Play Time
Tegu Original Pocket Pouch Magnetic Wooden...
$30.00Tegu’s Pocket Pouch Prism is the perfect travel toy for your little builder to create any structure by magnetically connecting the colorful blocks, the ideal set for imaginative play! Dimensions:...
Jellycat Otto Sausage Dog Bag
$50.00Ready for a woodland walk? No need for a lead with the Otto Sausage Dog Bag. This beautiful bag has a strong silver zip, a cross-body strap in cocoa webbing...
Penguin Our Little Adventures Set Book
$30.00Jump-start your young child's education with vocabulary and early language concepts using these beautiful books created by a speech therapist to help build your child's language skills and encourage them...
Penguin Our Little Library
$30.00Foundational language vocabulary board book set for babies Designed by a professional watercolor artist and licensed speech therapist, Our Little Library features five board books that feature charming images and...
Plantoys Oval Xylophone
$36.00Oval Xylophone features five colorful panels that help with hand-eye coordination. Please note this xylophone is made for fun and may not be musically accurate. Oval Xylophone Details: Age: 12...
Janod P'tite Little Miss Vanity Case Toy
$36.00This toy has everything needed for your little girl to become the prettiest Little Miss! Includes 9 wooden accessories: a large mirror, a makeup palette with brush and built-in mirror,...
Hachette Book Group Paint by Sticker Kids Under the Sea
$10.99Paint creatures of the sea with stickers!Step 1: Find the stickerStep 2: Peel the stickerStep 3: Place the sticker…and watch your underwater paintings come to life!Includes everything you need to create ten sticker...
Plushies Palm Marius Nutcracker
$12.00Marius Nutcracker – The Holiday Guard of Cheer & Christmas MagicStanding tall and proud in his vibrant red uniform, Marius Nutcracker is the ultimate protector of holiday surprises and festive...
Oli and Carol Palm Peach Teether
$22.00Feeling peachy? Meet Palm Peach, a natural rubber teether and bath toy. Its realistic textures help stimulate babies’ senses and relieve teething gums, making it ideal for sensory play. Introduce...
Phaidon Press Pancakes! An Interactive Recipe Book
$22.95Cook pancakes from scratch inside this interactive recipe book – readers whisk the eggs, flip the pancakes, and more! Simple, straightforward recipe text brings readers through each step of cooking...
Mon Ami Paris Mauve Poodle Plush Toy
$40.00Meet Paris, our bestselling Poodle! In a beautiful mauve color, and perfectly coiffed fur, she is sure to put a smile on anyone's face! 100% Polyester for enhanced softness and...
Brio Parking Garage
$100.00Parking Garage is the perfect addition to any BRIO World, connecting the railway and roadways together in a single destination. Each of the three levels of the Parking Garage...
Plantoys Parking Garage Toy
$156.00The Parking Garage has 3 floors of parking space, a working elevator tower, a helipad, 2 cars, and an electric charging station. A perfect toy for pretend play. Age: 3 years+...
Parklon Parklon Double Sided Mat ABC / Urban ...
$105.00For use at home or on the go, Parklon Portable Play Mats are a customer favorite for their versatility and convenience. Lightweight: This mat is made of PE, a lightweight...
Parklon Parklon Portable Play Mat Happy Travel
$84.00The Parklon Portable Folding Mat is a versatile, ultra-lightweight play mat that can be used just about anywhere. This non-toxic foam mat folds up into a convenient carrying case and...
Parklon Parklon Silky Portable Play Mat Cloud...
$120.00For use at home or on the go, Parklon Portable Play Mats are a customer favorite for their versatility and convenience. Lightweight: The Silky Mat is a lightweight play mat made...
Parklon Parklon Silky Portable Play Mat LeMans
$120.00For use at home or on the go, Parklon Portable Play Mats are a customer favorite for their versatility and convenience. Lightweight: The Silky Mat is a lightweight play mat made...
Parklon Parklon Silky Portable Play Mat Vinta...
$120.00For use at home or on the go, Parklon Portable Play Mats are a customer favorite for their versatility and convenience. Lightweight: The Silky Mat is a lightweight play mat made...
Hachette Party In A Book (Uplifting Editions)
$17.99What makes a birthday better than rainbows, unicorns, and being told how amazing you are? Party in a Book provides all of the above. The pages feature eight pop-up surprises (a...
Oli and Carol Pastel Floating Blocks
$35.00The Bauhaus Movement geometric figures are the coolest interactive blocks for littles & not so littles! Easy-to-pile while educating babies into basic shapes and colors that surround them. Kids...
Beyond123 Pat Bells Station
$140.00Pat Bells Station is music made simple and fun. No more broken strings, and no tuning required. Simply pat the bells, secured on a wooden station, for vibrant and colorful...
Tonies Paw Patrol Marshall Audio Play Figurine
$19.99It's the Adventure Bay 500! The pups have built an awesome racetrack and are prepared to pit crew for The Whoosh! When the legendary racer is unable to drive, he...
Cuddle + Kind Paxton The Panda
$80.00 – $100.00I come from a deep green forest with tons of trees to climb and delicious bamboo to eat. I might look different than most bears, but I love that I’m...
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.