Play Time
Chronicle Books The Atlas of Amazing Birds Book
$19.95From colossal condors to polychromatic peacocks, The Atlas of Amazing Birds celebrates winged creatures through joyful watercolors and well-researched, humorously told tales of their habits and habitats. Some birds migrate thousands of...
Moulin Roty The Big Family Dollhouse with Furniture
$192.00The Big Family’s screen-printed wooden doll house and furniture is easy to assemble. In the style of a typical village house, it comes with a kitchen where Nini the mouse...
Abrams The Birthday Music Book: Play Happy B...
$24.99An interactive story book with eight musical clips, including “Happy Birthday” and other classical masterpieces Get ready to celebrate with eight touch-activated sound chips, join sing along to “Happy Birthday”...
Penguin The Body Book
$17.99The Body Book is an exciting way to explore all the amazing things our body can do. What’s going on inside our bodies? How do we move, eat, think, and breathe? Children...
Tonies The Cat in the Hat Audio Play Figurine
$19.99All of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters together in one adventure-packed collection. Double the trouble with Tonies The Cat in the Hat. Enjoy a world full of silly creatures, wacky...
Hachette The Christmas Songbook: Sing Along to...
$24.99With eight touch-activated sound chips, join the Mouse Family on a musical Christmas adventure and sing along to eight classic holiday carols as you join in their preparations for a...
Chronicle Books The Color Monster A Pop-Up Book of Fe...
$24.99We teach toddlers to identify colors, numbers, shapes, and letters—but what about their feelings? By illustrating such common emotions as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and calm, this sensitive book gently...
Bajo The Farm Wooden Animal Set
$68.00This set contains many of the farm animals the kids know and are the perfect girth for the child’s hand to grab and play with. The packaging of this set...
Moulin Roty The Little School Of Dance Storybook ...
$32.00A charming magnetic box, designed like a book and including: a flashlight with 5 beautifully illustrated tales from The Little School of Dance and precious invitation cards in the form...
Joy Costumes The Pink Mermaid Dress
$66.00Prepare your dinglehoppers for our latest dress, which draws inspiration from The Little Mermaid. This dress is modeled after Ariel's dress for her first sit-down dinner with Prince Eric after...
Tender Leaf Toys The Stables Set
$58.00This working stable is perfect for grooming the ponies, with a brush, and 2 blankets. Feed the ponies with a bale of hay and a nose bag. Keep it all...
Maileg Thermos and Cups Toy
$26.00When friends go on a hike or an excursion, they need tea. This little set is made with the finest details that make the product very authentic. The lid can be unscrewed...
The Pencil Grip Thin Stix Tempera Paint 12 Colors
$18.00Thin Stix in 12 classic colors! Thin Stix Solid Tempera Paint has all the same qualities and features of Kwik Stix, but a thinner tube for better detail and different...
Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty Dino Scales
$15.00Did you know that a dinosaur's scaly skin was actually very soft and pliable? Just like Thinking Putty®! Live the lost world adventure and stretch out Dino Scales to see green...
Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty Princess Pony
$15.00A perfect fairytale! Take a magical joyride, on the most dazzling pony, as you make your way up to the castle gates. Of course, your pony’s mane is shimmering in...
Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty Rainbow
$15.00Rainbows make everything better! Certain transparent materials will bend various colors of light differently. White light is then broken up into a dazzling rainbow. With every twist, pull and stretch,...
Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty Seven Seas
$15.00All hands on deck! Time to set sail and take a journey through the Seven Seas! Stretch and squish your way through the ocean waves and explore the wild ocean...
Penguin This is America Book
$19.95This book focuses on all of the most important cities and sites within the United States. With their mid-century modern, retro illustrations, Sasek's books make the perfect gift for travel and...
Penguin This is Britain Book
$17.95This is Britain, first published in 1974, encompasses the nation’s many facets, from the mystery of Stonehenge to the monuments of the British Isles. Among his stops are the White...
Penguin This is Hong Kong Book
$17.95This is Hong Kong, first published in 1965, captures the enchantment and the contrasts of Hong Kong in the sixties. Roaring jets bring in the tourists; bamboo rickshaws taxi them...
Chronicle Books This Is How We Do It Book
$19.99One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World! Follow one day in the real lives of seven kids from around the world—Italy, Japan, Iran, India,...
Penguin This is Israel Book
$17.95This is Israel, first published in 1962, visits the Promised Land, a sun-drenched panorama of many hues and many traditions. From the Sea of Galilee to the Red Sea...
Penguin This is London Book
$17.95This is London, first published in 1959 and now updated for the 21st century. Here this beloved illustrator shares his impressions of London with its beautiful buildings, historic monuments, bridges,...
Penguin This is New York Book
$17.95This Is New York, first published in 1960 and now updated for the 21st century. The Dutchman who bought the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 for twenty-four...
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.