Play Time
Janod My Pastry Workshop
$36.00It’s time to make a snack! This baking set will enable your child to become a real little chef! To make great cakes, you need: an egg, some chocolate, some...
Candylab Candylab Seagull Blue Toy Car
$32.00Candylab Seagull Blue Toy Car: Taking inspiration from the huge superchargers, bold colors and playful graphics that defined 1970s racing, the Seagull 5 is a powerful machine that will give you...
Candylab Candylab Pizza Van Toy Car
$20.00Pepperoni, Hawaiian, or just plain cheese – the new Candylab Pizza Van is cooking up the best pies in the CANDYCAR® World. Wood fired from a wooden van, Enzo’s can’t be...
Candylab Candylab Cupcake Van Toy Car
$20.00There's never been a SWEETER wooden toy. Please welcome the Candylab Cupcake Van: complete with groovy graphics and an adorable squishy topper. Sprinkle this CANDYCAR® into any playset or collection! ...
Candylab Candylab Citron Macaron Van Toy Car
$20.00Oh la la! Get ready for the cutest addition to the toy collection - the Candylab Macaron Van. This handcrafted beech wood toy is perfect for little pastry chefs in...
Candylab Candylab Fire Truck Toy Car
$30.00The Waterville Fire Department has been serving the neighborhood since 2022. This Big Rig features stunning red paint and a removable wooden ladder. Clear the streets when you hear this engine nearby,...
Candylab Candylab Mini Drifter Zebra Toy Car
$12.00Candylab Mini Drifter Zebra is ready for the next mountain adventure this tiny truck is geared up with a 5th wheel for that flat tire that we wish we would...
Goki Wooden Vehicle Dump Truck
$96.00Goki's wooden dump truck is a great toy for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of solid wood with real rubber tyres. Colored with water-based...
Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Stunt Team Dar...
$45.00Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Stunt Team Daredevil Car is the perfect toy for your little innovative racer, ideal for building the coolest race car! Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Stunt Team...
PlanToys PlanToys Central Station
$200.00This PlanToys Central Station can be connected to any other PlanToys transportation system. The lower building can be rotated to adjust the layout of building. Build a rail system for...
PlanToys PlanToys DJ Mixer Board
$60.00Become a professional DJ with the PlanToys DJ Mixer Board! This toy not only supports fine motor skill development through role play but also invites children to practice their color...
PlanToys PlanToys Vlogger Kit
$50.00A vlogger (video blogger) is one of the top career choices that many of today's kids aspire to be! The PlanToys Vlogger Kit is designed to encourage children to showcase...
Candylab Candylab Drifter Nigel Toy Car
$48.00Some Drifters are built for speed, others are built for adventure. The Candylab Drifter Nigel was created for prestige. With a classy dark cherry base coat and tan race strip...
Candylab Candylab Wanderer Toy Car
$38.00Not all who wander are lost, especially in this case. Gear up and explore new frontiers with the artful vintage Candylab Wanderer truck. Made from solid beech wood with silicone...
Candylab Candylab Drifter Kodiak Toy Car
$48.00The classic Drifter you know and love, now wilder than ever. Comes equipped with a shovel, dual jerry cans for long trips in the wild, and a spare wheel. The...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Tournament Black Kni...
$18.00Holztiger’s Tournament Black Knight is a great toy for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Made in Europe Suitable...
PlanToys PlanToys Fire Station Toy
$150.00Get ready and prepare for an emergency! Kids will enjoy pretending to be firefighters and creating a story. Age: 3 years+ This set consists of a fire station with 15...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Ostrich
$14.00Holztiger’s Ostrich is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Suitable for children 3 Years+ Made of hardwood Colored with water-based...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Drake
$12.00Holztiger’s Drake is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Dimensions: 2.2 x...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Hare with Car...
$12.00Holztiger’s Hare with Carrots is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Suitable for children 3 Years+ Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Parasaurolophus
$14.00Holztiger’s Parasaurolophus is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Dimensions: 4.7 x 0.9 x...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Robin
$12.00Holztiger’s Robin is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Made of hardwood Colored with water-based acrylic paint Made in Europe Suitable for...
Holztiger Holztiger Wooden Animal Hare Upright ...
$12.00Holztiger’s Hare with Upright Ears is a great toy animal for entertaining your little one, perfect for endless hours of imaginative play! Suitable for children 3 Years+ Made of hardwood Colored...
Candylab Candylab Big Sur Green Toy Car
$45.00Carved out of solid beechwood with a real metal roof rack, The Big Sur is our clearest nod yet at the bygone era of big, clumsy, and extremely charming vintage...
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.