These 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...
First threading game with discs and with a wooden needle for small hands. Your child can sew together six colorful circles and make pretty patterns and pieces of art on the...
This tall and colorful stacking toy features 10 brightly colored rings on a blue base with a natural wooden dowel at its center. A classic wooden toy that grows with the child,...
These 7 little rainbow friends in 7 matching bowls are a wonderful Waldorf toy for any kiddo! These friends have simple forms to allow little ones' creative spark. Play with...
Toddlers will love stacking and nesting the six colorful boxes, which fit perfectly inside one another, all while developing color recognition and hand-eye coordination. As kids grow older, these boxes will...
This open-ended game is a fun challenge for young children! The Rainbow Bowls Sorting Game comes with six colored bowls, each of which has three matching wooden pieces in the shape of...
This set of Rainbow Wooden Peg Dolls includes 12 peg people in a variety of rainbow hues. Authentic Grimm's Rainbow Friends Toy Details: Includes: 12 peg dolls Size: Figures - 2.5...
Your child is the captain of these vessels, as they sail the Seven Seas -- rolling along on any smooth surface! Included on board each is a captain of the...
Let your imagination bloom with these Little Flower Nesting Blocks by Grimm's Spiel. Each set is carved from a single piece of wood and finished with non-toxic, water-based stains and...
This Set of Boxes is a versatile toy for children: they can stack and sort the boxes by size and color, build with them, use it as dollhouses or carports,...
This unique Semicircle Platform Building Set opens the door to a world of new possibilities for budding architects! Included are 11 wooden half-round pieces, each of diminishing size. These versatile platforms can be...
This unique Semicircle Platform Building Set opens the door to a world of new possibilities for budding architects! Included are 11 wooden half-round pieces, each of diminishing size. These versatile platforms can be...
This Set of Boxes is a versatile toy for children: they can stack and sort the boxes by size and color, build with them, use it as dollhouses or carports,...
Magical forces attract and repel for unexpected stacking play. Take it all apart for construction play. Eleven stack-able, mix & match pieces. Two fun characters! Suitable for children ages 12+...
Grimm’s Set of Lollipop Bowls is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Your toddler can have endless fun stacking, sorting, nesting, and using the bowls for imaginary play!...
PlanToys Sailing Boat Penguin is the perfect toy for fun bath-time play to encourage your little one's imaginative play and creativity! PlanToys Sailing Boat Penguin Details: Suitable for infants 12m+...
Grimm’s Set of Bowls is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Your toddler can have endless fun stacking, sorting, nesting and using the bowls for imaginary play! Authentic...
Learn about 12 different kinds of fruits and vegetables with the PlanToys Fruit & Veggies Dominoes memory game. The 24 pieces consist of raised and intended details to help with...
The elemental cubic form of these blocks inspires children to build simple walls, foundations, fences, stalls as well as houses, towers, and castles. The basic shape is also very useful...
This tall and colorful stacking toy features 10 brightly colored rings on a blue base with a natural wooden dowel at its center. A classic wooden toy that grows with the child,...
Limitless designs! The 29 color chart pairs open up a world of creativity and help children develop a new appreciation for color. The children can test the domino effect, match...
A smaller, beginner set of 30 colored wooden blocks in geometric shapes. The thirty pieces include triangles. cubes and rectangles. The unvarnished finish helps prevent the blocks from slipping while...
This Blue Pull Along Truck from Grimm's is impressive, simple in design, and easy to load. Perfect for young builders and truck lovers Authentic Grimm's Pull-Along Truck Details: Age: 1 year+...
PlanToys Sailing Boat Polar Bear is the perfect toy for fun bath-time play to encourage your little one's imaginative play and creativity! PlanToys Sailing Boat Polar Bear Details: Suitable for...
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.