Play Time
Mushie Teething Ring Nature
$14.00Watch baby's natural curiosity grow and bloom as they explore the cheerful shapes and sensory-rich textures of our nature teething ring. The raised leaf surface of the ring gently soothes sore...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Blue
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Dusty Pink
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Fudge Fox
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Gift Set Banana and Monkey
$24.00The Matchstick Monkey Banana & Monkey Teething Gift Set is the perfect baby registry gift or gift for new parents. The fun banana shaped soother is easy for tiny hands...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Gigi Giraffe
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Grey
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Light Blue
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. ...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Ludo Lion
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Mint Green
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Monkey Pink
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Pickle Pig
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Shreddy Shark
$18.00Perfect for tiny hands to grip, these adorable teethers help to soothe your baby's sore gums. The BioCote Antimicrobial Technology helps keep germs at bay, whilst textured bumps get teething...
Matchstick Monkey Teething Toy Yellow
$18.00Ideal to develop your baby's motor skills and provide a safe soothing relief for aching gums. Made from BPA free, FDA and CE certified food grade silicone. Product...
Fat Brain Toys Teeting PipSquigz Loops Orange
$14.00Little explorers can’t help but get sucked into the sensory excitement of these bendy, rattly, chewy, suction-cup creations!Their vivid textures instantly inspire little fingers to grab and feel while their...
Sophie La Giraffe Tenderness Creation Birth Set Medium #1
$59.00Sophie la girafe sophiesticated birth set. This set has a little something for baby and parent to enjoy. This set contains a sophie the giraffe toy, plush lovie, customizable notecard,...
Wide-Eyed Edition The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. wit...
$30.00Ghost towns, swamp tours, the center of the universe…bacon donuts, brainy berries, salmon jerky…The French Fry King, The Mother of Oregon, The Queen of Blues…be inspired by the inventiveness, beauty,...
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...
Abrams Appleseed 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
$14.99The 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...
Abrams Appleseed 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...
Graphic Image The Classic Tale Of Peter Rabbit
$105.00The tales of Peter Rabbit are celebrated in this full-color classic edition that features never-before-seen original art and a newly designed format. New York Times bestselling illustrator Charles Santore brings...
Phaidon Press The Eyes Game By: Herve Tullet
$12.95Interactive, with two die-cuts holes for the eyes, this book can be held up against the face like a mask. While reading to the child, the adult turns into 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.