Play Time
Tegu Magnetic Shape Train 9 Pieces
$55.00Tegu Baby & Toddler toys are the perfect entry-point to the wondrous world of Tegu. Specifically designed for the little hands and budding imaginations of children between the ages 6...
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....
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Stacking Tower Boat
$79.00Grimm’s Stacking Tower Boat is the perfect stacking toy for your little one! Your toddler can have endless fun stacking the boat to create different forms and lovely colorful structures...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Fire Flames
$32.00Grimm’s Fire 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 children can use...
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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Rainbow House
$33.00A five-piece nesting house by Grimm's in rainbow colors. Stagger the pieces to create a deep chamber, or use them separately to create a house and outbuildings. Authentic Grimm's Rainbow...
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 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...
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 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 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...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Wooden Pull Along E...
$68.00If children have learned to walk, they like to pull something behind them. The blue Elephant is a great companion! Materials: lime wood, non-toxic water based color stain. Authentic Grimm's...
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...
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! ...
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 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...
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.
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Large Rainbow Toy
$96.00Grimm’s 12 Piece Rainbow 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 children...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Rainbow Toy 6-Piece
$34.00Grimm’s 6 Piece Rainbow 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 children...
Grimm's Authentic Grimm's Set of Bowls Outsid...
$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 Handpainted Small H...
$74.00Grimm’s Hand-painted Small Houses is the perfect toy set for your little builder to create cities or villages with houses, barns, towers, and more! Authentic Grimm's Handpainted Small Houses Toy...
Tegu Pocket Pouch Prism Magnetic Wooden Bl...
$30.00Tegu’s Pocket Pouch Prism is the perfect travel toy for your little builder to create any structure by magnetically connecting the colorful blocks, the ideal set for imaginative play! Dimensions:...
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 Pebbles Blocks River
$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...
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.