Play Time
Malarkey Malarkey Munch Mitt Rosewood
$19.99The Munch Mitt Teether is a “handy” textured teething solution that prevents your little one from dropping it. It provides easy access pain relief to sore gums for infants who...
Bajo Manhattan Blocks
$57.00Bajo’s Manhattan blocks feature minimalist non-toxic painting styles and easy to stack skyscrapers. Teach your children about architecture while helping them learn to stack with these beautiful blocks. Product...
Manhattan Toy Manhattan Toy Put and Peek Birdhouse
$42.00The Put & Peek Birdhouse offers fill-and-spill play for young toddlers. The set includes four colorful rattle birds all featuring a variety of fabric textures, and an easy-open roof and door perfect for tiny...
Manhattan Toy Manhattan Toy Winkel Elephant Rattle ...
$18.00The Zoo Winkels Elephant features the same colorful, chewable, bendable loops as the original, which make it easy for infants to grasp and explore. The appeal of the Winkel teething...
Manhattan Toy Manhattan Toy Zoo Winkel Lion Rattle ...
$18.00The classic Winkel now features a sweet little animal face! An adorable lion face has been placed inside the classic Winkel loop structure for added engagement. The Zoo-Winkel is the...
Manhattan Toy Manhattan Toy Zoo Winkel Monkey Rattl...
$18.00The Zoo Winkels Monkey features the same colorful, chewable, bendable loops as the original, which makes it easy for infants to grasp and explore. The appeal of the Winkel teething...
Plushies Manny Manatee Plush Toy 16 Inch
$32.00Grand Flopsies is an expanding category for the Flopsies series - still as adorable as other Flopsies, but in a brand new, bigger size! Manny Manatee is a plump manatee...
Vilac Marcel The Bear In Its Car
$48.00This cute car is made of lacquered and robust wood and is part of a collection of different animals in cool cars. Made in the French Jura, this collector's item...
Tikiri Marshmallow Collection Natural Rubber...
$49.00This delightful collection of your favorite animals, made from Natural rubber colored in soft pastel shades, each containing an enclosed rattle, will provide stimulation and comfort for any newborn. Includes: Pink...
Graphic Image Mary Poppins
$85.00By P.L. Travers, the author featured in the major motion picture, Saving Mr. Banks. From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks...
Rubbabu Mascot Toy Car
$16.00The Rubbabu Mascot Car is an easy-to-hold, easy-to-roll car. With a cute rounded design, in bright colors, this 5" high car is available in many colors and is popular in toy,...
Hape Master Workbench
$130.00Hape’s Master Workbench is the perfect toy for your little builder! It includes shelves and storage to keep all their tools within reach and organized! Suitable for children 3 years+...
Le Toy Van Mayberry Manor Doll House
$250.00Welcome to Mayberry Manor. This truly stunning, deluxe dollhouse is ready for any aspiring Duke or Duchess to move right into and makes a perfect addition to your child’s imaginative...
Compendium Me Museum Activity Book
$16.95A Great Big Place Full of Awesome Activities, Exciting Exhibits, and Astonishing Artwork The Me Museum is pretty much exactly unlike any other museum you’ve ever seen—here you can do...
Me&Mine Me&Mine Cooking Set
$48.00Inspire the creativity of cooking with this 6-piece kitchen playset! Inside, you will find a wooden spoon, spatula, rolling pin, and pestle, enamel mortar, and a fabric carrying bag. On...
Little People, Big Dreams Memory Game Amazing Women
$16.99A Memory Game! Match up the Little People to their BIG DREAMS! Discover amazing women in this simple memory game, from the creator of the bestselling Little People BIG DREAMS...
Janod Memory Touch Recognition Wooden Game
$30.00An ideal game for developing your child’s sense of touch and fine motor skills. Put your hand in the bag and try to be the first to find the 4...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Helmet V2 3D Scooters...
$60.00Keep your child’s noggin safe while scooting with our upgraded Micro Kickboard Helmets! Available with safe sizing via head circumference, you can be sure that your Micro helmet will be...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Helmet V2 Doodle
$52.00Keep your child’s noggin safe while scooting with our upgraded Micro Kickboard Helmets! Available with safe sizing via head circumference, you can be sure that your Micro helmet will be the perfect...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Helmet V2 Rocket
$52.00Keep your child’s noggin safe while scooting with our upgraded Micro Kickboard Helmets! Available with safe sizing via head circumference, you can be sure that your Micro helmet will be the perfect...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Helmet V2 Unicorn
$52.00Keep your child’s noggin safe while scooting with our upgraded Micro Kickboard Helmets! Available with safe sizing via head circumference, you can be sure that your Micro helmet will be...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Foldable ...
$165.00This scooter has it all! The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Foldable LED offers our customers favorite Maxi features - foldability AND light-up wheels! The Maxi Deluxe Foldable LED takes the multi-award-winning,...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe LED Scooter
$155.00The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe LED Scooter takes the multi-award-winning, much-revered children's three-wheeled scooter to the next level. This deluxe version has LED light-up front wheels, an anodized stem for extra...
Micro Kickboard Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Pro Scooter
$155.00The Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Pro Scooter offers wide front wheels, a cool chopper-style handlebar, and five trendy color combinations. Besides its unique new look, this classic kickboard scores high with...
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.