Play Time
Bella Tunno Happy Stacks Jeweled Pink
$20.00The Silicone Happy Stacks are the new must-have Montessori toy. Classic stacking cups just got a massive upgrade. This set of 7 square silicone stackers teaches stacking, nesting, counting, and...
Bella Tunno Happy Stacks Warm Neutral
$20.00The Silicone Happy Stacks are the new must-have Montessori toy. Classic stacking cups just got a massive upgrade. This set of 7 square silicone stackers teaches stacking, nesting, counting, and...
Tikiri Havah the Bunny Natural Rubber Squeak...
$22.00This friendly little squeaker Havah the Bunny will provide comfort and stimulation to newborns. Sound toys such as this, help newborns discover their senses and teach them a fundamental lesson...
Tikiri Hippo Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00Hippo: One of the Tikiri My First Zoo animals, the cute hippo is ever so squeezable and ready for curious minds. Take her in the bath, or as a teething...
Chronicle Books Hooray for Little Fingers!
$14.991, 2, 3, 4, 5! What can 5 little fingers do? Tickle, wiggle, dance—and much more!In this lively and irresistible board book, young readers learn to count and explore just...
Itzy Ritzy Itzy Bitzy Spiral Car Seat Activity Toy
$26.00Travel’s Abound! Endless adventures await with your babe’s new travel tagalong, the Itzy Bitzy Spiral from the Bitzy Bespoke collection! Watch as your babe reaches for the dangling rings, smiles at their...
Jellycat Jellycat Amore Cat
$40.00Jellycat Amore Cat is a great snuggle in cat form. This sleepy silly is perfectly podgy in textured fur. With waggly whiskers, dreamy eyes, a swooshy tail, and teeny paws,...
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...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Candy Cane
$18.50Peeping out of a festive stocking, it's Jellycat Amuseable Candy Cane! Stripey-silly in scarlet and cream, with cordy brown boots and a friendly grin, this soft little scamp can't wait...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Cloud
$29.00Lost in a daydream? Let Amuseable Cloud be your dreamy companion. This cumulus cutie is tufty and tussled in scrumptious cream fur, with cordy grey feet for running across the...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Cream Orchid
$42.50Amuseable Cream Orchid is putting on a fine display! Just look at those big, marshmallowy blooms – like puffs of silky steam! With a linen pot, fluffy choc soil, and...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Daffodil
$27.50It's springtime all year round with Amuseable Daffodils! This daffy daff has a linen pot, fluffy brown soil, and cordy feet. With green cordy stems and sunny velvety flowers, this...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Hyacinth
$30.00Amuseable Hyacinth is putting on a fine display! Just look at those blooms! With a linen pot, fluffy choc soil, and cordy boots and leaves, this cheerful charmer would make a...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Rainbow
$33.00Amuseable Rainbow loves everybody, and welcomes one and all for big, colorful hugs! With pastel stripes in peach, yellow and turquoise, cordy arms, and a goofy smile, this squidgy rainbow...
Jellycat Jellycat Amuseable Sun
$30.00 – $60.00Amuseable Sun is here to brighten up the room! But there's no need for shades or sunblock – this chubby, cuddly bundle of rays is content to glow softly and...
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 Bartholomew Bear
$25.00 – $50.00Tawny-tousled and full of softness, Jellycat Bartholomew Bear is the perfect bedtime buddy. Read him a story, sing him a teddy bear lullaby, or maybe just rest on his fluffy...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bat
$25.00Bashful Bat loves to swoop and flutter, with wonderful wings in soft mushroom fur. This fancy bat gives excellent hugs and wraps up pals in a fuzzy embrace. We love...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bee
$16.50 – $25.00If you like to plant flowers, Bashful Bee has a few requests! He loves lilac, honeysuckle, and poppies - perfect for making heavenly honey! This beautiful bug is a real...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Black and Cream Puppy
$18.00 – $80.00Silky-soft and lovingly loyal, Bashful Black & Cream Puppy wants to play all day! He comes in five sizes, from huge and huggable to itsy bitsy baby. His smudgy black...
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 Bashful Blush Poodle
$28.00Bashful Poodle comes from fabulous France, and has sugar-pink fur that you can’t help but cuddle. She skips down the avenue, fluffy ears flapping, and snaffles a croissant - what...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bunny Beau
$25.00Jellycat Bashful Bunny is a popular fellow with scrummy-soft Jellycat fur and lovely long flopsy ears mean that with just one cuddle, you’ll never want to let go. Irresistibly cute...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Bunny Beige
$18.00 – $275.00Bashful 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...
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.