1. Winter Indoor Play Ideas from a Kindergarten Teacher

   If you have ever been stuck inside for multiple days in a row with a child, you know how hard it gets to find ways to keep them busy and off of their screens.  The winter months are especially hard...

2. 3 Ways Play Can Help You Raise a Problem-Solver

   One of the hardest things about parenting is knowing when to let your child struggle through a problem on their own versus jump in and solve it for them. Sometimes you’re in a rush (“I just need to get out...

3. Play That Helps Give ALL Kids the Confidence to Be Themselves

   One of the most rewarding aspects of our work at Melissa & Doug is hearing from parents, teachers, and therapists about how their children play with our inclusive toys – sometimes in ways we never imagined! Especially heartwarming are the...

4. Getting the Most from Our Website

   Want to make the most out of your experience on MelissaAndDoug.com? Our site has developed over the years to be THE place to shop timeless toys. Plus, on our Living Playfully blog, we provide play tips, free printable activities for kids,...

5. The Power of Developmental Play

   This is the second in a series of blog posts on the skill-building power of different types of play. Shape sorters and stackers….Activity centers that have kids pushing, pulling, pounding, flipping, and turning…“Manipulatives” that can be moved around to explore cause-and-effect. These...

6. Celebrate National Park Week with Toys and Outdoor Fun

   The great outdoors gets the spotlight it deserves when we celebrate National Park Week this year (April 20-28), which also includes Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, and culminates on Monday, April 29 with National Junior Ranger Day! According to...

7. Top Toys Every Grandparent Should Have

   Whether you’re a grandparent who provides child care on a regular basis or one who sees the grandkids a couple times of year, it’s important to have a select number of engaging toys on hand when they come to visit....

8. The Best Toys to Encourage Talking, from a Speech-Language Pathologist

   The moment your child utters his or her first word is a highly anticipated and magical event.  For some children, learning to talk is fairly effortless. For others, it’s a struggle. For most children, we can do more to help...

9. How Play Can Help Kids Build Problem-Solving Skills

   Mister Rogers once said “Play is the work of childhood.” I’m guessing children don’t see it as work, but from an adult point of view, it is true that play is the main childhood activity that results in growth and...

10. 4 Lessons in Organizing Toy Spaces

    These lessons in organizing toy spaces come from our Blog Ambassador Tiffany of Peanut Blossom. Moving into a new home is stressful and overwhelming. Whether you’re upgrading or downsizing, room layout and size differences can really wreck havoc on your prior...

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