Wooden toys are a wonderful way to inspire imagination and development in young children. The best wooden toys for toddlers are perfect for developing skills including hand-eye coordination, balance, memory, language and social skills, and even problem-solving.
Wooden Toys For Kids: Know More About It
It is natural as a parent to want to provide the best for our little ones for everything we get for them. One of the most bought products for children are TOYS. Open ended toys, educational toy or sensory. Some we get as gifts, some we buy because they need it and some we buy because we can't resist the temptation of how cute they are!
Most households have more plastic toys but we are witnessing a behavioral change in India where more and more parents are getting wooden toys for their children as they care about landfills, the environment or their baby getting hurt. Wooden toys are environment-friendly, safe, and timeless.
Their probability of them breaking is lesser to none because they are made to last for generations.
Educators and experts only talk about how simple toys that initiate curiosity and exploring on a child's part are the best toys to play with. And wooden toys are just that. They allow the child to speak and not the toy that does all the work.
Simply but aesthetically designed wooden toys help in broadening your children’s imaginations. And why should toys not be beautiful?
Why Choose Wooden Toys For Your Children
The toys with many uses and sounds usually offer immediate gratification and therefore, the focus on natural exploration and hence learning a new skill gets lost. Simple wooden toys on the other hand focus on exploring multiple possibilities that a child can pick and build love for that toy in a child. For example, kids learn cause and effect by the age of 9 months. Things like, tapping the wooden block on the ground makes noise. Their simplicity makes them open-ended which allows children to explore, imagine and play however they wish to.
Unlike other toys that can be stuck with magnets, most wooden toys or wooden blocks do not have any system of holding them together and that's the beauty of a wooden block. Throw in sticks and planks as they grow and it allows the child to explore, contemplate and learn more.
The child gives the toy 100% focus and attention and is free to explore it the way he/she wants to. Additionally with the unique Bombay Toy Company wooden toys, there is no one correct way to play with them. Kids can play with wooden toys in infinite ways and they'll all be interesting.
Wooden toys would give your kids an all-round experience of play-based learning which is significant in their cognitive development. They help in enhancing the logic and reasoning power of the child along, essentially learning while playing.
Wooden Toys help a child understand different shapes, weights, and volumes, and encourage little ones to explore possibilities of a toy that can become versatile. What may look straightforward to a parent can completely look different to a child based on what they are role playing or playing. For example, loose parts from Bombay Toy Company are not only unique but are also super versatile to play with for long periods of time.
There is absolutely no denying the fact that wooden toys last much longer compared to plastic toys. Many of the toys that we receive from our elders or are inherited are wooden toys, they are durable and save us so much from harming the environment (storytelling is an added bonus). Plus one of the best feelings is watching your(sibling/friend) younger child play with the toys you got for your older child. The many different ways in which both the babies chose to play with the wooden toy.
Probably the most important feature we look for while buying toys for our babies is safety. With Bombay Toy Company toys there’s no worry of kids getting hurt as they are finished with rounded edges and have smooth surfaces. As a parent, the color is another point of concern but most wooden toys in the market now use lead-free, non-toxic paints while making wooden toys. Traditional methods of using lacquer is infact one of the safest options for toys as we use natural ingredients that are given by nature, like turmeric or manjistha.
Most parents, along with being conscious about exposure to age appropriate toys also opt for wooden toys for environmental reasons and rightfully so. Our little ones have the habit of putting toys in their mouth the minute they pick it or while playing. With Bombay Toy Company wooden toys, that worry disappears as they’re made of renewable sources ( we try and use upcyled or locally grown wood), are environmentally friendly and free from any chemicals.
They may be simple but wooden toys sure have that aesthetic appeal. They’re smooth, clean and simply beautiful to look at. According to the Montessori and Waldorf philosophy, natural element,clean lines, simple looking with subtle colours and order create a calm learning environment and wooden toys fit perfectly in these situations. They can be stacked, are easy to clean and very simple yet so appealing that even we as parents would love to play along! And ofcourse, why not?
Wooden Toys Vs Plastic Toys
Ready for a serious truth bomb? It’s all those trendy, lights-flashing, music-playing toys - the ones that claim to stimulate learning in your child - that are worst for your child’s health and cognitive development.
These over-commercialized, plastic toys packed with some sort of electronic element offer very little in the way of creative play.
Plastic toys can even interfere with your child’s development. It is no joke that over-stimulation can lead to negative neural impact, making it more difficult for the brain to think critically.
Seek out educational wooden toys that will keep your little ones stimulated and engaged while safely developing their minds and motor skills.
Developmental issues aside, many plastic toys can be harmful to your children (as well as the environment).
You may be aware of reports linking hormone disruption with the chemical bisephenol A (BPA) which is commonly used in plastics. Insert gag reflex here because this is just one of the many chemicals found in plastic toys.
List Of Wooden Toys You Should Buy For Your Kids
1. Space Explorer
2. 12 Piece Large Rainbow Stacker
3. Ollie The Robot And His Allen Key
4. Countryside Homes
5. Dough It Up! | Play Dough Tools
6. Beach Muddle Up! | Sensory Play Tools
7. Alphabet Tracking Wooden Board
8. Lace Me!
Conclusion
There are many reasons wooden toys are better (not only for your child, but for the environment as well):
- They’re long-lasting and more durable.
- They cause less waste than plastic toys.
- They’re biodegradable.
- They’re safer for your children. The truth is that good quality, eco-friendly wooden toys don’t contain PVC, phthalates, or similar chemicals used in plastic toys. Now, I’m not saying all wooden toys are safe so you have to do your due diligence and be aware of low quality, chemically treated wood.
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