Play Time
Maileg Maileg Micro Rabbit in Carry Cot
$38.00This playset is the perfect start to any story. A soft carry cot made in a beautiful fabric where the small bunny in a colorful suit can easily be tucked...
Maileg Maileg Mouse Rocking Chair Light Brown
$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...
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...
Maileg Maileg Miniature Corner Cabinet Toy
$30.00This closet is made as a corner cabinet and will bring something new to your living room in the Maileg House of Miniature. It is painted in an original vintage...
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...
Sophie La Giraffe Fanfan the Fawn
$27.00Featuring a squeaker, Fanfan entertains baby and develops the baby's sense of hearing while helping to establish the relationship of cause and effect. It draws the baby's gaze by...
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 Miniature Couch Toy
$44.00Take a break on this lovely couch. It has a center of FSC wood and has a soft cover made in lovely linen quality. Match it up with the coffee...
Jellycat Jellycat Woody Bear
$30.00Woody Bear has just woken up from hibernation! Fancy a picnic, anyone? A soft chocolate cub with a beige teardrop snout, Woody sits sweetly with chunky paws poised. Ramble and...
Jellycat Jellycat Maple Bear
$28.50Ambling in from the frosty forest, it's a marvelous Maple Bear! This gentle cub is syrupy-sweet in fuzzy toffee fur. With vintage charm and a snuggly tum, Maple Bear has...
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
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Eagle Owl
$12.00Holztiger’s Eagle Owl 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: 2.0 ×...
Jellycat Jellycat Tawny Reindeer
$60.00Tawny Reindeer has the coziest coat on, in a two-tone fluff. This elegant deer has soft caramel fur and brown booties to match her antlers. The delicately detailed ears, stitched eyelashes,...
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...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Standing Foal...
$14.00Holztiger’s Foal Standing Light Brown 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 Made...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Duck
$12.00Holztiger’s Duck 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: 2.3 ×...
Olli Ella Olli Ella Rattan Shell Bag Straw
$55.00The Olli Ella Shell Bag makes the perfect portable home for Holdie Folk Mermaids and a cute fashion accessory for your little lady to keep their most loved possessions wherever they go. Olli Ella Shell Bag Details: Handwoven with 100% natural Rattan Wood...
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...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Standing Hors...
$18.00Holztiger’s Horse Standing, Light Brown 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 Made in...
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.