Play Time
Under the Nile Vegetable Basket
$46.00Under the Nile Vegetable Basket are safe for little foodies. Created to encourage healthy eating habits in babies and kids, this is the one time you want your kids to play...
Maileg Veggies and Fruits
$40.00Remember your fruits and veggies the doctor always says. A wooden box filled with miniature food made of polyresin with the most incredible details. It is hand-painted why variation may...
Playforever Velocita Emilio Black Race Car
$44.00Back in the 70s, F1 racing was a dangerous, high-speed game. Cars were fast, drivers were furious and the competition was intense. The Velocita collection by Playforever was inspired by...
Playforever Velocita Jean Race Car
$44.00Back in the 70s, F1 racing was a dangerous, high-speed game. Cars were fast, drivers were furious and the competition was intense. The Velocita collection by Playforever was inspired by...
Great Pretenders Velvety Princess Gown with Arm Warmers
$50.00Bring your little one’s fairy tale dreams to life with the Velvety Soft Sleeping Sweetheart Princess Gown with Arm Warmers, inspired by the elegance of Sleeping Beauty. This enchanting gown...
Playforever Verve Malibu Blue/Yellow Car
$40.00Drawing inspiration from the early Maserati Formula 1 cars of the 20s and 30s, Playforever's Malibu has a pure and simple cigar tube chassis, long nose and wide open mouth....
Playforever Verve Malibu Dark Orange Car
$40.00On your marks...get set... go! You can almost hear the roar of the engine as Malibu stands poised, ready for the race. Drawing inspiration from the early Maserati Formula 1...
Playforever Verve Malibu Red Car
$40.00On your marks...get set... go! You can almost hear the roar of the engine as Malibu stands poised, ready for the race. Drawing inspiration from the early Maserati Formula 1...
Plantoys Victorian Dollhouse
$460.00The Victorian Dollhouse has 3 floors including the attic. Each floor is accessible with opening panels and realistic sashes that slide open and shut. Additional attic space can also be...
Vilac Vilacity crane
$54.00The boat will soon set sail, it is time to load the CMA-CGM containers. Thanks to our wooden crane, nothing could be simpler! Your mini will have fun rotating it...
Calico Critters Village Cake Shop Starter Set
$45.00Bake, decorate, and serve sweet treats in your very own cake shop! Get ready for deliciously fun pretend play with the Cake Shop Set, where you can bake sponge cakes,...
Maileg Vintage Bed Mouse
$54.00A perfect bed for a good night’s sleep! This charming bed is designed with care and comes complete with beautiful bedlinen made from signature printed fabrics—each piece unique yet perfectly...
Maileg Vintage Chair Mouse
$16.00A small chair that fits the Little sister/brother and Big sister/brother mice. Fits perfectly into the small rooms where the mice lives. Dimensions Height: 3.35in Width: 1.77in Depth: 1.38in Net...
Maileg Vintage Lantern Toy
$28.00The camping experience will not be complete without this Vintage Lantern. Washing instruction: SURFACE WASH Material: Metal Height: 2.76 inches
Vilac Vintage Roadster Silver
$55.00Vintage Roadster Car in solid wood. Perfect size for your kid's little hands. 100% Made in France. From 2 years of age. Dimensions: 13 x 8 x 10 cm
Le Toy Van Vintage Wooden Phone
$40.00About this productRing, ring! This charming retro-style vintage phone is full of nostalgia, for good old-fashioned playtime fun! Painted in a striking red shade and finished with a flourish of...
Tender Leaf Toys Visual Sensory Tray
$26.00This set includes 4 solid wood shapes that let you see through various windows. Presented on a shape sorter tray and the 4 pieces encourage color and shape recognition through...
Jellycat Vivacious Eggplant Vampire
$22.00Sometimes vegetables bite back! Vivacious Aubergine Vampire is a stretchy purple spook with a black-and-red collared cape, tied with a cord. With a weighted base, green leafy crown and embroidered...
Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Broccoli
$25.00Greens are good for you - this one brightens our day with a smile! Vivacious Vegetable Broccoli is a funky floret of bobbly fun! With stretchy-soft fur in lime and...
Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Carrot
$23.00Cordy, colorful, cute, and kooky, that's Vivacious Vegetable Carrot! Gorgeously textured and squeezably soft, this bright orange buddy has a punky green leaf-do! A veggie with plenty of energy, this...
Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Eggplant
$18.00 – $55.00Vivacious Vegetable Egg Plant just arrived in a very special veg box! Stretchy-soft in blush plum fur, with a sweet friendly smile and a green stalk hat, this one is...
Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Sweetcorn
$15.00Vivacious Vegetable Sweetcorn is all dressed up in fresh field fashion! Sunshine-yellow, with bobble-soft kernels, this cuddly cob wears a stretchy green husk jacket. Just the thing for the summer...
Jellycat Vivacious Vegetables Tomato
$20.00TheJellycat Vivacious Vegetable Tomato pals are a giggly gang hanging out in the sun! Plump and stretchy in orangey-red, this tomato trio sit on a soft green vine. With soft...
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.