Top Toy Articles Archives - Happy Little Tadpole

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by Sarah Conley — Leave a comment

Top 12 Tummy Time Toys by a New Mom

I had my baby last Spring, and I was one of those pregnant people that was asking people, “Do newborns really need toys?” And the answer is yes, yes they do. Newborns need specific types of toys that help them get engaged and develop their senses. One of the skills babies have to work on is tummy time, which is why it’s so helpful to have a couple strong tummy time toys to help your baby enjoy tummy time as much as possible.

Some babies really don’t like tummy time, and others don’t mind it so much. Regardless, supplying your baby with some fun, interactive tummy time toys will help you remember to do tummy time a few times each day, and will make it more fun for both you and baby!

In this article, I’m going to share my favorite tummy time toys separated by toy type. I’ll share my favorite tummy time mirrors, toys and books, activity mats, and pillows. First, I list my favorite choice for the category, then 1-3 other great options to consider, dependent on your preferences. Feel free to skip around to the tummy time toys that you’re most interested through the linked below. Afterwards, I’ll share some tips to help as well.

Posted on March 17, 2021November 23, 2021 by Sarah Conley — 7 Comments

Toddler Dress Up Clothes: Top Rated for 2021

Pretend play toys and dress up encourage children to use their imagination. Costumes facilitate children to take on new roles as a doctor, or a princess, or a superhero, or a king of the volcano lands. Dressing up in costumes gives children an outlet to use their imaginations, gain confidence, build social skills, as well as other skills. I believe that nurturing creativity in children will help them live an inspired life. In this article, we share a variety of top-rated pretend play dress-up costumes that encourage children to use their imaginations. Read on to see our favorite toddler dress–up costumes, divided into four different categories: career, princess, superhero, and open-ended.

2020 Update: In an effort to share only the highest-rated children’s costumes, we have reviewed the items shared in this post on January 27 2020 to make sure we are sharing only the highest-rated pretend play costumes and gear with you. We added a few new items as well.

Posted on February 10, 2020February 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 5 Comments

20 Children’s Books About Love

Reminding children how much they are loved is one thing you can never do too much. Besides telling children they are loved and showing your love for them in every which way, it’s important to put love into context for them, helping them understand what love is and how to give and receive it.

For Valentine’s Day this year, maybe instead of getting the little ones in your life chocolate or candy or toys that they probably have enough of already, share a new book with them about love, which is what Valentine’s Day truly celebrates. Not to mention, 90% of these books aren’t valentine’s day specific, so they are fitting year-round!

Posted on January 26, 2020February 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 18 Comments

Dinosaur Puzzles for Kids

A Prehistoric Compilation of Dinosaur Puzzles Organized by Piece Count

Find a list of the best dinosaur puzzles in this blog post with puzzles ranging from 3 pieces to 1000 pieces, in traditional jigsaw-puzzles to wooden block puzzles, floor puzzles, and mini puzzles too. The best part? All of the puzzles we share are under $20! Click on the following links to skip to the section that you are most interested in:
• Toddler Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 1-5 years old)
• Young Children Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 6-9 years old)
• Preteen and Adult Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 10+)
• Dinosaur Books (Perfect for Pairing with a Puzzle)

Posted on November 25, 2019December 5, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 10 Comments

11 Best Wooden Dollhouses for Toddlers

Dollhouses make fantastic gifts for children. They are a staple piece to playrooms everywhere, alongside play kitchens and train sets. Wanting to ‘play house’ is something that nearly all children enjoy because it’s what they see their parents or guardians do day in and day out! There are many developmental benefits to the type of play that dollhouses encourage, primarily pretend play. Pretend play helps children develop their creativity, role playing abilities, and a variety of other skills as well.

Posted on August 11, 2019December 6, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 7 Comments

7 Cute Baby Board Book Sets

Find the cutest baby board book sets with easy with help from this list of seven very cute baby’s first library board book sets. We’ve looked through all of the board book sets for babies, and found our favorite sets which we share below. All of the sets are different, even if some are from the same publisher/author duo, like the Baby University Sets and the Mudpuppy Little Feminist and Little Traveler Book Sets. Not only do we share the book sets, but we also share a peek inside each book, so you can gain a better understanding of what to expect from each board book set!

So, without further adieu, scroll down to easily find a cute and worthwhile board book block set to gift to the expecting mother in your life, or the precious newborn you just can’t help buying little gifts for. The board books sets we share are great to gift for baby showers, 1-year-olds, and 2-year-olds.

Posted on August 5, 2019August 5, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 9 Comments

Wooden Puzzles for Toddlers

Puzzles are a rewarding, self-contained, educational activity that are fun to complete. Not only are they fun for toddlers to do, but they are also a fantastic developmental activity for little ones. They help toddlers improve recognition, logical thinking, patience, and hand-eye coordination. Completing puzzles is a self-affirming activity that can be both challenging, and rewarding, given the right puzzle size is given to the child in question, dependent on their age, abilities, and skills.

In this article, we share a variety of different wooden puzzles for toddlers, including wooden shape puzzles, Melissa and Doug hide and seek puzzles as well as Melissa and Doug lock puzzles, wooden peg puzzles, personalized name puzzles, Hape chunky alphabet puzzles, tegu magnetic puzzles, and more.

Posted on July 19, 2019July 26, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 6 Comments

14 Fun Outdoor Family Games

Yard games are some of my absolute favorite Summer activities. Why? Because they are so much FUN! They are fantastic activity for entire families to play together – so check out our list of games, then pick one (or two) to get the grandparents, kids, aunts, uncles, and parents together and play some of the fun outdoor family games we share below!

Our curated collection includes outdoor family games in a variety of price points. We share the price range for each game underneath it (along with other pertinent information like suggested age range, how to play, and what’s included with the game), then you can click on the ‘view price’ button underneath an item to see the exact current price on Amazon.

Posted on June 23, 2019July 10, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 3 Comments

The Best Kids Play Tents and Kids Teepees

There are thousands of different types of play tents for kids to choose from. Some, more decorative, others fully functional, and many in between. In this article, we share 40 of our favorite children’s play tents in a variety of different styles including kids pop up tents, kids teepees, playhouse tents, dome style tents, and play canopy tents (also known as hanging play tents). Keep in mind while browsing that all of these tents are Amazon kids tents that can all be purchased online, many of which with free shipping for prime members. To curate this list, we have gone through all of the tent options on Amazon, and chosen the best kids teepees and play tents based on customer reviews, tent features, and overall quality of the tent.

This post may contain referral/affiliate links. If you buy something, we may earn a commission. Read the full disclosure.

Posted on June 17, 2019June 27, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 9 Comments

Our Favorite Kids Playground Sets

This post may contain referral/affiliate links. If you buy something, we may earn a commission. Read the full disclosure.

Choosing the right outdoor play equipment for your backyard is a big decision to make. It needs to be safe, long lasting, and an altogether smart investment to make for your family. This is why choosing a backyard play structures that can be used safely by children for years to come is important. In this article, we share our favorite 4 backyard play sets, our 3 favorite swing sets, and 2 of our favorite stand-alone outdoor play equipment. We also share helpful resources like the top 3 questions you should ask about the playground toys you are considering to buy, as well as features to avoid, and why buying online playground equipment might be easier than going to big box stores. So without further adeiu, scroll down to view our favorite backyard playground sets and individual outdoor play equipment.

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A Prehistoric Compilation of Dinosaur Puzzles Organized by Piece Count

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