Play Time
Plushies Grand Flopsie Goldie Retriever Plush Toy
$32.00Goldie Grand Flopsie is a large golden retriever that comes in a resting position. Suitable for all ages and personalities. High-Quality Materials make for a soft and fluffy touch. Quality...
Le Toy Van Grand Piano Toy
$200.00Inspire a love for music with this beautifully crafted Wooden Grand Piano Toy made from FSC-certified wood, designed for budding musicians. Made from sustainable wood and painted in an elegant...
Waytoplay Grand Prix Road Set 24 Pieces
$94.00The new waytoplay Grand Prix flexible road set will set young hearts racing! Watch your children create their very own circuits and road maps for their favorite little racecars and...
Moulin Roty Grande Famille Wooden Characters
$32.00Ideal for playing and making up stories, they are illustrated and screen-printed, representing the most emblematic members of The Big Family.Five assorted characters: Sylvain the Rabbit, Albert the Lamb, Nini...
Crazy Aaron's Grape Grady 5oz
$12.00Discover the world’s friendliest dough! These friendly fruit themed Land of Dough 5oz play dough cups are vibrantly colored and individually handcrafted with natural colors, compostable glitter for a wonDOUGHful...
Oli and Carol Green Cabbage Baby Ball
$22.00This adorable baby ball, shaped like a cabbage, offers endless fun for kids as they bounce, catch, and squeeze it. Crafted from 100% natural rubber and designed without any holes,...
Tender Leaf Toys Greenhouse and Garden Set
$110.00This set is ideal for encouraging green fingers. A traditional plywood greenhouse with base has an opening door, and 2 removable roof panels. It can be filled with 2 seed...
Grimm's Grimm's 3 in 1 Boat Toy Monochrome
$32.00Grimm’s Monochrome 3 in a Boat is the perfect versatile toy for your little one! Authentic Grimm's 3-in-1 Boat Toy Monochrome Details: Perfect in combination with Grimm’s Rolling Boats &...
Grimm's Grimm's Creative Puzzle Sparkling Man...
$170.00Imaginative young builders can make dimensional graphic patterns and images, and build up or decorate three-dimensional castles and palaces with this Creative Puzzle. By building and playing with the...
Grimm's Grimm's Rainbow Dwarfs Dolls
$66.00The dwarfs are perfect inhabitants for all buildings build from the building blocks and fit all of the vehicles. Dwarf is also a fantastic companion and talisman for everyone. Age:...
Grimm's Grimm's Wooden Pull Along Elephant Blue
$68.00If children have learned to walk, they like to pull something behind them. The blue Elephant is a great companion! Materials: lime wood, non-toxic water based color stain. Authentic Grimm's...
Le Toy Van Groceries Set and Scanner
$70.00Time to hit the market! A world of imaginative play awaits with this enchanting wooden grocery set. This award winning toy is crafted from sustainable rubberwood and painted in lovely bright...
Gibbs Smith Publisher GSP The Nutcracker A BabyLit Dancing ...
$11.99About this product With this colorfully illustrated board book version of the classic Christmas-time ballet, Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver present a new holiday favorite, The Nutcracker: A BabyLit® Dancing...
Plushies Gusto Gator Plush Toy
$32.00Grand Flopsies is an expanding category for the Flopsies series - still as adorable as other Flopsies, but in a brand new, bigger size! Gusto Gator is a silly alligator...
Plantoys Hair Dresser Set
$40.00Pretend to be a hairstylist with this hairdresser set! Includes scissors, hair dryer, comb, straightener, hair clipper, and a waist bag. Kids will enjoy creating hairstyles on themselves, family members,...
Tender Leaf Toys Hair Salon
$100.00For all hair types, colors and styles, this hair salon offers a full range of hair treatment and styling opportunities. Finished in gender-neutral colors, a tabletop swivel mirror with a...
Candylab Hamburger Van Toy Car
$22.00Order Up! We’ve got a #1 and a side of fries! This Patty’s Van is complete with a bun and all the fixings. This squishy bun topper is absolutely too cute...
Bukowski Hamilton Bear with Robe
$56.00Your ultimate companion for relaxation! This charming bedtime buddy is accompanied by a plush robe and matching slippers, making her the ideal partner for unwinding after a long day of...
Plantoys Hammer Balls
$60.00Hammer Balls is a toy specifically designed for your baby’s small hands. It can help develop hand-eye coordination, improve dexterity and build physical strength. Hammer Balls Details: Age: 12 months+ Features a...
Plantoys Handy Carpenter Set
$66.00Whether you're building, remodeling or repairing, the PlanToys Handy Carpenter Set has every tool you'll need for your project! Use the hand drill for installations, the hand saw for shaping...
Cuddle + Kind Hannah The Bunny
$84.00 – $104.00I’m always hopping from one big dream to another. There’s so much I want to accomplish in this beautiful world, and I know I can do it if I don’t...
Crocodile Creek Hanukkah Lights Puzzle
$26.0036-piece Hanukkah Lights Puzzle features a vibrant, whimsical holiday scene brought to life with bold, colorful illustrations. Made with sturdy recycled cardboard and soy-based inks, this large floor puzzle comes...
Maileg Happy Camper Tent, Mouse
$46.00Take your mice for a sleepover in the fold-up tent. The wooden sticks can hold the tent door up and give shelter from the rain. The outer fabric has a...
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.