Play Time
Crazy Aaron's Brittany Bamboo 5oz
$12.00Discover the world’s friendliest dough! These friendly zoo animal themed Land of Dough 5oz play dough cups are vibrantly colored and individually handcrafted with natural colors, compostable glitter for a...
Crazy Aaron's Brock Peacock 5oz
$12.00Discover the world’s friendliest dough! These friendly zoo animal themed Land of Dough 5oz play dough cups are vibrantly colored and individually handcrafted with natural colors, compostable glitter for a...
Coco Village Brunch Playset
$36.00Breakfast, lunch, brunch, or even breakfast in bed—the possibilities are endless with the Wooden Brunch Playset! Designed for imaginative little chefs, this delightful set lets children prepare and serve a...
Playforever Bruno Black Race Car
$84.00Bruno is a Playforever original. Born from a childhood fascination with tin cars and inspired by the beauty of classic cigar racers, founder Julian Meagher set out to create a...
Cucu Bubble Pop Activity Toy
$15.00Perfect sensory adventure kids can take with them everywhere they go! Featuring silicone bubbles built into a sturdy plastic frame. Made of 100% food-grade silicone and ABS plastic
Plushies Buddy Beagle Plush Toy
$32.00Grand Flopsies are a new category for the Flopsies collection - still as adorable as other Flopsies, but in a brand new size! Buddy Beagle Grand Flopsie is a large...
Magnatiles Builder 32 Pieces
$54.00Little builders, assemble! The fan-favorite Builder set is taking imaginative play and STEAM learning to new heights with the first-ever, extendable magnetic cranes. New ideas are around every twist and...
Fat Brain Toy Building Blocks 50 Piece Squigz Delux...
$60.00Fat Brain Toys Squigz are fun little suckers! They are flexible fellows and committed joiners. Squigz and fellow Squigz have one chief enterprise - creating things. Willingly, they assemble...
Fat Brain Toy Building Blocks Pip Squigz
$28.00Toys Pip Squigz is the perfect toy to give to your little one to use in any environment, to stick on everything from walls, to bathtubs, to windows, and more! The...
Maileg Bunny - Powder
$26.00A soft bunny with a lovely bow around the neck. It has magnets in the hands so that it can easily hold small metal accessories. Dimensions: Height: 8.3in, Net...
Maileg Bunny Albin Plush Toy
$32.00This adorable and soft Bunny Albin has a floral detail on his ears and a light blue ribbon on his neck. Washing instruction: 30 C Material: Linen Height: 8.27 inches...
Rattan Bunny Chair
$139.00Poppie's bunny chair is all ears. Cute, adorable and fun to play tea parties with. 1 Piece For Kids aged 2 years+ Made out of rattan: environmentally responsible, fast growing...
Maileg Bunny Chocolate Brown
$54.00The well-known Maileg bunny dressed up as a ballet dancer. It wears a rose-colored suit, tulle skirt and ballet shoes. DimensionsHeight: 15.75inNet weight: 0.31lbRecommended AgeALL AGES
Plushies Bunny Hugs
$44.00Bunny Hugs is a plush, stitched attached, soft toy bunny and chick duo.Bunny has been sewn from a luxuriously soft and dense white faux fur plush, with pink smooth inners...
Maileg Bunny in Dress and Shoes Size 3
$54.00Meet the charming Classic Bunny, a beautifully crafted plush made from soft, natural fabrics that offer a wonderful hand feel and timeless look. With her gentle design and sweet personality,...
Effiki Bunny Plush Toy Gray with Gray Ears
$90.00Bunny in Gray with Gray Ears! Looking for tiny, loving person to cuddle and can be your child's best friend, companion in sleep, on a journey, and in playing.Perfect as a gift...
BlaBla Bunny Rattle Pierre
$32.00Handmade baby rattle made from the softest Peruvian cotton. 100% cotton with poly fill. Approximately 8" long Hand or machine wash in cold water on gentle cycle Lay flat to...
Tender Leaf Toys Bunny Tales Wooden Dolls
$18.00A perfect solid bunny family with Dotty the mum, Benny the dad, and Pip the baby, all finished in stylish colors and ready to add to any doll's house set...
Chronicle Books Busy Baby Book Friends
$9.99In Friends, Busy Baby can play, share, paint, and help cleanup. Whatever Busy Baby does, the most important thing is to make some new friends along the way. Both books...
Cottage Door Press Busy Noisy Farm Book
$19.99Oink, oink! It’s a busy day on the farm! Help a farmer find his lost little pig in this lively, noisy farmyard adventure! Little ones will love exploring the barn and...
Itzy Ritzy Busy Ring Teething Activity Toy Bunny
$16.00Teethe, Play & Explore! A sensory sensation, the Itzy Bitzy Busy Ring™ has all the love in the details with multiple features for the baby to explore. Textured teethers and...
Itzy Ritzy Busy Ring Teething Activity Toy Rainbow
$16.00Teethe, Play & Explore! A sensory sensation, the Bitzy Busy Ring™ has all the love in the details with multiple features for the baby to explore. Textured teethers and dangling...
Tikiri Butterfly Natural Rubber Toy
$18.00This super cute Tikiri Butterfly Rattle Toy from the Garden Friends Collection has come from the garden to provide comfort and joy for bath times and bedtimes. Each contains an enclosed...
Great Pretenders Butterfly Twirl Dress With Wings and ...
$56.00Introducing our Butterfly Twirl Dress with Wings in a stunning Blue & Purple colorway! Crafted from the softest, most breathable spandex fabric, this enchanting dress is tailored for all-day comfort,...
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.