Play Time
Ooh Noo Toy Chest On Wheels White
$165.00All Aboard! taken the same great design of the Ooh Noo toy pram and applied it to the concept of a toy cargo wagon. This handmade wooden toy chest is...
BabyBjorn Toy for Bouncer Soft Friends
$59.99A cute and fun toy that your baby will love! Its brightly colored shapes are fascinating for your baby to look at and play with. The toy bar is easy...
Ooh Noo Toy Pram White
$180.00This toy pram is just too cute for words. It is made entirely of wood, with the exception of the tiny tires on the wheels. It is extremely appropriate for...
Vilac Tractor and trailer with animals stac...
$50.00Pretty wooden animals to stack on the tractor trailer. Illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius. For 2 years+
Indigo Jamm Tractor Tim
$80.00A classically styled blue farm tractor and detachable trailer with 5 wooden farm animals. Peg person, farmer Tim, is removable and the animals can all ride in his trailer. This...
Moover Traditional Dolls Stroller Toy
$176.00Simple and stylish, the traditional Danish-designed Dolls Pram (or Stroller is more commonly known in North America) is sturdy and dependable to keep your baby moving after taking their first...
NL Find Train Track Toy Set
$20.00Description Construction or train themed wooden set comes in acetate tube. Ages 3+. Dimension: pieces approx 2 1/2" x 3" Material: PINE WOOD
Brio Travel Switching Set
$160.00Jump on board the blue line’s battery-powered train and ride the rails over the bridge and onwards to the modern Brio's Travel Switching Station. Take the lift between platforms by...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Cactus Garden Jet Bee
$14.00Jet, the bee themed travel toy features a crinkle paper wing, knotted string antennae and soft ribbon loop legs. This little bumble jiggles when you pull the bee down from...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Farmer's Market Peas in a Pod
$16.00Zip open this soft velvety pod and there are three little peas tethered inside - one with crinkle paper, one that rattles, and one that squeaks - each with sweet...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy Mini Apple Farm Avocado
$12.00Fruity fun for little ones on the go! This avocado travel toy has a variety of soft textured fabrics, crinkle leaf, embedded chime and embroidered facial features. The pit features...
Manhattan Toy Travel Toy UFO
$10.00UFO sighting! Easily attaching to most carriers, carriers, and cribs, the Travel Toy UFO is perfect for at home and on-the-go. The space-themed activity toy includes a rattle, crinkle fabrics,...
Tonies Traveling Songs Audio Play Figurine
$17.99Hit the road (and the skies) with a collection of songs that will have you singing and dancing here, there and everywhere. An exciting compilation of original and popular...
Guidecraft Treasure Tubes Clear
$66.00What makes a fun noise when you shake it? Find trinkets, natural materials, and sensory objects to collect in the beautiful, stackable Treasure Tubes. The round, transparent acrylic tubes with...
Manhattan Toy Tree Top Adventures Activity
$137.00This wood activity center is packed full of exciting features! Includes 4 quadrants in the shape of a tree with a variety of activities for baby: 6 tracks with animal-themed...
Tender Leaf Toys Treetops Train Set
$46.00Take the train with its 2 carriages on a mountain trail to see a bear, moose, and fox. Balance the animals on 2 grassy parts, the fir tree or the...
Trido Trido Magnetic Art Laguna
$90.00 – $150.00The Trido Magnetic Art Laguna allows your child to create their own shapes. Thanks to an ingenious array of magnets, the polyhedrons are able to be connected with each other by...
Trido Trido Magnetic Art Sky
$150.00The Trido Magnetic Art Sky allows your child to create their own shapes. Thanks to an ingenious array of magnets, the polyhedrons are able to be connected with each other by any...
Janod Tropik Pull Along Tropical Train
$30.00The train for the tropics is entering the station! A 2-in-1 early learning toy, this pull-along toy is also a construction set: the 3 carriages are removable and 11 pieces...
Vilac Truck and trailer with vehicles stack...
$50.00Pretty wooden vehicles to stack on the carrier truck. For 2 years+ Approx. 15 x 2 x 5 inches
Jellycat Truffles Sheep
$110.00Truffles Sheep is a big dollop of double cream. With a soft, fuzzy tum, embroidered mocha nose and hooves, and gently folded ears, this sweet sheep can sit up or...
Kiko+ & gg* Tsumiki Building Blocks House
$110.00Tsumiki means "building block" in Japanese. This doll-house-shaped wooden block set has beautifully soft colors. A magnetic cover conceals a magical world of shapes just waiting to be piled up,...
Bear Company Tug the Bulldog
$29.00Fluffy, cuddly, and adorable in every way. This stuffed animal dog is cute, irresistibly soft, and a perfect friend-come-nighttime buddy. Size: 13 inches
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.