With all the round stacking toys out there, I was starting to think that there was some unwritten rule that toddler toys can only resemble inner tubes or wooden doughnuts. But I'm relieved to tell you that is not the case, thanks to this…
So my daughter has just embraced the wonderful world of dinosaurs-- beyond Barney. This is a huge milestone. Huge. To encourage her newfound love of the stegosaurus and the parasaurolophus and all non-purple dinosaurs, we've forgone plas…
We always have our eyes on artisans we've featured here before so we can share with you their newest, coolest goodies. So lucky me and you for this new discovery at one of our favorite mom and dad bizzes, Little Alouette. Word lover or n…
Now that my near 7-month-old can make her way around the floor, she can reach all the little teeny toys my older kids have grown accustomed to scattering everywhere. Aside from sending them to another room to play, I've found three toys …
As a Southern transplant, I couldn't let the annual running of the Kentucky Derby go by without at least a little hat tip (ha, get it?). But since I'm pretty sure I won't have a need for a gigantic hat anytime soon, I figured a cute litt…
If you're lucky enough to live in Montreal, then April 30 is going to be one really amazing day of shopping. The mama-run Collectif nënë is launching their first annual baby show and you will want to be there. Of course, most of us aren'…
We've got no shortage of toys in our house, but of all the ones my kids consistently play with, their simple set of building blocks win over anything else they own every single time. So when I saw the GoodWood Deconstructive Blocks, I kn…
When you think of a baby rattle as a keepsake gift, silver is probably the first material that pops to mind. But I've just found a wooden one that's so gorgeous, it's giving silver a run for its money. The Timbur Baby Rattle combines tra…
Ever since my daughter declared Easter was her favorite holiday, I've paid a little extra attention to the gifts I put in her Easter basket . After all, I'm sure the Easter Bunny thinks she's pretty great. While Easter is still a few wee…
Boom, boom, acka-lacka-lacka boom, baby. We're proud to show you the results of humanity's first attempt to literally Walk the Dinosaur. Bonus: This king of the terrible lizards has some sweet dance moves. The Tyrannosaurus Rex Push Toy …
I have a soft spot for good quality wooden toys . I like them so much I find myself decorating my daughter's room with them, and these handmade, wood puzzles from Just Hatched are no exception. They're much too pretty to keep in a drawer…
We just love it when one of our favorite little mom-run brands makes it big. Not only because that means that quality construction and design reap the rewards they deserve, but because even more people will get to discover a great new st…
I'm one step closer to becoming a treehugger. My new toy crush is made with organic maple, cherry and walnut wood and tackles balance, problem solving, pattern recognition and fine motor skills . Oh, and it's for babies. The Brainbow Sta…
I have this fantasy every Christmas of convincing my extended family to go together on one big gift for my children. You know, instead of everyone doing their own thing and my kids ending up with a playroom full of blinky-light, noise-ma…
Ok so maybe teething doesn't really rock. In fact, it can be pretty painful for all parties involved. I recall more than my share of sleepless nights when my son's teeth were coming in. Not fun. But maybe the teethers can be? I only wish…
Every month, each of the CMP contributors pick our favorite pick of the month and write a quick blurb on it for our monthly newsletter . Out of dozens of amazing posts in September, four of us nearly had a cage match over who got to sque…
The list of things my 3-year-old daughter doesn't love is a lot shorter than the list of things she does. But if there's one thing she digs more than anything else right now, it's dolls. Specifically, dolls to whom she can assign the per…
Though I have a six-year-old son, I have somehow avoided those plastic transforming toys that are supposed to go from a car or a truck to a robot, though I can never get them to look like either one. But avoid a block of wood that transf…
I'm not gonna beat around the bush: Modern Playhouse makes a seriously cool modern playhouse. We're talking the Taj Mahal of fourteen-square-foot living, folks. No more faded plastic hot dog stands or cardboard that crumples when your un…
My kids are all puzzle fans, as evidenced by the thousands of cardboard and wooden pieces strewn about my floor at any given time of the day. But we've yet to see anything like the new multiple solution shape puzzles from one of our fave…
CMP loves to turn ABC into ROFL, and we are totally digging on these XYZ Blocks by Fred & Friends. They stack, tumble, and teach letters just as well as more traditional blocks, but they're beautiful, unusual, and entertaining, too. E is…
Maybe toddlers shouldn't fish. I remember thinking this as I watched my 3-year-old niece clutch a big fishing pole while my husband tried to keep her from falling into the deep dark water or skewer him with the sharp fishing hook that wa…
Those board books start out so cute and shiny, don't they? And then Baby Bookivore gets very interested in gnawing the corners, splitting the pages, and seeing what a slice of banana will look like sandwiched between B is for Broccoli an…
We've been fans of the Handmade Toy Alliance since this organization formed in 2008 in response to Congress's [expletive deleted] Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act. This ill-conceived (and ironically named) law is the impetus for …