Play Time
Knitted World Walking Mermaid 18"
$58.00Marina can swim as fast as a sailfish! Little do you know though, there is something special about Marina...she can also run as fast as a cheetah! Marina the Mermaid Knit Doll has...
Knitted World Walking Mermaid 7"
$36.00Marina can swim as fast as a sailfish! Little do you know though, there is something special about Marina...she can also run as fast as a cheetah! Marina the Mermaid Knit Doll has...
Tender Leaf Toys Wall Decor
$18.0010 accessories to give your dolls house interior a facelift! All have double-sided sticky tape on the back. Age range: 3 Years And Older Product size: 9.84 x 8.66 x...
Loog Guitars Wall Hanger
$19.00Loog guitar wall hanger that will look amazing in your kids' bedroom. Made with baltic birch Easy installation, saves space, and looks great at home Screws and plastic dry wall...
Maileg Washing Machine Mouse
$26.00Every busy household needs a helping hand for the laundry - a washing machine is the right solution. It is made in metal and painted in off-white color, with many...
Stockmar Watercolor Paint 20ml Basic Set of 6
$62.00Stockmar Watercolor Paints make their mark with their excellent scumbling properties, natural transparency and lightfastness. The color range follows the extended version of Goethe's "Theory of Colors". Each tone has...
Stockmar Wax Block Crayons in Tin Case 16 Colors
$34.00Stockmar Wax Blocks, made from the same materials and available in identical colors to the stick crayons, have outstanding drawing properties and appeal to the senses. Their size and flat...
Stockmar Wax Block Crayons in Waldorf Tin Case...
$20.00Stockmar Wax Blocks, made from the same materials and available in identical colors to the stick crayons, have outstanding drawing properties and appeal to the senses. Their size and flat...
Stockmar Wax Crayons Combo Standard Tin Case 8...
$40.00Stockmar Wax Blocks, are made from the same materials and available in identical colors to the stick crayons, have outstanding drawing properties and appeal to the senses. Their size and...
Stockmar Wax Stick Crayons in Waldorf Tin Case...
$20.00Elegant design with an attractive packaging and pleasant fragrance, Stockmar Wax Crayons appeal to the child's senses. How the colors shine and how versatile they are! Whether drawing, painting, generously...
Penguin We Are Family Book
$17.99Through illness and health, in celebration and disappointment, families stick together. Some families are made up of many people, and some are much smaller. Sometimes family members look like each...
Chronicle Books We Are the Change Words of Inspiratio...
$17.99This beautiful book illustrates the civil rights quotations that will inspire its readers. Featuring an introduction by Harry Belafonte, words from Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and Dr. Martin Luther King,...
Penguin We Are Together Book
$17.99Celebrate the power of love and friendship in this beautiful book by Britta Teckentrup. With vibrant artwork and peek-through pages, this is a picture book to treasure. Age: 3-7...
Wee Gallery Wee Galley Art Cards For Baby Jungle ...
$16.00Babies are fascinated with black-and-white designs. Right from the start, these art cards begin developing a baby’s visual perception. Printed on sturdy board, these cards will stand up to baby’s...
Penguin Welcome to Florida Book
$10.99Welcome to Florida! We’re glad you’re here! Introducing a new series of picture books about each US state.Children from Florida and those who’d like to visit Florida one day will...
Tikiri Whale Natural Rubber Rattle
$18.00This rubber rattle from the ocean buddies collection. Easy-grip for smaller hands. Each marine animal character has an enclosed rattle that creates a soft sound when shaken. Sound Toys, like...
Tender Leaf Toys What's Up Wooden Face Playset
$40.00This set includes a wooden face shaped base, 2 hair buns and 28 magnetic facial parts to convey lots of emotions, from happy to sad, sleepy to excited! Encourages Social...
Ooh Noo Wheelbarrow Toy
$180.00Made in Europe, entirely out of wood from European forests, the ooh noo Toy Wheelbarrow helps kids develop important gross-motor skills in a complex process that requires strength, coordination, balance,...
Chronicle Books When I Am Big A Counting Book from 1 ...
$18.99A Walk in the Forest introduced the enormously talented Maria Dek, and When I Am Big is a beguiling follow up to her first success. Charming illustrations and text encourage...
Penguin Where's the Astronaut Book
$10.00Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing with little ones by lifting the felt flaps to discover four hidden space-themed friends. Then find the mirror under the final flap!...
Penguin Where's the Bear Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Chick Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Dog Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
Penguin Where's the Duck Book
$10.00Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find...
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.