Play Time
Londji Beep Beep Observation Puzzle
$32.00This Beep Beep Observation Puzzle allows your little ones find all of the drivers and vehicles in the puzzle. Includes 48 pieces puzzle using high quality matboard cards. Age:...
Bella Tunno Bella Tunno Happy Links Solid
$15.00The Bella Tunno Happy Links set includes 5 links for teething playing and organizing. Attach them to the stroller, rocker, play gym, or carrier to bring the fun wherever you...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Giraffe Patches
$50.00The Patches Giraffe Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil Alma Llama
$58.00The Lil Alma Llama Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Lil Spout Grey
$50.00Lil' Spout Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and tail. The...
Bear Company Belly Blanket Touchdown
$50.00Touchdown Belly Blanket is great for playtime and tummy time providing a soft surface for your baby. Your little one will enjoy playing with the stuffed head and tail. The...
Maileg Bench Mouse Vintage Off White
$16.00A wooden bench made to fit the mouse family perfectly. It has a beautiful hand painted vintage look - variations may occur - and a soft cushion on top of...
Cuddle + Kind Benedict The Bunny
$80.00 – $100.00I’m always chewing on things – in my mouth and in my brain! Learning new things is so much fun, and because I’m so curious, it happens by accident all...
Bear Company Bensen the Teddy Bear Sitting Plush S...
$46.00A soft toy teddy bear sewn from a gorgeously soft and dense, thread textured pale-toffee plush, with glossy two-tone brown safety eyes and a sweet, stitched cocoa nose, with a...
Candylab Berry Toy Car
$12.00Get berry excited for our little Candycar. This lilac Candycar, is the berry best addition to your Candycar collection. Materials: Solid Beech Wood, water-based paint and clear urethane coat. ABS...
Cottage Door Press Best-Loved Jewish Songs Book
$19.99Introduce your little one to the Jewish religion and its traditional songs with this beautifully illustrated children's songbook. Kids can read the lyrics, match the icons on each page with...
Oli and Carol Betty the Beetroot Baby Car
$28.00Roll, play & learn with the coolest & healthiest cars for babies! Say hello to Betty, the eco-conscious baby car toy! With a charming beetroot-inspired design, Betty is crafted from natural...
Bear Company Big Bear Huggles
$110.00Big Huggles is soft toy teddy bear. He has been sewn from a gorgeously soft and dense, rosette textured cream plush, with glossy two-tone brown safety eyes and a sweet,...
Bear Company Big Ben the Brown Bear
$68.00Designed with ultra soft plush and is extra floppy for cuddling. This charming bear is more than a toy, it's a cuddly companion for your little ones.
Ooly Big Bright Brush Markers
$16.00Let their creativity run wild! These chunky brush markers are perfect for little hands, making it easy to draw thick or thin lines with every stroke. The vibrant colors are...
Maileg Big Brother Hiker Mouse
$44.00This mouse is well-prepared for a hiking trip in the wild nature. He is dressed for days of walking and brings his sleeping bag for the nights under the stars. This style...
Maileg Big Brother Mouse Doll with Blue Paja...
$36.00Ready to play for hours, this mouse is sound asleep in a small matchbox. The clothes and bed linen are made of soft fabrics with unique prints and beautiful colors....
Maileg Big Brother Mouse Doll with Yellow Sh...
$34.00Ready to play for hours, this mouse is sound asleep in a small matchbox. The clothes and bed linen are made of soft fabrics with unique prints and beautiful colors. Big...
Maileg Big Brother Mouse In Matchbox Mint
$36.00A classic Maileg item. This mouse is ready for hours of play and sleeps tight in the little matchbox. The clothes and bedlinen are made of soft fabrics with unique...
Maileg Big Brother Tricycle Mouse
$32.00Big Brother Tricycle Mouse is dressed for a day in kindergarten or school, carrying his backpack on the back. He has magnets in his hands so he can hold the...
Maileg Big Brother Tricycle Mouse Green
$32.00Big Brother Mouse is dressed for a day in school, carrying his backpack on the back. He has magnets in his hands so he can hold the handles of the...
Gibbs Smith Big Friends, Little Book
$11.99Teach the concepts of opposites and friendship in a colorful way. Paula Vásquez’s charming illustrations of best friends, Bird and Alligator, help teach opposite concepts of up and down,...
Penguin Big Little / Grande pequeño Book
$8.99Ladies are big, but ladybugs are little. Heads are big, but toes are little. Illustrated in a bright, graphic style, Leslie Patricelli’s bald, hilariously expressive baby acts out each pair...
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.