Play Time
Maileg Maileg Mouse Kitchen Light Brown
$50.00The heart of every home is the kitchen. This metal kitchen has a beautiful color tone and has many playful details such as a cabinet door, sink, and an oven...
Jellycat Jellycat Didi Hedgehog
$22.50Jellycat Didi Hedgehog is a roly-poly scamp, with a soft ruched caramel tummy, bobble nose, and silky ombre fur. This happy hoglet loves ambling around the garden, snuffling for bugs,...
Goki Wooden Vehicle Dump Truck
$96.00Goki's wooden dump truck is a great toy for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of solid wood with real rubber tyres. Colored with water-based...
Maileg Maileg Gantosaurus Large
$80.00Look at this funny friend! A Large Gantosaurus with big teeth has arrived and is ready to play with all of us. It is made in a soft mix of...
Candylab Candylab Big Sur Brown Toy Car
$45.00Carved out of solid beechwood with a real metal roof rack, The Big Sur is our clearest nod yet at the bygone era of big, clumsy, and extremely charming vintage...
Maileg Maileg Teddy Mum Doll
$24.00The Teddy bear family is a sweet collection of 3 different sizes of Teddy bears. They are made of soft linen and have a vintage look that will make the...
Maileg Maileg Teddy Dad Doll
$24.00The Teddy bear family is a sweet collection of 3 different sizes of Teddy bears. They are made of soft linen and have a vintage look that will make the...
Maileg Maileg Sleep Over Set for Medium Mous...
$28.00Who is ready for a sleepover with their favorite Maileg friend? This cute sleep-over set comes with pajamas, a matching bag and a toothbrush. Material: Cotton/Polyester
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Leaf Monkey Brown
$32.00Hansa Portraits in Nature is a hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. Artists working in a socially responsible and environmentally responsible studio create each Hansa animal from portraits of the...
Hansa Creation Realistic Plush Animal Lion King
$1,698.00Hansa Portraits in Nature is a hand-crafted collection of realistic plush animals. Artists working in a socially responsible and environmentally responsible studio create each Hansa animal from portraits of the...
Bajo Wooden Animal Gorilla
$64.00This adorable wooden Gorilla is lightweight and easy to play with. Their limbs can be moved so your child can imitate the real movements of the living endangered species. They...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil' Willow Fawn
$48.00The Lil' Willow Fawn Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and...
Bear Company Lil Snugs Bear Plush Toy
$16.00 – $29.00Lil' Snugs is a great cuddle companion. An adorable brown bear wearing a deep red ribbon bow. Perfect lil' guy for anyone who loves teddy bears. Size: Small: H10"...
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.