Wooden Toys for Kids

This holiday season, parents will flock to stores to buy all types of gifts for their children. We’ve all seen the videos of parents fighting over the hottest new figurine or doll. This year, shirk the plastic type toys and instead invest in some wooden toys.

Wooden toys were the first type of toys kids knew. Dads would whittle a piece of wood to create toys in the shapes of animals, wooden dolls, puppets on strings, and toy cars. Kids would play for hours with these toys. Once the kids outgrew them, they could be passed on to younger kids.

Wooden toys have not lost their luster or durability but they have been passed over for the more colorful plastic types that talk and move. When kids are young, the one thing they have is their imagination. Wooden toys inspire the use of the imagination during play.

Wooden toys are also environmentally friendly. Many are used in their natural wooden state. Paints used on eco friendly toys are non-toxic and safe for kids.

When other toys are broken or the kids get tired of them, they are thrown away. Each year something new will replace the old favorite and they will no longer like it as much. In a landfill, those toys just sit and take up space.

Lots of toys that are thrown away still have their batteries inside. Toys that are filled with substances still contain them when they are disposed of. These chemicals can be released into the ground as the housings break down. This poses a potential hazard.

When wooden toys are broken, they can be fixed. If you know someone good with their hands, they can fix it for you. The point is that you don’t have to throw them away. Wooden toys can be passed down from generation to generation.

They maintain their shape and if scratched, the imperfection can be sanded out. Wooden toys hold together better than modern toys created on an assembly line. Small parts that break off of new toys can choke a young child.

If wooden toys are old and no longer usable, they can be disposed of. Because they are made of natural wood, they can be chopped up and used in compost. Colored wooden toys can’t be used for that, but maybe they can be refurbished and donated to local charitable organizations.

Introduce kids to wooden toys when they are young. Puzzles come in wooden and paper shapes instead of plastic. Most wooden toys have rounded edges so they are safer to play with and handle. Even if they gnaw on wood it won’t hurt them.

Choose wooden toys for the young’uns. They are environmentally friendly, safe for young children, durable, and repairable if they are d