These 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...
The 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...
The Patches Giraffe 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...
This cute Hugs & Kisses Silicone + Wooden Teether is made with 100% Food Grade Silicone and organic maple wood. A toy to keep your little one entertained. The smooth...
This cute Hugs & Kisses Silicone + Wooden Teether is made with 100% Food Grade Silicone and organic maple wood. A toy to keep your little one entertained. The smooth...
This cute Hugs & Kisses Silicone + Wooden Teether is made with 100% Food Grade Silicone and organic maple wood. A toy to keep your little one entertained. The smooth...
Your baby will love to cuddle with this soft and snuggly Bibs Cuddle Cloth Kangaroo. It is an indispensable essential for babies to provide soothing security and comfort. The cuddle...
This 100% Pima Cotton security blanket in this adorable print not only helps comfort and soothe your baby, but helps improve fine motor skills with its ribbon loops. The blanket...
Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
A three-dimensional baby silicone teething ball that has the right size for little hands, designed to help enhance your baby's fine motor skills. The gaping design allows the silicone teether...
A perfect little security blankie and tagalong for your child. The delicious cashmere-like material is perfect for babies and toddlers to snuggle. Each blankie features a sweet animal head that’s...
100% silicone baby car seat toy and stroller toy attachment. The soft and flexible design adds a great distraction for curious babies who like to touch, tug, and chew on...
Lil' 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"...
Chewbeads’ Central Park Teether is perfect for distracting your little one anywhere and ideal for soothing their sore gums! 100% silicone beads Soft on babies gums and emerging teeth Dishwasher...
100% silicone baby car seat toy and stroller toy attachment. The soft and flexible design adds a great distraction for curious babies who like to touch, tug, and chew on...
100% silicone baby car seat toy and stroller toy attachment. The soft and flexible design adds a great distraction for curious babies who like to touch, tug, and chew on...
A perfect little security blankie and tagalong for your child. The delicious cashmere-like material is perfect for babies and toddlers to snuggle. Each blankie features a sweet animal head that’s...
A perfect little security blankie and tagalong for your child. The delicious cashmere-like material is perfect for babies and toddlers to snuggle. Each blankie features a sweet animal head that’s...
A perfect little security blankie and tagalong for your child. The delicious cashmere-like material is perfect for babies and toddlers to snuggle. Each blankie features a sweet animal head that’s...
A perfect little security blankie and tagalong for your child. The delicious cashmere-like material is perfect for babies and toddlers to snuggle. Each blankie features a sweet animal head that’s...
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.