Play Time
Maileg Maileg Little Brother Beach Mouse in ...
$34.00Little Brother Mouse is ready to join Big Brother Mouse to swim! Matches his striped swim shorts is a yellow beach towel and floaters. His cozy cabin is also always ready when...
Maileg Maileg My First Bunny Plush Toy Light...
$26.00My first bunny in Light Blue is perfectly made for small hands. It is made in a soft plush quality and has a silver ribbon around the neck. It is packed...
Rubbabu Mascot Toy Car
$16.00The Rubbabu Mascot Car is an easy-to-hold, easy-to-roll car. With a cute rounded design, in bright colors, this 5" high car is available in many colors and is popular in toy,...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Mini 3in1 Deluxe Scooter
$125.00The perfect gift for one-year-old’s, the Micro Kickboard Mini 3in1 Deluxe Scooter grows with ages 1 through 5, is virtually indestructible, and is the highest-rated scooter of its kind. Micro...
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...
PlanToys PlanToys Chicken Racing Car
$30.00Get in the racing car with this fast chicken! This vehicle comes with a vintage race car theme and features a turning wheel that gives the same movement as a...
Playforever Playforever Leadbelly Toy Car Sonny Blue
$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....
Posh Baby & Kids Posh Baby & Kids Bentley 6in1 Strolle...
$500.00The luxury stroller that grows with your child. Designed in collaboration with Bentley Motors and with your toddler’s needs in mind, the Posh Baby & Kids Bentley 6-in-1 Stroller / Tricycle is...
CUCU Silicone Rattle Teether Giraffe
$18.00This giraffe toy is a silicone baby teething rattle and sensory teether toy, easy to hold a rattle just the right size for your baby's little hands. Shaking the rattle bell...
Bunnies By the Bay Silly Buddy Plush Toy Bunny Blue
$19.00Lots 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...
Jellycat Soother Bashful Blue Bunny
$28.00Little Jellycat offers bunny security as standard, so when your little one’s not snuggling up to their Bashful Blue Bunny Soother, it’s being looked after by a fluffy expert! This...
Bajo Wooden Breakdown Lorry
$28.00This adorable Lorry is one of a kind and comes with three parts; a sweet little blue car, the cute Lorry, and a blockade/ramp. This toy is great fun for...
Bajo Wooden Formula 1 Racing Toy Car
$45.00These beautifully painted racing cars will bring any child joy and keep them well entertained. The vibrant paint will keep anyone's attention and the colorful rubber ring around the wheels...
Bajo Wooden Toy Airplane
$38.00Little pilots will love making these wooden toy airplanes soar into the sky. A chunky wooden toy that's perfect for little ones to play. Sturdy enough to become a favored...
Bajo Wooden Toy Car with Blocks
$26.00This small yet fun wooden toy car with blocks is great for any child. The blocks can easily be removed and put back. This little car trucks along, moving swiftly...
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.