William Hamley opened the world's first toy store in 1760 on London's Regent Street, and the seven-story building has since become a city landmark. Though bombed repeatedly during World War Two, the great toy store soldiered on and remains a playful destination for locals and tourists alike. The joy of discovery lays a trail of surprise for visitors who can even pose with life-size Lego sculptures of the Royal Family as part of Hamley's entire fifth floor dedicated to Lego toys.
The eagerness for new toys and places to buy them only grew from this initial endeavor. Retail giant Toys 'R' Us opened in Australia in 1993 after being founded as a children's furniture store in 1948. After initially making its name in wooden toys, Toys 'R' Us quickly expanded its range to the full selection of kids toys it's now internationally renowned for. Since the 1700s, the proliferation of toy shops around the globe has set the scene for an all new digital age of buying toys online. Whether you're shopping for yourself or a loved one, the internet now provides infinite variety and instant access to buy toys online.
Kidstuff joined this historic tradition of quality toys for children (and adults) in 1969 in Sydney, Australia and has been bringing a touch of childlike wonder to the experience of toy shopping ever since. Now available to buy online, Kidstuff's motto of 'for a Brighter Child' is able to reach globally, encouraging the development of children worldwide with stimulating toys for growing imaginations and physical wellbeing. An ethos of giving back remains at the heart of the company even fifty years later with initiatives such as the company's East Timor Charity that has been bringing hope and play to children in East Timor for the last ten years in partnership with Australian Mercy. Through the joint charity initiative Kids Ark, Kidstuff is working with volunteers 'helping to raise a new generation' of poor and underprivileged children through education, healthcare, disability programs, sanitation and water projects and community development in East Timor's Hera District.
In the digital age of iPad learning and game consoles, Kidstuff's offers a refreshing return to active and kinetic play. Through quality brand partnerships such a Lego, Spirograph and Animal Allsorts, Kidstuff offers a wide variety of kids toys from newborn toys to those for the more advanced child, and remains committed toys that inspire individuality and reward curiosity. For parents looking for the perfect gift or a new way to stimulate their child's development, Kidstuff provides a unique opportunity for children to learn through play. Play-based learning can help children engage with all of their senses through the diverse range of skills it requires children to develop, even from a kindergarten level. Newborn toys such as giant soft and light-up rattles inspire tactile learning and visual stimulation from the earliest age. Rattles provide an introduction to a range of textures and shapes and give newborns the chance to develop their grip, as well as provide a safe teething object for those that are just gaining their baby teeth. More durable, plastic baby toys in fun animal shapes become bath time companions that ease any stress or boredom in the water and help create whole new aquamarine worlds for waterbabies to discover. Bath books and toys also aid in developing a child's first understanding of the differences between land and sea environment,s and can be the inspirational starting point for such themes later developed in school.
As a child matures so does their need for active and thought-provoking toys. Toddler toys such as baby dolls can help foster a child's ability to feel empathy and provide care that can influence their behavior with their peers. Play-based learning encourages children to work through their thoughts and feelings by requiring a higher level of imaginative thinking that boosts planning and cognitive skills as well as as maths and language development. The right toy helps a child to develop their fine motor skills as well as problem-solving strategies. Puzzles and wooden toys provide an educational framework from which children can impart their own creativity and originality. For example, rather than creating a prescriptive and dull environment, classic lego toys can alternatively imbue a sense of resourcefulness that comes from giving children the freedom and autonomy to construct structures, situations and stories from their own minds. For parents and teachers alike this gives insight into the internal thoughts and feelings of very young children, while older children are able to express more complex and abstract thoughts through this style of imaginative play.
Kids scooters, inflatable outdoor play sets and kites are just some of the kids toys that can aid in taking playful learning outside. Kid tricycles and scooters are a classic toy starting point for toddlers who are learning to find their feet and give children the opportunity to develop their physical dexterity in a safe and supportive environment. Play tents and forts equally help provide shelter from the heat and protection from the sun for children playing outdoors, as well as endless opportunities for inventiveness and fantasy storytelling as brave knights defend castles from hungry dragons while witches and warlocks find a place to gather and cast spells. Kids scooters provide older children with their first sense of independence and freedom as they zoom up streets, around cul-de-sacs and through neighborhoods. For those children interested in sports, outdoor basketball hoops and bat and ball sets cater to the more athletically orientated youngster, feeding a healthy sense of competition and acting as the potential beginning to a life-long passion. Such outdoor activities not only provide the perfect excuse for neighbors to get to know each other, but also set the scene for quality family time. A basketball hoop above the garage or a waiting ball and goal set gives children, teenagers and adults alike the inclination to move away from the TV and to interact with each other outside. Outdoor play doesn't only have to be restricted to sports, kids scooters and other outside toys can also encourage children to explore their immediate exterior environments and fall in love with the natural world.
Kidstuff offer a range on online toys australia wide.