Play Time
Workman A Photicular Book Polar
$27.00Take a stunning journey to the ends of the earth through the colorful, fluid motion of Photicular® technology. A phenomenon first seen in the bestsellers Safari and Ocean, Photicular technology...
Workman A Photicular Book Safari
$27.00A New York Times bestseller, Safari is a magical journey for the whole family. Readers, as if on African safari, encounter eight wild animals that come alive using never-before-seen Photicular...
Kid O a to z Lowercase Magnatab Toy
$38.00Help your little one learn to write the curves of the lowercase alphabet with the sensory-reinforced Kid O’s a to z Lower Case Magnatab! Included: Magnatab board, & the magnetic...
Chronicle Books A to Z Menagerie Alphabet Book
$24.99A to Z Menagerie is a multisensory alphabet book unlike any other. This unique reading experience features a die-cut letter to trace and a satisfying pull-tab reveal for each letter...
BeginAgain A To Z Puzzle & Playset Ocean
$40.00The Ocean A to Z Puzzle is a wooden puzzle, alphabet learning toy, and character play set all in one! It’s a challenging preschool puzzle and helps develop fine motor...
BeginAgain A to Z Puzzle Animal Parade
$35.00From letters to colors to animal names to storytelling, BeginAgain Animal Parade A-Z Puzzle game for toddlers is a wooden puzzle with a world of possibilities. Age: 2 years+ Measures...
BeginAgain A To Z Puzzle Dinosaur
$25.00Alphabet and puzzle based problem solving come together to make this chunky wooden dinosaur come to life. Made from durable rubberwood, this 26 piece alphabet toy is one top selling...
BeginAgain A to Z Space Puzzle
$40.00The Space A to Z Puzzle is an out-of-this-world science adventure. The chunky durable pieces teach the alphabet through space-related objects, from A is for Astronaut Armstrong to Z is...
Kid O A to Z Uppercase Magnatab Toy
$38.00Let’s learn our letters! With easy-to-follow arrows, playful colors, and multi-sensory engagement, The Original Magnatab makes learning a fun and satisfying experience. Practice over and over with the magnetic stylus...
Cottage Door Press ABC and 123 Learning Songs Book
$19.99Singing is learning and learning is fun! Toddlers and preschoolers can sing along with these popular learning songs in this fun songbook. Featuring a wooden inlay and sturdy construction, this book is...
Walter Foster Jr. ABC for Me: ABC What Can He Be? Book
$16.95ABC What Can He Be? presents a wonderful world full of possibilities—from Astronaut to Zoo Veterinarian and everything in between. Whether they're fascinated by construction sites, vehicles, teaching, dancing, music,...
Walter Foster Jr. ABC for Me: ABC What Can She Be? Book
$16.95ABC What Can She Be? presents a world of possibilities—from astronaut to zoologist and everything in between—for all little girls with big dreams. ABC What Can She Be? explores 26 different career...
Sophie La Giraffe Activities Plush Toy
$36.00Sophie La Giraffe Activities Plush to stimulate baby's senses. The plush toy is full of softness thanks to its ultra-soft micro velvet fur, but also very flexible due to the...
Fat Brain Toys Activity Dimpl
$14.00Little fingers can't resist these beautiful buttons of the Fat Brain Toys Dimpl! Built safely into the sturdy ABS plastic frame are five vibrant silicone bubbles in varying sizes and...
Fat Brain Toys Activity Dimpl Digits
$22.00Touch, push, pop, and learn! Squishy, silicone bubbles captivate the fingers in a way that's impossible to put down while simultaneously opening a unique new avenue for learning. On one...
Fat Brain Toys Activity Dimpl Duo
$27.00Textures, colors, shapes, and words! On one side, each silicone button is embossed with a different shape and labeled with its matching word in English and in Braille. Flip the whole...
Fat Brain Toys Activity Dimpl Stack
$22.00A vibrant stack-and-discover experience!The top of each cup features a squishy silicone bubble embossed with a unique texture pattern. Little fingers will love to touch, push, and pop them again...
Fat Brain Toys Activity InnyBin
$29.00An incredibly unique shape-exploration experience! Play freely with Fat Brain Toys InnyBin. The six chunky shape blocks are each designed with fascinating textures that are sure to thrill the fingers. There's...
Fat Brain Toys Activity OombeeCube
$24.00Fun to feel, beautiful to admire, and amazingly durable so you never lose a single shape, the Fat Brain Toys OombeeCube truly is early tactile learning perfected. Fat Brain Toys...
Fat Brain Toys Activity Sensory Rollers
$22.00Fat Brain Toys Sensory Rollers are the perfect toys for your little one to fascinate their senses! Hands of all ages reflexively reach, grab, and explore their fascinating, rubbery...
Tikiri Activity Spiral Toy Meiya & Alvin
$26.00This activity spiral is just wonderful, it has all the interactive elements that help stimulate a growing baby. A wonderful mix of patterned and plain fabrics with have been shown...
Wonder & Wise Activity Table
$199.00The busiest babies love this Activity Table. It’s loaded with lots of fun stuff including 3 removable stacking toy animals, a xylophone, puzzle, train set, and so much more. The...
Moulin Roty Activity Toy Crocodile Sous Mon Baobab
$32.00This activity toy features a crocodile with a little one hanging from his body and a bird on his back. He carries with him a mirror, a rattle, a bell...
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.