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How do you feel about educational toys? And what are they, anyway? Children instinctively know what’s good for them. Objects that can teach them lessons they are ready to learn are intensely interesting. It could be a wine cork, a marble or a muddy puddle. It could also be blocks, a wooden figure, or (very […]

A baby’s most important toy is you, which is why we don’t recommend many toys for babies, and for under six-months very little at all. A mobile, a baby gym and a couple of activity toys to scatter on the play mat is more than enough. But there are a few items in our range

The two or three years before children enter primary school is a period of incredible wonder, when they develop their own personalities, learn to make friends, to chat, to play. Your toddler will move away from experimentation to intention, from making marks to holding a pencil and maybe even writing, from dependence on you to

You’ll often hear us say that babies don’t need any toys at all. Some human company and a handful of household objects to investigate is plenty. At the risk of completely destroying the 100 Toys business model, the advice for toddlers isn’t much different. Life for a toddler is about investigation. The way they learn

Maileg (pronounced My-lee) is a real customer favourite here at 100 Toys but with three core animal collections (mice, bunnies and rabbits) and family members of every size and persuasion, plus a few Danish words thrown in, it’s not always easy to understand their sizing. To make things even more complicated, Maileg has recently updated

They never seem to get that much use. The odd shake here and there, but rarely any prolonged investigation. The best you can hope for is a quick bash and perhaps a chew when plucked from the treasure basket. But rattles have been around for millennia. There must be something special about them. And, of

A newspaper clipping of my grandmother offering water to a British soldier during the troubles in Cyprus. It’s the only photograph I have of her during this time. As part of our site redesign we’re updating our manifesto, which has been sitting, unloved, in a quiet corner for the past three years. I’m having to

How do you play with your child? Do you sit back and let her play at your feet or are you an active participant? Both approach have their merits, but they can have very different outcomes. As you know, we are great advocates of independent play. It teaches creativity, resilience and a can-do attitude. But

As back-to-front as it may sound for us to say it, you’ll definitely hear us say it plenty: children have too many toys. As parents, we see first hand just how many they accumulate. Birthdays, Christmas, trips to the supermarket, freebies on the front of magazines and treats from Grandma – they all add up.

All your baby really needs in the first few months of their life is you. The model and appetite for exploration, discovery and skills that you establish with them now has far-reaching impact on their emotional intelligence and academic success in later life. But there is no need for Beethoven CDs and dull educational flashcards.