Play Time
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Waterwaves St...
$34.00Large Water Waves Stacker is a unique, clever, and versatile Waldorf-inspired stacking and nesting puzzle/toy, hand carved from a single piece of wood. These nesting waves represent the element of...
Brio Parking Garage
$96.00Parking Garage is the perfect addition to any BRIO World, connecting the railway and roadways together in a single destination. Each of the three levels of the Parking Garage...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pastel Rainbow Friends
$48.00This set of Rainbow Wooden Peg Dolls includes 12 peg people in a variety of rainbow hues. Authentic Grimm's Pastel Rainbow Friends Details: Includes: 12 peg dolls Size: Figures - 2.5...
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 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,...
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 Mixed Forest Toy
$24.00The small Mixed Forest is perfect in combination with our building blocks. Perfect to combine with: Grimm's Houses, Geo-Blocks, Small Bobbins, and 7 Friends Authentic Grimm's Mixed Forest Toy Details:...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's 60 Colored Geo Blocks
$80.00From easy to challenging, these building block sets are a constant companion throughout childhood! Due to the non-varnished surface, young children are able to stack the blocks easily and the...
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,...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Slimline Wooden Cars
$74.00Whether the sports car, pick-up, van, bus, or limousine, these slim classic wooden cars travel comfortably over narrow bridges (10684, 10686) and are perfectly sized for easy grasping by small...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Rainbow Bridge
$60.00An open-ended and versatile toy, this Wooden Nesting Bridge set can be used as a stacking and nesting toy, or as bridges for toy cars and scenic play. Each set...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Monoc...
$96.00Grimm’s 12 Piece Rainbow Monochrome 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pebbles Blocks Moss
$23.00These 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Small Convertible C...
$20.00Grimm's Small Convertible Car is simple and an off-road wooden convertible car that can take a Rainbow Friend off-roading on a jaunt into the countryside. Afterward, the vehicles do not...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Semi Circles ...
$63.00This 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Pebbles Blocks Flam...
$23.00These 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Natural Bridge
$60.00An open-ended and versatile toy, this Wooden Nesting Bridge set can be used as a stacking and nesting toy, or as bridges for toy cars and scenic play. Each set...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Small Convertible C...
$20.00Grimm's Small Convertible Car is a simple and off-road wooden convertible car that can take a Rainbow Friend off-roading on a jaunt into the countryside. Afterward, the vehicles do not...
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...
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 Colored Wooden Cars
$82.00This Cars work quite well off-road and are suitable for rides in the countryside. Vehicles don’t need a full car wash after that, but can easily be cleaned with a...
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.