Warning: May induce contented yawns.

If your toddler is between the ages of 2 and 20, it is likely that she is going through a scared-of-the-dark phase. One of the most common solutions (aside from camping out in your child’s bedroom to stave off the boogey-man) is the soothing comfort of a night-light. A company called Cloud B has a wide range of products to help your little one start slumbering, sans tears. One of the most enchanting products is the Cloud B Twilight Constellation Night Light- it’s a sweet plush sea turtle (there are also land turtle and ladybug options) with a hard shell that projects stars onto the walls and ceiling.

Effective and Educational

One of the sweetest things about this already-adorable sea turtle is that it’s educational! Not only does it come with a star guide to help you identify the constellations shown in the projection, but there are also 5 endangered sea animals pictured on the hand-painted shell: a Blue Whale, a California Sea Otter, a Knysna Seahorse, a Leatherback Turtle and a Vaquita Dolphin. The animals light up individually, and are so cute and comforting that your child won’t even realize they’ve been tricked into learning something! The night-light also comes with a Twilight Sea Turtle storybook- just the thing to help your child wind down before switching off the lights and switching on the stars.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

The shell itself illuminates in blue, green, or a combination of the two colors, and as well as the star projection, it is on a 45-minute sleep timer to save battery power (3 AAA batteries are included). The shell has the potential to break if treated roughly, but it’s fine for supervised use in bedrooms of children 3 and older. For best results it is suggested that the turtle is placed in the middle of the floor, but this also presents the potential for the turtle and its fragile shell to get stepped on in the dark by a sleepy parent or child, so keep that in mind when purchasing. If placed on a nightstand or dresser, the stars may not project as evenly over the entire room.

Other toys in the Cloud B lineup include the Sleep Sheep, which emits nature sounds (always my favorite at bedtime), the Lavender Lab with scented lavender (commonly used in pillows and bath products to promote relaxation) and many other sleep- related products for children and the parents who must put them to bed. You can get the Twilight Turtle on Amazon right now for very little money.

Just wook at this widdle puppy! You NEED him! I need him!

Wait, I'm not just repeating articles, am I?

Everybody is going green these days. It’s rather trendy to say the least, so it’s no surprise that toys are following the trend and selling big when it comes to eco-friendly categories. If you’d very much like to give your kids something fun to play with that they’re guaranteed to enjoy plus is quite possibly better for the environment in the long run, then good news because here’s an article about the top selling eco-friendly toys right this second.

Still Going Green It Seems

Do you remember me talking about the company Green Toys a while ago? I’m not here to judge; it was after all quite some time since that article. The reason I’m bringing them up is because they’re selling one heck of a lot of their toys right now with the number one green toy of them all being the Green Toys Tea Set that I went on about in my article. Someone must have been listening to me when I wrote the positive review or something. Of course they aren’t just a one-trick pony since they also have a cookware and dining set, a dump truck, and a sand playset. You know, things every kid should already have. The best part of all that is that none of those toys are particularly expensive with only the full cookware and dining set being over $30.

Dang it, now I want to go play in the sand.

Green toys may have a lot in the bestseller category, but they aren’t alone. Another company called i Play is doing quite fine for themselves until Apple decides to sue them for using a lowercase I in their company name. Their top item is the Green Sprouts Stacking Cup Set, yet another incredibly simple toy that happens to be a toy every kid should own. Heck, I had a set of these when I was a kid, but I’m sure this set is a lot better for the environment.

My set had much manlier colors though, but otherwise they looked the same.

If you’d prefer something way more advanced, check out Elenco Electronics’ Frightened Grasshopper Solar Powered Bug. I swear to you I didn’t just invent that thing, and even better, this robo-bug is only $7. That’s a deal no matter who you are.

Alright, I'll allow a robo-grasshopper, but as soon as we get robo-hornets I say we've gone too far.

Sprig Toys have a handful of bestsellers when it comes to construction vehicle toys if you’d rather not buy everything from Green Toys. Let the girls have their tea sets, us boys got stuff to dig and construct and whatnot. Then after we’re done with that maybe some more tea.

Once more, all I want to do now is go play in the sand.

Rounding out the bestsellers is Plan Toys with a couple items. What’s their highest selling item right now? A solid wood drum. That’s it. Just a little drum with a little mallet. While I’m all for kids having a toy drum, I’m not everyone. Plan Toys also has a doll house nursery set for the less noisy children, though I’m somewhat surprised to find out that the toy drum is $21 and the doll house set is $18. I must be really out of touch with my green side.

Yup, that's one wooden drum there.

So there you have it folks, a multitude of great eco-friendly toys at affordable prices. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s once more time for tea.

This right here is one of the most popular education-based toy around. And it's a video game system.

If I were pressed to defend the educational value of video games, I probably couldn’t do much other than say they can teach reading, math, problem solving, community interaction, cause and effect, and hand-eye coordination skills, so really I’d have an uphill battle talking about their benefits (wink). However, there are a handful of very popular toys being sold this very second to parents wishing to give their kids a little boost in the learning aspect of playing while still making sure the toy is fun (gotta love parents). But just what are some of the most popular educational and learning toys right now?

Yay! A noise-maker for kids!

Heard of LeapFrog? You probably have since they’re selling tons upon tons of electronic toys aimed at teaching kids. It just so happens one of their best-selling products is a video game system called the Leapster. It looks like a mutant Game Boy but plays like something with the explicit purpose of learning in the foreground. However, you can easily fool a kid into forgetting he’s learning something when the character in the game is Batman. LeapFrog also has a wide variety of other electronic-type toys with the Learn & Groove Musical Table for kids (a thing that makes noise), the Spin and Sing Alphabet Zoo (a thing that makes noise), or the Scribble and Write (I’m sure it makes some sort of noise, it is a child’s toy after all).

Responsibilities! Exciting!

If, perhaps, you’d rather not futz with noise or electronics in general, our good friends Melissa & Doug have more than enough toys made of wood and magnets. Sometimes simple can be best, and Melissa & Doug tends to make very high-quality toys that last and last. It’s hard to beat a magnetic alphabet set or a magnetic responsibility chart. Sure, kids hate responsibility, but disguise it with magnets and they’re sold.

Dang that kid looks happy. I want some of those blocks!

Fisher-Price is still around and doing just fine, by the way. Do you remember them from your childhood? I sure do. I had all sorts of plastic blocks and shapes and steering wheels and things of that nature from Fisher-Price, and I’m happy to say they still make all those things with their Brilliant Basics Baby’s First Blocks staying as a bestseller. Their Sesame Street Silly Sounds Remote may not really be in the same category though. It may say “Sesame Street: on it, but it also says “Silly Sounds” which is code for “Lots o’ Noise.” Just get the blocks.

Hooray for bugs! What, you don't like bugs? That's science!

It’s also cool to see that the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden is up near the top in sales. Why is that? Bugs, while super gross, are also super cool. Plus, it’s impossible for kids to find bugs in the house, so they have to go outside. If they can find tons of bugs inside, you’re teaching your kids something wrong. I was always happy as a kid with a bug net and a jar to keep my findings in. I assume kids haven’t changed too much since my childhood.

This is an incomplete list of the bestselling Education and Learning toys, but it’s a good start for sure. If all else fails, I can’t think of a single kid that’d say no to “Imagination Time” with their loving parents. In fact, I might just call my dad and see if he’s up for a game of it right now.

Baby’s first blocks has basic shapes (triangle, circle, square, star) as well as an “x” shape for sorting.

What makes this feature so perfect for younger children is that  it sorts only on one side – the top – making it easier for early learners to sort without turning the toy over and over.

Sorting is Toddlers’ Favorite Thing to Do

Around 8 to 18 months a child’s favorite activity becomes putting items into other things.  That love is combined here with introduction to color and shape basics as well as pattern recognition.  The shapes are sorted through the top slots and drop into a bucket where they can stay or be joyously dumped onto the floor to do it all over again.

The lid comes off very easily so that little ones can do it all themselves.  However, if sorting is the parents’ main objective, it might be useful to secure the lid onto the bucket so that simply dropping shapes into the lidless bucket is not an option.

Passes the Toddler Chew Test too

Another favorite activity at this age is chewing on just about everything in sight.  Time and again Fisher-Price has proven the test of chewy-durability and  this toy is no exception (honestly though, I did not chew on it to find out).

The shapes have easy to grasp and hold edges that are built for stacking too.  Probably though the caregivers will end up doing the stacking and the kids will laugh in wonder as they knock down tower after tower.

The bucket has a handle so that those active little ones can take this toy with them and the bold colors offer visual stimulation as well.  It’s not too expensive and Fisher-Price products are available nearly everywhere, so this ends up being a good toy on many levels.

Find Baby’s First Blocks by Fisher Price here.

We all love a good puzzle, whether that’s a crossword challenge in the daily paper, a mystery novel, or an old-fashioned jig-saw puzzle.  This curiosity and drive to “figure it out” actually develops very early in childhood development – about six months, or when babies begin to explore on their own.

Baby puzzles are great early learning tools.   A wooden or plastic jig-saw puzzle can teach infants how shapes fit together, while also honing their hand-eye coordination.  These puzzles can also help them recognize common objects like animals, cars, and flowers.

Later, these same puzzles can help with name-recognition as well as color identification.  Puzzles are fascinating to babies and they will work on figuring it out for long stretches of time, which helps them to build up their concentration, too.

Photo Credit: BOY AND PUZZLE  © Baronoskie | Dreamstime.com

Baby Toys
In general, babies like toys that stimulate their curiosity, and parents like baby toys that are safe. Simple toys are best. Choose ones that are vivid in color, have varying textures, and make exciting sounds. The key for babies is to choose a toy that is responsive to them. So consider toys that rattle or make noises when buttons are pushed. However, stay clear from toys that are loud or annoying – remember that parents will be hearing these toys bleeping and mooing all the time too.

Toddler Toys
Toddler toys are similar to early infant toys in that they are designed to develop a child’s curiosity about the world through interaction. Basic educational toys can provide hours of fun while teaching a toddler about colors, animals and shapes.

The difference is that toddlers also are becoming more socially aware. So pick toys that can be played with or shared by two or more children at a time. This early group play is important for developing social skills. Simple puzzles and other goal-oriented toys are appropriate here, so toddlers can learn how to play together.

Preschool Toys
This age group is where educational toys really take off. There is no shortage of creative toys designed to teach preschoolers about numbers and the alphabet, just remember to stay away from loud and annoying electronic games. Most electronic games allow you to test the sounds in the store – always a good idea. Popular choices beyond the basic blocks are interactive talking books and talking plush animals.

There are even simple snap-together model kits that are safe for preschoolers; this is a sure hit for children who like to build things. The trick with this age group is to pick a toy that is educational but still engaging, and also one that can “grow” with the child as he or she develops more skills.