Why do babies seem to favor items that were never intended to be playthings? It never fails to amaze me how my kids spurn toys in favor of screwdrivers and old cell phones. But there's one standby that I can always count on to charm a ch…
It sort of pains me that my kids will probably not grow up to the zipping of the sweater and the tossing of the shoes that made Mr. Rogers so endearing. But thanks to reruns, CD compilations, and toys, like these awesome wooden blocks fr…
Kids love dinosaurs and are fascinated with the idea of monstrous animals that roamed the earth and ate each other for breakfast. It's only natural that they start asking more questions than sometimes we know how to answer-- how the dino…
The thought of an infant gumming on a New York City taxi sounds pretty unsanitary until you see the adorable, soft crocheted baby rattle toy found at Estella NYC . Handmade by Peruvian artisans, this small taxicab is the perfect size for…
By my third child, I learned that once the walking starts, the trouble really begins. But unless I kept him in a playpen (like our mothers did with us, right?), I knew my kid would eventually start toddling around, using a chair as a mak…
I've planned eighteen birthday parties so far for my three young children and each time, my eco-friendly heart feels a little sick to see the amount of trash left behind after the last guest leaves. The two moms from British Columbia who…
I guess I have birthday gifts on the brain this week after finding those cute crowns. Today's pick: The Raplapas party animals . Each adorable stuffed pig, elephant, bird or rabbit is soft (ooh, cotton velvet), cuddly and topped off with…
It's hard to entirely describe a Geemo , even after having played with it for a week. I can only assure you that this is the greatest new toy we've discovered in a good long time, thanks to our friend Tiffany at The Pajama Squid . Geemo …
The other night, as my son crept into my bed, he hit me in the head with a robot. Thankfully, unlike the plastic trucks and action figures he has adopted as lovies in the past, this robot was a "crazy soft" Bunk Bot named Night-Vision Pi…
My daughter is an art fanatic , and would paint until she was blue in the face. Funny, she's actually done that, with blue hands, arms, clothes...you get the picture. She's a four-year-old with paints. So when she tried Mahar Dry Goods' …
With three kids, I've got to have toys up my sleeve any time we head out or risk the consequences--or better, bring along a fabulous Discovery Tote from Helicopter Studios . Artist and mom Shannon Duffy originally created these imaginati…
I love peeking across the ocean via the www to see what our European friends are doing as far as kids and design. Occasionally there's some wacky baby tee featuring a wolf riding a unicycle with a pig on his head or something, but genera…
I wish I were one of those crafty types who could look at an old sweater and see more than a Goodwill deduction. If you're Viola Hale of Viola Studio , you imagine adorable stuffed animals including elephants, puppies, pigs, and even a m…
Growing up, no Valentine's Day was complete without a bagful of Be Mine and Hug Me heart candies. Sure they were cute, but let's be honest: they tasted like chewable antacids. Conversation Heart Rattles from Yellow Label Kids are a much …
Okay, we'll stop soon with all the Obama keepsakes. But we'd be remiss if we didn't share with you this very cool President Obama Air Force One wooden toy plane that we just discovered at Wooden Toddler Toys. It's US-made, of course, fro…
Leave it to the darn CPSIA to help us discover a ton of wonderful artisans thinking about calling it quits on February 10th thanks to the new toy testing regulations. Such is the case for Kristen Dirmeier, musician and artist, who hand c…
How to Build an A is about the most fun you can have with an alphabet book. Because, just as author Sara Midda's title says, kids can actually devote their time to creating letters out of the enclosed EVA foam pieces and not just reading…
Soft books are so great for little kids, but the content generally leaves much to be desired. I'm not even kidding: we have one where the entire book is like, Good night bunny, good night puppy, good night kitty. The end . You can imagin…
The picture that comes to mind when I hear "doll" and "completely recycled materials" together in one sentence has never quite looked like the spectacular looking Binky Buddies recycled dolls from Hasenpfeffer Incorporated . Using a vari…
After a busy time fraught with lots of be-booping electronics, rushing to and fro, and various shiny things, there's really no substitute for a bit of Zen. While you're decompressing, consider turning to the ingenious Buddha Board , spot…
The Yo! Gabba Gabba infatuation has reached a fevered pitch in my household, as my 19 month-old can now say "DJ Lance Rock" better than she can say Grandma. Which is no slight to Grandma. In fact, Grandma was cool enough to devote the be…
Babies look cute in hats with bear ears. They just do. That's the rule. But the truth is, babies also look cute in hats with Joop ears, Balob ears and Tada ears. And if you have any idea what I'm talking about you're evidently familiar w…
With the last shopping weekend before Christmas and Hanukkah, we're down to the wire. To save you from the dreaded rush shipping costs, we've asked our editors, contributors and some of our favorite savvy shoppers around the web to offer…
I wrestle with the idea of what to get my two-month old daughter for Christmas, because well, she's two-months and what the heck does she care about what's sitting under the tree for her, right? But then I have to wonder if it'll come ba…