Play Time
Janod Sweet Cocoon My First Numbers Puzzle
$26.00Watch little ones gradually learn to count with this magnificent cardboard puzzle, complete with colorful slot-in wooden numbers! The animals have been tasked to help make counting to 10 more...
Janod Sweet Cocoon Rainbow Turtle Wooden Toy
$40.00Your child will love to walk this pretty wooden turtle with its rainbow shell composed of 6 wooden arcs of circles. The rainbows pile up at will to form an...
Janod Sweet Cocoon Shapes and Colors Wooden...
$34.00Your child will learn shapes and colors through 2 levels of play with this adorable wooden dog. The objective is to turn the wheels to align identical shapes or those...
Janod Sweet Cocoon Tap Tap Wooden Toy
$40.00This wooden early-years toy lives up to its name! What could be more fun for little ones aged 12 months and over than picking up the pretty wooden hammer and...
Janod Sweet Cocoon Wooden Multi Activity Wa...
$92.00This beautiful multi-activity push-along walker toy is great for helping children learn to walk. It’s suitable for children aged 12 months and over and comes with an invisible, removable brake...
Janod Sweet Cocoon Xylo Roller 2 in 1 Toy
$54.00Young musicians will love this wooden xylophone! 2 in 1 toy, it is also a pull-out toy they can take everywhere from their first steps. Thanks to a rubber part,...
Le Toy Van Sweet Dreams Doll Pram
$120.00The wooden doll pram stroller has been designed in a classic traditional & aesthetic style with pretty, delicate detailing. Featuring soft pastel pink, cream and fresh white colours with heart...
Bunnies By The Bay Sweet Nibble Bananas The Monkey Plush...
$38.00Bananas the Monkey is as much fun as, well, a barrel of monkeys! This 16-inch monkey stuffed animal is adorable in super soft brown Nibble Fur, and has a friendly...
Bunnies By The Bay Sweet Nibble Bunny Plush Toy Grey
$38.00Sweet Nibble Bunny is sweet, tender, and oh-my-gosh unbelievably soft. This stuffed animal has a hand-embroidered face, pink cheeks, and a big fluffy tail. Features eggnog cream and warm white fur, with...
Bunnies By The Bay Sweet Nibble Bunny Plush Toy Pink
$38.00Sweet Nibble Bunny is sweet, tender, and oh-my-gosh unbelievably soft. This stuffed animal has a hand-embroidered face, pink cheeks, and a big fluffy tail. Features rosewater pink and warm white fur, with...
Madame Alexander Sweet Smiles Kitty Light Skin Doll
$40.00This adorable 14” baby is just the right size for your child to snuggle! The baby has a soft body, a weighted bottom, and molded head, legs, and arms so...
Tender Leaf Toys Sweet Swan Pram
$110.00Swanning about with dolly in the pram? A beautiful white buggy in the shape of a swan with cutout features and a fabric canopy. Natural wooden wheels with rubber trim....
Sophie La Giraffe Sweetie Plush with Musical Box
$29.00An ultra soft plush made with micro velvet material for a soft touch and very flexible thanks to the microbeads placed in the body and to the legs tip. She...
Oli & Carol Sweetie the Strawberry Baby Car
$28.00Introducing Sweetie, the sustainable baby car toy! A strawberry-inspired design handcrafted with natural rubber & FSC wood. This baby car promotes interactive play, cognitive development and social skills. It’s packaging...
Bling2o Swim Goggles Raptor Blue Grey
$24.00These swim goggles are unique, fun and perfect for those days out in the water. Product Details: Adjustable strap Antifog polycarbonate lenses with UV protection Silicone. Latex-free. Ages 3...
N&L Exclusive Swimming Ducks Bath Toy
$23.00Five adorable ducks. With them, the bathroom will become the happiest and most fun time of the day. A must-have set for everyday play! Their striking colors, their soft...
Bear Company Tabby the Orange Cat
$28.00Introducing Tabby, our 15" realistic cat stuffed animal that glorifies the beauty of a striped tabby cat. With real-to-life details and a floppy body, this plush cat stuffed animal adds...
Phaidon Press Tacos!: An Interactive Recipe Book
$19.95For kids who cook in a play kitchen or a real kitchen, this interactive recipe book invites readers to chop the vegetables, mash the avocado, warm the tortillas, and more...
Guidecraft Tactile Search and Match
$56.00Curious toddlers flip sensory puzzle pieces over to feel and identify them from their bumpy ridges, smooth surfaces, soft plush and more with Tactile Search and Match. Nine different textures...
Jellycat Tails Book Dino
$18.50Wrinkly, crinkly, crunchety crunch. The dino pals are out to play. Discover the different textures, shapes, and sizes of all their tails. This vibrant and colorful book will captivate the...
Jellycat Tails Book Garden Blue
$18.50JellyCat’s Garden Tails Book enables your little one to play with a variety of soft and safe textures that have a variety of vibrant colors! This cuddly cloth book...
Jellycat Tails Book Kitten
$18.50The Jellycat Kitten Tails Activity Book is crammed with cats! This crinkle fabric book is full of fun pictures and kitty tails of many kinds! Cordy, stripey, spotty, fluffy –...
Jellycat Tails Book Pet Blue
$18.50Bobtails, swishy tails, stripey tails, fishy tails - plenty to spot in the pages of Pets' Tails! This funky feely fabric book has colorful pictures, tickly textures, and a cute...
Jellycat Tails Book Puppy Mint
$18.50The Jellycat Puppy Tails Activity Book is full of sights, sounds, and wags! This bright cloth book has crinkle panels, colorful pictures, and lots of fluffy tails! Hang the loop...
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.