Play Time
Manhattan Toy Take Alone Activity Spiral
$34.00On the go play! The Take Along Play Activity Spiral includes a mirror, teethers and crinkle paper. Hanging attachments encourage reaching and grasping to foster fine motor skills. Teaches cause...
Fat Brain Toys Teething PipSquigz Loops Teal
$14.00Little explorers can’t help but get sucked into the sensory excitement of these bendy, rattly, chewy, suction-cup creations!Their vivid textures instantly inspire little fingers to grab and feel while their...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Blue
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Dusty Pink
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Gigi Giraffe
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Grey
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Light Blue
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Monkey Pink
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Pickle Pig
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Yellow
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Fat Brain Toys Teeting PipSquigz Loops Orange
$14.00Little explorers can’t help but get sucked into the sensory excitement of these bendy, rattly, chewy, suction-cup creations!Their vivid textures instantly inspire little fingers to grab and feel while their...
Sophie La Giraffe Tenderness Creation Birth Set Medium #1
$59.00Sophie la girafe sophiesticated birth set. This set has a little something for baby and parent to enjoy. This set contains a sophie the giraffe toy, plush lovie, customizable notecard,...
Bajo The Farm Wooden Animal Set
$70.00This set contains many of the farm animals the kids know and are the perfect girth for the child’s hand to grab and play with. The packaging of this set...
Manhattan Toy Toadstool Cottage Fill and Spill Toy
$44.00A mushroom-themed fill and spill adventure. This whimsical mushroom is covered in a variety of fabric textures and offers fill and spill play for busy little ones. It comes with...
Chronicle Books TouchThinkLearn Book Colors
$16.99Introducing TouchThinkLearn books, a format unlike any other. Combining scooped-out die-cuts with raised, shaped elements, each book is designed to offer the youngest learners an irresistible opportunity to explore their...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Mini Apple Farm Avocado
$12.00Fruity fun for little ones on the go! This avocado travel toy has a variety of soft textured fabrics, crinkle leaf, embedded chime and embroidered facial features. The pit features...
Tikiri Turtle Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00This rubber rattle from the ocean buddies collection. Easy-grip for smaller hands. Each marine animal character has an enclosed rattle that creates a soft sound when shaken. Sound Toys, like...
Bella Tunno Under the Sea Teething Flashcards
$13.00These are not your average flashcards. They are learning tools that are also toys and teethers. A trifecta of toys. A hattrick of teethers, a three-peat of learning. LEARN: ...
Wee Gallery Wee Galley Art Cards For Baby Jungle ...
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board, these cards will stand up to baby’s...
Tikiri Whale Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00This rubber rattle from the ocean buddies collection. Easy-grip for smaller hands. Each marine animal character has an enclosed rattle that creates a soft sound when shaken. Sound Toys, like...
Penguin Where's the Astronaut Book
$10.00Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing with little ones by lifting the felt flaps to discover four hidden space-themed friends. Then find the mirror under the final flap!...
Penguin Where's the Bear Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Chick Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Dog Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
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.