Play Time
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Calf Black
$12.00Holztiger’s calf black is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Dimensions: 2.36...
Maileg Maileg Miniature Coffee Table Toy
$12.00Coffee table made of FSC wood and painted in anthracite color. It fits perfectly together with the couch and into the Maileg dollhouse. The table is delivered flat packed and...
Maileg Maileg Mini Metal Chair with Armrest Toy
$18.00Beautiful vintage metal chair with armrest for a comfortable seat for your Maileg friends while having their afternoon tea. Best paired with the vintage tea table. Washing instruction: Surface Wash Material:...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Tournament Black Kni...
$18.00Holztiger’s Tournament Black Knight is a great toy for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Made in Europe Suitable...
Maileg Maileg Mouse Rocking Chair Anthracite
$18.00The perfect chair for a relaxing rest or a small nap. It is made of metal and has a beautiful vintage finish - variations may occur. This chair fits the...
Jellycat Jellycat Kitten Caboodle
$20.00Kitten Caboodle is a playful, naughty, shortbread fuzzball! With a tail curled like a question mark, this cute little kitty is ever-ready to spring on itty biscuit paws, landing in a...
Kiko+ & gg* Kuruma Classic Wooden Wind Up Car Do...
$22.00A great new twist on an old-time favorite. The classic friction-powered motor car made from wood. Just pull back and vrooooooooom! Off you go! Beechwood, wind-up motor
Kiko+ & gg* Kuruma Classic Wooden Wind Up Car Str...
$22.00A great new twist on an old-time favorite. The classic friction-powered motor car made from wood. Just pull back and vrooooooooom! Off you go! Beechwood, wind-up motor
Kiko+ & gg* Hikoki Mini Jet Black
$22.00Small but mighty, the mini jet has the same friction functionality as the original version - but in a littler, more portable size. Pull them back and watch them ZOOM!Perfect for little...
Maileg Maileg Micro Vintage Tea Table Toy An...
$22.00It's tea time! Afternoon tea has never been so cute. This metal table has a beautiful floral pattern and looks like it came straight from a Danish café. Fits our...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Cat Black and White
$28.00Say hello to Jellycat Bashful Black and White Cat, a splendidly tuxedoed cat! He loves to groom his soft, silky fur, from his snowy tail tip to the white in...
Jellycat Jellycat Lallagie Zebra
$32.50Splendidly stripey in warm grey and cream, Lallagie Zebra is a bold little buddy! Rocking a silky charcoal mane and tail, suedey-squish hooves, and perky fold ears, this zippy zebra...
Jellycat Jellycat Onyx Dragon
$32.50 – $65.00Lounging around, it's loveably lazy Onyx Dragon! This beautiful black dragon comes with all the classic dragon features including soft black fur and soft, shiny silver wings, ears, tail point,...
Playforever Playforever Loretino Toy Car Black
$36.00We are excited to introduce Loretino Monaco racing car - a cute and playful scaled-down version of its big brother (and the very first car in the Playforever collection), Bruno. In...
Maileg Maileg Mouse Vintage Bed Toy Anthracite
$36.00Let your Maileg friends have a sleep-over in the vintage metal bed. It comes with a mattress and pillow made in beautiful Maileg printed fabrics. On top, a knitted blanket...
Kiko+ & gg* Hikoki Jet Wooden Wind Up Plane Black
$36.00A wooden jet airplane with a pull-back self-wind engine for more fun! Bringing together the warmth of the wood, the modern look of a jet airplane, and bright colors to...
Kiko+ & gg* Hikoki Pull Back Propeller Plane Black
$36.00A wooden propeller airplane with a pullback friction engine for more fun! The friction engine underneath enables the plane to move on horizontal surfaces to add to the fun! Dimension:...
Jellycat Jellycat Bashful Panda
$37.50Bashful Panda Cub is ready for his close up! This little cub is looking for a friend to share his bamboo with, and his silky soft black and white fur...
Playforever Playforever Velocita Race Car Toy Black
$39.00Back in the 70s, F1 racing was a dangerous, high-speed game. Cars were fast, drivers were furious and the competition was intense. The Velocita collection by Playforever was inspired by...
Playforever Playforever Leadbelly Toy Car Seekter...
$40.00An American muscle car, make it bigger, faster, stronger. Detroit carmakers saw what the hot rodders were doing in the late ’60s and started bringing these ideas to the workingman....
Playforever Playforever Turbo Race Car Toy Jet Black
$40.00Turbo captures the spirit and magic of the most infectious decade ever. Part of the Verve collection, Playforever's Turbo Jet is inspired by the F1 cars of the 80's. With unapologetic clashing...
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,...
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....
Banwood Classic Helmet Matte Black
$49.00These kids' bike helmets are lightweight, stylish, and provide safety through design and tested materials. They are the perfect accomplice to any child’s adventure, designed in carefully selected colors with...
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.