Best toy & kids item shopping in Sydney

Chatta Mom ©

Shopping for kids’ items – whether the necessities or the treats – is low down on my list of desirable activities, particularly with the kids in tow.  Unfortunately it is unavoidable.  So many baby & kid shopping spots are some combination of overpriced, lacking in service, or just simply don’t have anything practical.  There are some places that make the venture a little more positive though. Here are my picks for the best spots in Sydney for what you need for the kids – whether it’s clothes, shoes, or pressies.

1. Flying Penguin Extraordinary Educational Toys in Newtown:  I discovered this little Newtown toy shop via Customer Underground and it’s now my favourite toy shopping destination.  The small size means it’s easy to navigate, and OK to come with kids (no aisles to get lost in) and the uniformly high quality of the selection means there are lots of great choices.  And not a battery-powered noise-making parent-mental-breakdown-creating toy in sight.  Extra points for the great, thoughtful, personal service.
2. Better Read than Dead in Newtown:  Another find via Customer Underground (thanks puddleduck!), this Newtown bookshop has the best selection of children’s books I’ve seen in Sydney.  Top quality books, a big range, including plenty of board books for babies and interest-oriented books for particular obsessions (in my son’s case, construction equipment).  I make a special trip here to do my book shopping for the kids – and usually add in a little treat for myself too.
3. Baby’s Got Style, online:  This classy online retailer has figured out that a careful selection + great service + online shopping is a compelling value proposition, especially to the time-pressed (or those who wish to avoid the often disastrous combination of shopping malls + young children).  Beautiful clothes and toys – the perfect URL to send to gift-shopping relatives overseas.
4. Target:  On a different side of the spectrum from the first three, ‘tar-jay’ is still my top destination for day to day basic kids’ clothes that hit the mark in being both affordable and good enough quality to last as long as they fit.  The downsides: no floor staff, very random stocking levels (why is size 2 never in stock?), and increasing disarray as the day goes on.  The trade-off’s still worth it to me.
5. Shoes & Sox: This chain is a perfect example of the benefits of focus.  They sell what they say, and know how to do it.  I love that there’s a ticket system so you don’t have to queue with increasingly grumpy children; I love this means that when it’s your turn, the salesperson is devoted to you and sees the sale through to completion, and that they know how to fit kids’ shoes.  Yes, the shoe prices are often high, but we take the one pair per season approach, so in dollars per wear, it’s well worth it.  Another tip – the one at Eastgardens is conveniently located close to the entry from roof-top parking.

What are your picks for places to shop for the kids?  Any places I should hit up for the next round of gifts/shoes/clothes?