Play Time
Tonies Spanish Playtime Songs Audio Play Fig...
$17.99It’s time to dance! These vibrant songs will get you up and moving as we hear some of the best traditional Spanish playtime songs! Tonies Spanish Playtime Songs Audio...
Mudpuppy Spanish-English ABC Ring Flash Cards
$16.00Encourage the love of language with the educational Spanish-English ABC Ring Flash Cards by Mudpuppy. Each double-sided card features charming illustrations of a Spanish word associated with a letter of...
Vilac Speedster Car Red
$74.00Speedster Car in red lacquered wood to play with or to decorate the bedroom of children and adults alike. Made in France. Suitable for 3 years+ Dimensions: 28 x 10...
Speedy Monkey Speedy Monkey Kitchen Party Toy
$137.00Because role-playing has always been little one's favorite game, this adorable wooden toy kitchen set is close to the live scene.Children become little Chefs and pretend to cook food like...
Speedy Monkey Speedy Monkey Rainbow Abacus Toy
$28.00The colorful wooden Speedy Monkey Rainbow Abacus encourages your little one to develop hand-eye coordination, and color differentiation and improve creativity. Attract the toddler's attention by smoothly sliding the wooden...
Speedy Monkey Speedy Monkey Wooden Alphabet Puzzle
$28.00The Speedy Monkey Wooden Alphabet Puzzle is a simple yet effective learning tool. Your little one will have fun with the letters of the alphabet while developing his problem-solving and...
Great Pretenders Spider Cape Set with Mask and Cuffs
$30.00A doubled, satin cape is perfect for scaling buildings and other heroic needs. Perfect for any arachnid-kid, this spider hero set includes a cape with a scalloped edge, mask with...
Innobaby Spike Bubble Blower Set
$20.00Long-lasting, mess-free bubbles are here: Say hello to SPIKE’s Sensory Bubble Play! This sensory bubble toy gives tons of bubbles without the mess or soapy gooey residue. Perfect for sensory...
Fat Brain Toys Spinny Pins
$35.00Spin, wobble, sort, and discover! Each of the five colorful pins features fascinating textures to feel plus a weighted base that wobbles wonderfully.Fit them into the slots of the big bowl...
Manhattan Toy Spiral Activity Space Rocket
$26.00Spiral features space-themed fun from end-to-end, featuring a rocket with baby-safe mirror and crescent moon. Three dangling attachments include a crinkle star with a flexible elastic cord, stars with textured...
Madame Alexander Splash and Play Mermaid Princess Doll
$56.00The Splash and Play Mermaid Princess Doll will be your child's bestie at the beach or in the bath! Fully submersible, they float and drip-dry. This Mermaid Princess is dressed in a sea-themed...
Madame Alexander Splash and Play Seahorse Doll
$56.00The Splash and Play Seahorse Doll will be your child's bestie at the beach or in the bath! Fully submersible, they float and drip-dry. This soft and cuddly doll wears a striped seahorse...
Vilac Sport Car Trophy Red
$55.00Vilac has been the maker of high quality, award winning toys since 1911 Perfect size for little hands Lacquered hard wood with non toxic finish Wheels spin
Sonria Slime Sprinkle Frosting Slime
$19.99An artistic yet enjoyable activity for your little ones. This Sprinkle Frosting Slime is infused with vanilla essential oil for ultimate calmness. Scent: Vanilla Buttercream Texture: Butter Slime Size: 7 fl oz. Shelf...
Phaidon Press Squares & Other Shape By: Josef Albers
$12.95An introduction to shapes through the acclaimed art of Josef Albers The influential art of Josef Albers is used to teach shapes in this stylish read-aloud board book, which takes...
Malarkey Stack N Chew Earthy
$26.00The Stack N Chew Mini Cube Earthy is a developmental teething toy. It's BPA-Free and made of food-grade silicone making it safe for baby's tender gums. The flexible holes help...
Malarkey Stack N Chew Pastel
$26.00The Stack N Chew Mini Cube Pastel is a developmental teething toy. It's BPA-Free and made of food-grade silicone making it safe for baby's tender gums. The flexible holes help...
Guidecraft Stackable Wooden Cylinder Steps
$50.00Stackable, colorful Cylinder Steps encourage fine motor and identification skills while exploring seriation and color gradients. Five rows of appealing, rubberwood cylinders in increasing size and transitioning colors are easy-to-grasp...
Tender Leaf Toys Stacking Coral Reefs
$50.00A wooden stacking under the sea rock with 18 wonderfully colored sea creatures including a shrimp, a squid, a crab, 2 eels, a sea urchin, a sea anemone, a starfish,...
Tender Leaf Toys Stacking Forest
$46.00A wooden stacking tree trunk with 19 stylishly colored animals and plants including an owl, a bat, a wolf, a squirrel, a woodpecker, an acorn, a mummy pig with her...
Hape Stacking Music Toy Set
$38.00Your little musician will create wonderful music and explore melody and rhythm with this Stacking Music Set by Hape! Children can stack differently sized blocks in any way they wish...
Guidecraft Stacking Rainbow Pyramid
$36.00Six hardwood stacking squares feature inset-colored plexi for stacking, sorting, building, sequencing and creating imaginative, colorful constructions! Doubles as a stand-alone manipulative or an addition to hardwood block construction. Hardwood...
Fat Brain Toys Stacking SpinAgain
$38.00It's a stacking toy with a spin—literally!Drop the vibrant discs onto the threaded corkscrew pole and go ooooh as they spin fast and smooth to settle onto the reversible base....
Fat Brain Toys Stacking Suction Kupz
$22.00Stack, roll, stick, and sip! Each of these six colorful, squishy cups features a suction cup on the bottom, a suctioning brim at the top, plus endless creative-play possibilities all...
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.