Families across the Northern Beaches will soon be able to borrow a range of fun and educational toys for their children from their local library.

Council has partnered with not-for-profit organisation EarlyEd Cubby House Toy Library service to give all residents access to a ‘click and collect’ toy service at Mona Vale and Manly Library from 10.30–11am every Thursday during school terms. 

Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said with the rising cost of living, this is a great solution for families to access a range of toys which can be shared amongst families while reducing our waste footprint.

“This great initiative couldn’t have come at a better time to assist families struggling to pay bills but allowing their kids access to a range of high-quality toys to suit a range of ages and needs. 

“Children learn through play and these toys are an important way to support their development while reducing the amount of plastic toy waste ending up in landfill, as parents can borrow instead of buying toys for their growing kids.

“Council consulted the community late last year on ways to reduce plastic toy waste. Many respondents expressed an interest in borrowing quality educational toys through a toy library service so working with EarlyEd was an obvious choice.” Mayor Regan said.

EarlyEd CEO Kerry Dominish said play is essential to every child’s development.

“Toy libraries are a great way for families to offer their young children a wide range of toys and resources to support their learning and development.

“Partnering with Council will give all children the best possible start in life as toys make learning fun.

“We are so glad to expand our toy library service points to additional locations on the Northern Beaches to allow more families access to toys and resources to encourage healthy development, especially children with a disability or development delay.” Ms Dominish said.

The ‘click and collect’ service allows parents or carers who join Cubby House Toy Library to browse the online catalogue which has over 2000 toys and games to choose from.

Toys are categorised according to the skills they will develop, making selection of the right toy simple.

Parents will be able to borrow up to six toys at a time for a month.

The 12-month trial has been endorsed by Council, with overwhelming support from the community.

To find out more about membership and browse the toy database visit the EarlyEd Cubby House Toy Library website.