Why Wooden Toys….
There is something special and gentle about wooden toys, as opposed to the plastic counterparts that swamp the retail toy industry. Wooden toys are coming back into fashion as parents wistfully recall their own childhoods when choosing toys for their children, and as consumers in general are seeking a more natural alternative to the digital age.
There are many advantages to wooden toys.
Wooden Toys are durable and are built to last! Without a doubt toys can take a battering. In my opinion wooden toys look better the more they are scuffed and battered! Think of the many hands and stories they have been a part of.
Many are eco friendly, sustainable and gentle on the environment. There is no comparison when you think of plastic toys full of questionable chemicals and offer very limited, if any, recycling choices. Generally plastic toys can be brittle, while anything digital or audio-visual always has a risk of malfunction and the price of batteries doesn’t help either!
When children play with a wooden toy, they are in charge! There are no lights and bells. Only their imagination leads the way. Wooden toys, naturally devoid of any possibility of sound or interaction in themselves, allow for children to supply their own voices and sound effects. Some modern toys, with their electronic and interactive capabilities, ‘do everything’ for the child.
Often simplicity is best.
Wooden Toys are known for their strong educational values. Some of the classic staple wooden toys include puzzles, building blocks and miniature construction sets, all of which can help children with numeracy, literacy, motor skills and problem solving.
Wood is a natural product therefore it creates an atmosphere of calmness. Think of a play area filled with digital devices and plastic noisy toys…over stimulating, loud and brash. Wood is also a tactile material. It feels good to hold and touch, evoking a sense of peacefulness.
Unfortunately wooden toys have received their share of bad publicity due to lead based paints and adhesion glues. Consumers need to be very cautious when purchasing the cheaper imitations of wooden toys, as they are often made from cheap, mass produced, MDF and Ply-woods and then finished off with chemical laden paints.
Quality, safer, wooden toys are manufactured by ethical & environmentally conscious companies. These companies are committed to producing the safest toys they possibly can, money doesn’t win over safety.
Ethical wooden toy manufacturers use wood only from sustainable sources, as well as also choosing to use safer, water, soy and vegetable based paints, adhesives and coatings.
As these wooden toys cost them substantially more to manufacture, their retails prices do tend to be higher.
Ethical wooden toy companies such as I’m Toy, Le Toy Van and Q Toys have nothing to hide and their websites and packaging, usually proudly feature various certifications and awards by safety and environmental organizations.
All crafted from sustainable wood and finished with non toxic paints and finishes, quality wooden toys stimulate young minds and are better for the planet and your child. Wooden toys can aid a child’s physical, mental and emotional development. With an ever-expanding range of wooden toys available today, this is a world of play that children and parents can discover together.