Play Time
Tender Leaf Toys Stacking Forest
$46.00A wooden stacking tree trunk with 19 stylishly colored animals and plants including an owl, a bat, a wolf, a squirrel, a woodpecker, an acorn, a mummy pig with her...
Bajo Wooden Toy Car Camper with Surfboard
$30.00This camper with its little cute surfboard is ready to it the beach. For all those budding beach babes, this sweet little camper will bring hours of creative play, as...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's House Monochrome
$34.00Grimm’s Monochrome House is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Your toddler can have endless fun stacking the house, and as they grow your children can use the...
PlanToys PlanToys Push Along Duck
$32.00When pushed, the duck makes a realistic flip-flop with its feet. Duck feet are made from natural rubber sheets and easy to clean up. This toy helps to enhance your...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Set of Bowls Blue
$32.00Grimm’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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Wooden Building Boa...
$62.00These Grimm's wooden building boards are the perfect complement to the 12-piece rainbows, tunnels, and semicircle. So many wonderful balancing and skill games, as well as new construction projects, can be created,...
PlanToys PlanToys Sailing Boat Polar Bear
$16.00PlanToys 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...
PlanToys PlanToys Sailing Boat Seal
$16.00PlanToys Sailing Boat Seal is the perfect toy for fun bath-time play to encourage your little ones' imaginative play and creativity! PlanToys Sailing Boat Seal Details: Suitable for infants 12m+ Features...
PlanToys PlanToys Ramp Car Racer
$66.00Ready, set, go! Let the cars go down and figure out which one will go the furthest. This is a great toy for developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills....
PlanToys PlanToys Classic Tea Set
$40.00It's afternoon tea time! Pretend play is the perfect way to stimulate a child's imagination while also inviting them to practice their social and communication skills. Little ones improve their...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Natur...
$96.00Grimm’s 12 Piece Rainbow Natural is a versatile toy perfect for your growing little one. Toddlers can use the rainbow for stacking and sorting, and as they get older your...
Guidecraft Sensory Rainbow Blocks Set 18 Pieces
$89.95An adventure in color, light and sound! Encourage sensory exploration by combining blocks to form new colors and sounds, or stack the blocks in a different order each time to...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rolling Wheel...
$46.00Large rolling wheel with wooden beads and a bell inside. This colorful wheel inspires children to crawl and walk after it: the beads and the bell inside make a nice...
Guidecraft Stacking Rainbow Pyramid
$36.00Six hardwood stacking squares feature inset-colored plexi for stacking, sorting, building, sequencing and creating imaginative, colorful constructions! Doubles as a stand-alone manipulative or an addition to hardwood block construction. Hardwood...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Stacking Boxe...
$90.00These unique variations and markings are proof of quality, not defects. Enjoy the markings that make your Grimm’s toy unique! Toddlers will love stacking and nesting the six colorful boxes,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Beads Grasper Natural
$22.00A beautifully natural grasping toy to keep the baby's interest. The beads--held together by an elasticized string--can be safely moved about to provide a tactile experience. Feels so great to children...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Set o...
$90.00Toddlers 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...
PlanToys PlanToys Clatter
$26.00PlanToys Clatter is a fun musical toy that makes a click-clack sound that changes with play and goes from a soft ripple to a clattering crescendo. PlanToys Clatter Details: Age: 18...
PlanToys PlanToys Bunny Racing Car
$30.00Get in the racing car with this fast bunny! This vehicle comes with a vintage race car theme and features a turning wheel that gives the same movement as a...
Guidecraft Screw Block
$16.00This simple manipulative refines hand-eye coordination, fine motor, and color-matching skills. The nylon interior ring holds the screwdriver in place when not in use. Suitable Age: 2 years+ Wooden matching...
Tender Leaf Toys Safari Binoculars
$18.00Solid wood binoculars with kaleidoscope lenses. These binoculars can be adjusted like real ones to alter the width of your eyes. Age range: 3 Years And Older Product size: 5.04...
Janod Wooden Chunky Puzzle - Forest
$24.00Discover the exciting world of forest animals! Your child will have fun putting the animals in the right place and playing with the pieces that stand up just like real figures...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's 3 in 1 Boat Toy Mon...
$32.00Grimm’s Monochrome 3 in a Boat is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Authentic Grimm's 3-in-1 Boat Toy Monochrome Details: Perfect in combination with Grimm’s Rolling Boats...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Mini Rolling Wheel Toy
$30.00Mini rolling wheel with wooden beads and a bell inside. This colorful wheel inspires children to crawl and walk after it: the beads and the bell inside make a nice...
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.