Play Time
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...
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 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...
Lubulona Wooden Bus with Figures Blue
$16.00Ready to get on the bus and go for a ride around town? The Lubu buses offer space for one driver and two passengers and come with three wooden figures. The...
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...
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...
Kiko+ & gg* Ofune Hinoki Wind-Up Boat
$30.00"Ofune", a wind-up boat made from Japanese hinoki wood. To set "Ofune" to sail, first wind the rotating knob. Then, place in the bath or small pool and watch...
Lubulona Lubu Town Summerville Maxi Stacking Toy
$60.00The Lubu Town Pack Summerville is a great, educational and creative construction toy set for boys and girls. This unique toy with a modern design in red and turquoise allows...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Blue Whale wi...
$18.00Holztiger’s blue whale 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: 18...
Candylab Candylab Seagull Blue Toy Car
$32.00Candylab Seagull Blue Toy Car: Taking inspiration from the huge superchargers, bold colors and playful graphics that defined 1970s racing, the Seagull 5 is a powerful machine that will give you...
Candylab Candylab Pioneer Classic Toy Car
$38.00The iconic shape, wood sides, magnetic canoe on top, beefy new tires, everything screams adventure, camping, and good old times. Miniature learning tool on how to adventure properly. Materials: Solid Beech...
Candylab Candylab Mississippi Mule Toy Car
$12.00Can you say Mule Mississippi 5 times fast? This Royal Blue Mule Mississippi is not only a tongue twister but it is a jaw-dropper. Materials & Info: Solid Beech Wood, water-based...
Candylab Candylab Cotswold Royal Blue Toy Car
$38.00In a quest to overcome the rush for your afternoon tea - or tee? Must take the unpaved shortcut? Does your antiquing passion require copious amounts of comfortable travel? The Cotswold has...
Candylab Candylab Blue Racer #8 Toy Car
$10.00Part of the Candylab new Candycar line, a cute 3 inches long. One of two of our racers, who said speed comes with size? Materials: Solid Beech Wood, water-based paint, and...
Tender Leaf Toys Blue Water
$28.00Perfect for displaying your sea creatures, three blue solid wood waves can be used as part of open-ended play. Including a little sailboat. Age range: 3 Years And Older Product...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pebbles Blocks River
$23.00These pebble blocks are perfect for balance and stacking challenges, decorating scenic play, making a stony puppet show landscape, and building cairns. This four-piece set is painted in gorgeous graduated...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Waterwaves St...
$34.00Large Water Waves Stacker is a unique, clever, and versatile Waldorf-inspired stacking and nesting puzzle/toy, hand carved from a single piece of wood. These nesting waves represent the element of...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Convertible C...
$28.00Grimm's Large Convertible Car and the two Rainbow Friends will become loyal companions of your child and over time inspire many adventures both big and small, going beyond the boundaries of...
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.