Don’t expect to find slides and ball pits at Busy Tables (from $10). As its name suggests, there are tables – and shelves – filled with open-ended play items targeted at children up to six years old. Toys and learning resources, which include puzzles, reading books and construction blocks beyond LEGOs, are sorted into varying levels of difficulty for young kids to tinker with. There’s even a dark room with lightbox tables on which the little ones can manipulate shapes and colours.
However, this isn’t a place where you aim for the couch and let your children roam free. Given the nature of the play items, parental supervision is the key to making the most of your time – and money – as you help your kids hone their thinking, observation and motor skills.