly and soft, this playful pacifier holding silly buddies, tie...
Bunnies By The Bay Avery The Aviator Snow Goose Plush Toy
$34.00Avery The Aviator Snow Goose is as fun and adventurous as they come! This stuffed plush animal is ready to fly right into your home, and heart, and encourages you to do...
Steiff Steiff Musical Pull Toy Hoppie Rabbit
$46.00Hoppie Rabbit is one of the best-selling styles for children, and she’s now available in a music box version for infants. Pull her string, and delight your baby with a...
Chewbeads Sunshine Stacker Teether Toy
$18.00Chewbeads Sunshine Stacker Teether is the perfect addition to any playroom. Made with 100% silicone, this colorful and safe stacking toy provides a world of entertainment, plus introduces fine motor skills, counting,...
Haba Haba Multicolored Activity Spiral Str...
$20.00This cheerful, colorful mobile captures the baby's attention with its shapes, textures, and effects. Easy to wind up around the handle of a baby carrier or attach to a crib....
Jellycat Jellycat Tails Book Kitten
$18.50The Jellycat Kitten Tails Activity Book is crammed with cats! This crinkle fabric book is full of fun pictures and kitty tails of many kinds! Cordy, stripey, spotty, fluffy –...
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...
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....
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....
Jellycat Jellycat Smudge Rabbit
$35.00 – $75.00Smudge Rabbit is such a sleepy sweetie - always sprawling out, lazing on the bed or rug! Scrumptiously soft in oatmeal fur, this lop-eared laser just captures the heart. An...
Sophie La Giraffe New Sophie Bath Book
$18.00To liven up baby's bath time! Over the course of 8 pages, Baby discovers Sophie la Giraffe and her friends in 3 different aquatic worlds: the ocean, the ice floe,...
Tegu Magnetic Wooden Baby’s First Blocks
$50.00Specifically designed to be easy to stack for small hands, Baby's First Blocks are a perfect introduction to magnetic building! Crafted from durable, all-natural wood with non-toxic finishes, each block...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil Alma Llama
$58.00The Lil Alma Llama 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...
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...
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 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 Grand Flopsie Goldie Retriever Plush ...
$32.00Goldie Grand Flopsie is a large golden retriever that comes in a resting position. Suitable for all ages and personalities. High-Quality Materials make for a soft and fluffy touch. Quality...
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.