Play Time
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's First Thread Game
$59.00First 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Rainbow Stacking To...
$40.00This 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,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's 30 Colored Geo Blocks
$45.00A 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...
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 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 Sorting Bus
$50.00Practice sorting and counting the different colors and shapes included with the Sorting Bus! Serving as a push-and-pull toy, children can both actively play with this vehicle and also develop...
PlanToys PlanToys Geometric Peg Board
$26.00These 16 geometrical pegs (4 different sizes, shapes and colors) can be sorted, counted, and stacked on a sturdy wooden base. Suitable for children 2 years and up.
PlanToys PlanToys Fruit Veggies Dominoes
$40.00Learn 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...
PlanToys PlanToys Oval Xylophone Musical Toy
$30.00PlanToys Oval Xylophone features five colorful panels that help with hand-eye coordination. Please note this xylophone is made for fun and may not be musically accurate. PlanToys Oval Xylophone Details: Age: 12...
PlanToys PlanToys Sailing Boat Penguin
$16.00PlanToys 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+...
PlanToys PlanToys Hammer Balls
$50.00PlanToys Hammer Balls is a toy specifically designed for your baby’s small hands. It can help develop hand-eye coordination, improve dexterity and build physical strength. PlanToys Hammer Balls Details: Age: 12 months+...
PlanToys PlanToys Baby Walker
$126.00Cruise through early developmental stages with the PlanToys Baby Walker! This toy can help develop fine and gross motor skills while encouraging children to walk on their own two feet....
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 Cooking Utensils
$30.00PlanToys Cooking Utensils is the perfect toy for fun pretend to play to encourage your little chef’s imagination and creativity! PlanToys Cooking Utensils Details: Suitable for infants 2 years+ Includes...
PlanToys PlanToys Dancing Alligator
$30.00PlanToys Dancing Alligator is a great push & pull toy for your active little one! When pulled along, the alligator moves his head and tail up and down making a click-clack...
PlanToys PlanToys Concertina
$30.00PlanToys Concertina is the perfect toy to inspire your little ones' musical creativity! As it is squeezed in and out, different notes and pitches play. PlanToys Concertina Details: Age: 18...
Bajo Wooden Toy Car with Blocks
$26.00This small yet fun wooden toy car with blocks is great for any child. The blocks can easily be removed and put back. This little car trucks along, moving swiftly...
Bajo Wooden Toy Airplane
$38.00Little pilots will love making these wooden toy airplanes soar into the sky. A chunky wooden toy that's perfect for little ones to play. Sturdy enough to become a favored...
Grimm's Authentic Wooden Building Boards Rainbow
$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,...
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,...
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,...
Tegu Magnetic Floating Stacker Big Top
$40.00Magical 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+...
Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Tints 14 Piece...
$42.00Tegu’s Magnetic Wooden Blocks Tint 14pc is the perfect toy for your little builder to create any structure by connecting the colorful blocks, the ideal set for imaginative play! ...
Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Sunset 24 Piec...
$70.00Tegu’s Magnetic Wooden Blocks Sunset 24pc are the perfect toys for your little builder to create any structure by connecting the colorful blocks, the ideal set for imaginative play! Dimensions:...
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.