Fact: Kids love to receive mail. Nurture your child’s developing brain with a baby toy subscription box of educational (and fun!) toys that build physical, social and cognitive skills. Here are 5 subscription services that make it easy for you by delivering age-appropriate developmental toys straight to your door.
Lovevery
Age group: Birth to 4 years
What you get: With this Montessori-inspired subscription box, you receive a box every 2-3 months (depending on your child's age). Designed by child development experts, the toys inside are designed to build brain development and nurture and encourage your child at every age and stage. Toys include books, card sets, first puzzles, bath-friendly playthings and much more. Useful products like a drinking cup also arrive right when your child is ready for them.
What we love: Lovevery takes a science-based approach to choosing the right toys to spark neural pathways, hone motor skills and encourage interaction. The baby-safe toys and materials are made with sustainably sourced wood and 100% organic cotton, and the shipping is carbon neutral. If your child has special needs, contact Lovevery for recommendations on which kits would work best.
Cost: Subscriptions start at $36 a month.
Sign up at lovevery.com.
Monti Kids
Age group: Birth to 3 years
What you get: Every three months, you’ll receive a carefully curated collection of well-made wooden toys with this Montessori subscription box. Parents are given detailed instructions, including a short video (here’s an example), on when and how to introduce each toy, how it works, why it was chosen for your child, and what developmental skills it will help your child work on. Toys are accessible but slightly challenging and based on the research-backed Montessori method.
What we love: These high-quality toys are introduced in a specific sequence, and the learning for each builds upon previous items. The toys meet the highest safety standards and are designed to grow with your child, as they’ll discover new ways to play that stretch their skills.
Cost: $197 every 3 months
Sign up at montikids.com.
Hoppi Box
Age group: Birth to 4 years
What you get: Quarterly boxes of high-quality toys tailored to your baby’s age and developmental milestones. Each box contains 3-5 age-appropriate toys to inspire learning through play. These items foster the development of fine motor, cognitive and social skills for each age.
What we love: The boxes include natural, eco-friendly and sustainable toys from brands such as Hape, Plan Toys and Tegu. The package also includes an information card listing major milestones for that age and how you can help your baby get the most out of the toys. With each subscription, Hoppi Box donates a toy to a baby in need.
Cost: Subscriptions start at $22 a month.
Sign up at hoppibox.com.
Panda Crate from Kiwi Co
Age group: Birth to 24 months
What you get: Each shipment includes brain-building toys and activities as well as a guide, Wonder magazine, that explains what skills your child is developing at their age and how you can best support them. You’ll also receive activity cards that explain ways to use the items in your crate as well as cards that give you simple, new ways to play and bond with your little one.
What we love: The crates' contents are tailored to kids' ages and stages, with developmentally appropriate activities you'll enjoy doing together. The items are backed by in-house experts and partners from Seattle’s Children’s Hospital who specialize in child health behavior and development.
Cost: Prices start at $16 per month ($32/crate).
Learn more at kiwico.com/panda.
Green Pinata Toys
Age group: 6 months to 5 years
What you get: This monthly toy subscription service delivers educational and toxin-free toys you rent and return. You receive 3-4 toys each month; each item has been sanitized between users. Play for as long as you like and then return them to receive your next set of toys.
What we love: You have ultimate flexibility in what you receive: The company will recommend toys and you can choose whether you'd like those or will select other toys. You can also choose all the toys yourself. They're easy to find on the website, which lets you filter by age group and developmental skills such as fine motor, cognitive, language & math and social & emotional. Each toy description includes the developmental skills it works on and suggests ways to play with your child. You can purchase any of the toys you rent for 10% off the Amazon list price.
Cost: $30 per month.
Sign up at greenpinatatoys.com.
— Eva Ingvarson Cerise
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