Questions, answered honestly

Yes. We ship across Canada and to the Contiguous United States, and shipping is free on all retail orders. Three things are excluded from free shipping: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, locations outside the Contiguous US, and bulk or wholesale orders, which are quoted separately.

No. Free shipping applies to retail orders only. Bulk and wholesale orders move as multi carton or palletised freight, which is priced in a completely different way from a single parcel, so we quote shipping on every bulk order individually based on the size and weight of the shipment and the delivery address. Your quote will show the shipping cost before you commit. See our bulk and wholesale orders page to start an enquiry.

Orders are typically shipped within 1 to 5 business days. You will receive a tracking number by email once your order leaves the warehouse. Transit time after that depends on the courier, the size of the item and how far it is travelling, so we do not quote a delivery estimate we cannot control.

UPS, FedEx and DHL, plus Purolator and Canpar within Canada. We cannot guarantee shipment with a specific courier, as we route each order by size, weight and destination.

Orders delivered within Canada are not subject to customs duty. For orders to the United States it depends on the item, as some ship domestically inside the US and others cross the border. Import rules for low value shipments into the US changed in 2025, so if you are ordering from the US and want certainty before you buy, email us at hello@truelittlenorth.com with the item and we will tell you exactly how it ships.

Yes, but not under free shipping. Rates to the territories vary enormously by address and by the size of the item, so we cannot publish a figure. Email us at hello@truelittlenorth.com with your full address and what you are looking at, and we will quote you properly.

No. PO Boxes are not accepted. Our carriers require a street address, and much of what we sell is oversized.

Check your spam or junk folder first, since order confirmations often land there. If it is not there, contact us and we will resend it.

Contact us immediately and we will try to correct it before the order leaves the warehouse. Once it has shipped we cannot redirect it, and orders shipped to an incorrect address provided at checkout are not eligible for a refund. It is worth double checking your address at checkout.

Tell us before you order. Email us with your date and we will do our best to work with it, though we cannot guarantee delivery within a specific timeframe once the parcel is with the courier.

Scans can pause during transfers between carriers or at customs points, especially on oversized freight. If it has been several days with no movement, contact us with your order number and we will chase it. We are not able to track every shipment individually, so please do tell us when something looks wrong.

Yes. Email hello@truelittlenorth.com within 30 days of receiving your order. To qualify, the item must be unopened, unused, in its original packaging and in perfect resalable condition. You arrange and pay for return shipping. We will confirm approval before you send anything.

Please do not ship a return to the warehouse address on the box. Our warehouse does not process returns and your parcel may be lost. Wait for instructions from our team.

Your choice. We can issue store credit for the full amount, or refund to your original payment method.

Refunds are issued immediately once processed and you will get a confirmation email. Most appear in your account within 1 to 3 days. Depending on your bank and payment method, it can occasionally take up to 10 business days.

Yes, within the same 30 days, on items that are unopened, unused and in original packaging. The replacement ships once we have received the returned item and any price difference has been paid. Return shipping is at your expense.

Yes, free of charge, as long as it has not shipped yet. You can take store credit or a full refund. Once an order has shipped, cancellation is no longer possible, but you can apply for a return once it arrives.

Inspect your order as soon as it arrives and contact us promptly at hello@truelittlenorth.com. Send photos of the item and the packaging. We will resolve it, and this is not a case where you pay return shipping.

Yes, one thing. Orders paid with Afterpay or Klarna carry a 7% processing fee, which we cover for you at checkout. That 7% is not refunded on cancelled or returned orders. If you take store credit instead, we can give you the original amount paid in full.

No. Contact us with your order number and a photo. We will work with you on a repair or replacement rather than making you return an entire item over one component.

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, plus Afterpay and Klarna for instalments.

Yes. Afterpay and Klarna both split your order into 4 interest free payments taken every 2 weeks over 6 weeks. Approval uses a soft check that does not affect your credit score, and there are no fees when you pay on time. Klarna is available to Canadian customers only. Full details are on our Play Now & Pay Later page.

You can switch between CAD and USD using the currency selector. Choose your own currency before checkout so the total you see is the total you pay.

Yes. Gift cards are delivered by email and never expire, which makes them a practical option for a baby shower when you do not know what the family already owns.

Yes. We work with schools, childcare centres, camps, clinics and other organisations buying in quantity. We quote every enquiry individually rather than running a fixed discount table, so tell us what you are furnishing and roughly how many units and we will come back to you with pricing and lead time. Purchase orders, invoicing and prepaid custom orders are all available.

One thing to be clear about up front: free shipping does not apply to bulk and wholesale orders. These ship as multi carton or palletised freight and are quoted per order based on the size and weight of the shipment and the delivery address. Start on our bulk and wholesale orders page, or email hello@truelittlenorth.com.

We look at these case by case rather than running a fixed discount table. If you are furnishing a whole room or ordering several items together, email us at hello@truelittlenorth.com before you check out and we will see what we can do. For organisations ordering at volume, use our bulk and wholesale orders page instead.

Everything we sell is intended for the Canadian and US markets and is expected to meet the applicable requirements for its category. In Canada, children's products are governed by the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and the Toys Regulations, which set limits including a maximum of 90 mg/kg of lead, restrictions on six phthalates in soft vinyl children's articles, and a rule that toys intended for children under 3 must not contain detachable small parts. Safety documentation varies by product, so check the individual product page for what applies to that item.

No, and we will not claim otherwise. Certifications and test reports are issued per product and per manufacturer, not store wide. Some items carry extensive third party testing, others meet the baseline regulatory requirements for their category. Always check the specific product page rather than assuming a store wide claim.

It refers to what a product has been tested to be free from, and that list differs by item. For example, several of the playmats we carry are tested free from heavy metals, VOCs, formaldehyde, flame retardants, Bisphenol A, toluene, 2-methoxyethylacetate and nitrobenzene. That is a specific, testable claim about specific products, not a blanket statement about the whole store.

Natural wood varies. Grain, tone and finish differ slightly between pieces, and screen lighting shifts colour further. Minor variation is a feature of real wood, not a defect.

Inspect for wear, damage or loose components before your child plays. Tighten hardware, look for splinters or cracks, and stop using anything that looks unsafe. Contact us for repair or replacement if something has failed, we would rather hear about it early.

Bookshelves and book displays must be secured to the wall with brackets to prevent tipping. Tip over incidents are one of the most preventable serious injuries in a child's room, so anchor anything a child could climb.

Yes. Our products are designed with safety in mind but they are not a substitute for adult supervision, and we are not liable for injuries resulting from improper use or lack of supervision. Set play areas away from stairs, hard surfaces and sharp corners.

Follow the age limitation and maximum weight limit stated on each product page and in the instruction manual, as these vary by product. Beyond the stated age, go by what your child can actually do. If your child is not yet steady on their feet, a climber is not the right purchase yet. Supervise closely at all times.

Place it on carpet or a soft surface with cushioning around the base while your child is learning. Keep it away from other furniture, sharp corners, stairs, ledges and drops. Only adults should adjust the angles or move it. We recommend bare feet rather than socks or slippers, which slip on rungs. Limit it to one child at a time.

Thicker mats absorb impact better and are more comfortable to kneel on. Thinner mats are easier to fold and store. If the mat is the landing zone under a climber or in a crawling area, prioritise thickness. If it is a portable second mat, prioritise fold and weight. Exact dimensions are on each product page.

Measure your actual floor space before ordering, not the room. Most disappointment with playpens comes from a panel layout that does not fit where it was meant to go. Also think about whether you want it fixed in one shape or reconfigurable as your child grows.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that for babies under 12 months, sleep should happen on a surface labelled crib, portable crib, bassinet or play yard, and a floor mattress is not among the approved surfaces. In practice, most families move to a floor bed between roughly 18 months and 3 years, often triggered by a toddler climbing out of the crib. Follow your health care provider's guidance for your child.

Be very careful. In Canada, cribs manufactured before September 1986 do not meet current requirements and it is illegal to sell, advertise, import or give away a crib that does not comply, including through second hand shops and online resale. Crib slat spacing rules changed in 1986 and infants have died in older cribs. Everything we sell is new.

Place the bed either less than 1.5 inches from the wall or at least 12 inches away, so a child cannot become trapped in the gap. Child proof the whole room, since they can now get out on their own: cover outlets, remove or secure cords, anchor furniture, and consider a gate at the door. We suggest bumpers or padding at the edges until your child is used to sleeping in it. Follow your health care provider's safe sleep requirements, which may include removing pillows, duvets and loose covers.

The towers we carry are designed for children aged 4 years and above. They are meant to be used based on developmental stage as well as age, so your child should be able to stand securely on their own before using one. Supervise at all times, place it on a flat stable surface away from stoves, ovens and hot surfaces, use non slip footwear, and store it out of reach so it is not used unsupervised.

Measure your child's inseam, not their height. Stand them against a wall in shoes, place a book snugly up between their legs, and measure from the floor to the top of the book. You want the bike's minimum seat height to be at or just below that number, so they can sit and put both feet flat on the ground.

A balance bike teaches balance and steering first, which is the hard part. Pedalling is the easy part and gets added later. Children who learn this way usually skip training wheels entirely.

They serve two purposes, a soft landing surface for a climbing toddler and open ended building for an older one. That is why they hold their value in a playroom longer than most single purpose toys. Check the foam density and cover material on the product page, since both determine how the piece holds up.

Toys intended for children under 3 must not contain detachable small parts, because of choking risk. Age grading on a toy is a safety statement first and a developmental suggestion second, so treat a 3 plus label as a hard floor if your child still mouths objects.

A safe floor surface, then a safe sleep surface. Both get used every single day from the beginning. Climbers, towers and bikes all have a window they become useful in, and buying them too early is the most common mistake we see.

Yes. Every item that requires assembly ships with a manual. Assembly time and difficulty vary by product, so check the product page for what is involved before you order.

It depends on the product. Some items we carry come with a manufacturer warranty and some do not, and the terms differ between them. Check the specific product page for what applies, and if it is not clear, email us and we will confirm before you buy.

Contact us at hello@truelittlenorth.com with your order number, the product and a photo of what you need. Availability is product specific and depends on the manufacturer, so we cannot promise every part for every item, but we will do our best to source it for you.

Email hello@truelittlenorth.com or use our contact form. You will be talking to a person, not a bot.

No, you can check out as a guest. An account makes it easier to track orders and reorder later.

Contact us straight away. If the order has not shipped we can usually help. Once it is with the courier we cannot change it.

We are an online store, which is how we keep prices down on oversized items. If you have a question a photo cannot answer, such as dimensions, weight, finish or how something feels, email us and we will answer honestly.

Yes. We wrote a free guide for Canadian parents on what to introduce at each stage from newborn to preschool, the safety checks worth making, and an honest list of what you can skip. It is 8 pages, written by us, and you can unsubscribe any time.