Play Time
Le Toy Van Daisylane Drawing Room
$40.00Time for high tea! This delightful wooden toy furniture set is sure to make a smart and stylish statement to your child's wooden dolls house. Designed to encourage interactive...
Maileg Damaged Box - Beach Set Big Brother M...
$11.00Damaged Box Beach Set for Big Brother Mouse Vacation time. This set includes all essential accessories for a fun day at the beach: trunks, goggles, and a towel. It all...
Maileg Dance Mouse in Daybed
$32.00After a fun dance lesson, there’s nothing better than a cozy place to rest! The Little Sister Mouse loves to snuggle up in her charming daybed, which comes tucked inside...
Sophie La Giraffe Dancing Sophie the Giraffe Music Box ...
$56.00MUSIC BOX: This wooden music box will amaze your child with its 2 magnetic figures that rotate on the dance floor. Perfect for decorating your bedroom and putting it to sleep...
Tonies Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Audio Pla...
$19.99Through imagination, creativity, and music, Daniel Tiger and his friends learn about feelings, health, and the social skills necessary for school and for life. Tonies Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Details: Age: 3...
Hape Deluxe Grand Piano Musical Toy White
$280.00The Deluxe Grand Piano is a real 30 key electronic piano that will enable your child to explore the wonder of music and create their own mini symphonies. This piano...
Brio Deluxe Railway Set
$450.00The Deluxe railway set is the most complete BRIO Rail & Road world there is! An action-packed setting including passenger trains, freight trains, harbor scenes, and metro fun, complete with...
Steiff Denny Dolphin Stuffed Plush Animal - ...
$40.00About this productSewn from blue fabric that will remind you of the ocean, and white plush which echoes the color of the surf, Denny dolphin will bring your child all...
Janod Dentist Set
$36.00There’s a hole in your tooth! We’ll soon fix that! Bzzzzzz! It’s perfect for any budding dentist! This great game is a fun way to teach your child about looking...
PlanToys Dentist Set
$40.00This role play Dr. Dentist set helps children learn the importance of proper dental hygiene and healthy eating. PlanToys Dentist Set Details: 4 realistic wooden dental tools 1 toothbrush 8 wooden...
Jellycat Derreck Dog
$55.00Derreck Dog may be frowning, but he’s really a super friendly fellow! Soft and squat in brown fur, Derreck has an oatmeal tummy perfect for belly rubs! With a grumpy...
Plantoys Detective Set
$36.00Let your little one be a detective and solve a case! Detective Set is a realistic playset that comes with a detective bag, pair of glasses, camera, periscope, walkie-talkie, newspaper, and red...
SmartNoggin Development Light-Up Rattle
$30.00The NogginStik® developmental light-up rattle is a baby’s first learning toy. It might look like a cute version of a baby rattle, but it has a powerful agenda. The NogginStik®...
Jellycat Dexter Dragon
$120.00Most dragons are fiery, but Dexter Dragon is flopsy! No scales for this scamp - just snuggle-soft fur in chalky blue and warm maroon red. Gorgeously detailed with soft...
Fat Brain Toy Dimpl Clutch
$14.00The Fat Brain Toys Dimpl Clutch has three unique sensory experiences ready to clip and go anywhere! Each Clutch features a dimpl bubble on one end and squishy silicone textures...
Fat Brain Toy Dimpl Pops
$16.00The popping never stops!Built into the strong, high-quality plastic frame are 18 dimpl™ bubbles in two different sizes just waiting to be pushed, poked, and popped again and again. The squishy...
Fat Brain Toy Dimpl Pops Deluxe
$27.00The ultimate dimpl™ experience! Built into the strong, high-quality plastic frame are 25 dimpl™ bubbles in four different sizes just waiting to be pushed, poked, and popped again and again....
Fat Brain Toy Dimpl Splash
$26.00Add a big splash of dimpl fascination to bathtime! Each of these three coral-like critters is teeming with discoveries to explore. Little explorers can't wait to dive in and...
Hachette Dino Mix-Up Magnetic Build-It
$18.00Mudpuppy’s Dino Mix-Up Magnetic Build-It includes 2 colorful scenes and 3 sheets of mix and match magnets for creating your own imaginative dinosaurs. The sturdy tin package offers hours of...
Omy Design Dino Super Coloring and Sticker Book
$20.00Get ready to roar with laughter and creativity! This dino-mite 35-page coloring book is bursting with silly dinosaurs, wild prehistoric scenes, and endless adventures waiting to come to life.Includes: 2...
Magnatiles Dino World 40 Pieces
$86.00Volcanic explosions, molten lava, and ferocious dinosaurs are bursting onto the scene! This Magna-Tiles Dino World set features four oversized, fully-magnetic dinosaurs and brightly colored, volcanic-themed tiles for play potential that...
Magnatiles Dino World XL 50 Pieces
$138.00Something tropic-cool has arrived! This Dino World set is larger than life with oversized tropical-themed tiles — our BIGGEST tiles ever — plus all six of the Magna-Tiles® dinosaurs, and...
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.