This post has been written in collaboration with Imooore.com. Words and pictures are my own.
We love toys in this house and we are lucky that, through my blog, we have the opportunity to try out new toys often.
My kids have always spent a lot of time playing; during lockdown it has been a saving grace that they are really good at using their imaginations and playing independently with their toys. I’d never have made it through otherwise!
When children are young, toys are king where presents are concerned.
It is almost impossible for a small kid to hide their visible disappointment when they open up any other type of gift, and who can blame them. Teenagers might want clothes for their birthdays, but five year olds definitely don’t!
But that’s OK; toys are actually a really important part of childhood. Learning through play can help children develop social, cognitive, emotional and motor skills from a very young age and it’s always something my big kid of a husband and I have been happy to encourage.
With so many brand new and exciting educational toys on the market, it can be a bit of a minefield when looking to buy something new, particularly when buying a toy as a gift for somebody else’s child. You want to buy something that will be happily received by parent and child, as well as a toy that will provide fun and last a while. Wooden toys can be all of these things.
Here are five reasons to consider wooden toys!
1. Wooden toys are better for the environment
Wood is a sustainable material; it grows naturally (obviously!) and can be replaced fairly quickly unlike plastic which is made using non-renewable oils.
Then, when a toy is at the end of its life cycle, it can be disposed of without harming the environment; unlike plastic toys, which often contains non-recyclable elements, wooden toys are biodegradable.
Where non-toxic paint is used, and toys for children should obviously have non-toxic paint as standard, it means that they are free from harmful chemicals.
2. Wooden toys have educational benefits
Many classic wooden toys including puzzles, building blocks and wooden baby walkers can help children with numeracy, literacy, motor skills and problem solving
While some wooden toys have a prescribed use – for example a car or a push-along toy – they tend to be more ‘open-ended’ than modern plastic or electronic toys, opening up a world of imagination with no wrong way to play.
For example, in the doctor’s kit featured in this post the pieces are the contents of a doctor’s bag and can be used for role play, but using a bit of natural creativity they can also be stacked and made into patterns.
They’re calming and not over-stimulating and have a good weight to them to enhance sensory learning.
3. Wooden toys are long lasting
A lot of wooden toys can be used by the same child for many years. Blocks for example can be used from the time a baby is able to grip and stack, right through toddlerhood into childhood when they can be used to create buildings and structures.
They’re hard-wearing and durable too; good quality, well crafted wooden toys are designed to last and can stand up to being dropped and bumped without breaking.
Although the same is true of well made plastic toys, they often have a propensity to break and degrade in storage. Wooden toys should not fall apart if treated well, and once your own kids have eventually outgrown them, they can be passed on to friends, family or the local toddler group and played with for years to come.
4. Wooden toys are timeless
A lot of plastic toys are faddy, made to capitalise on new TV shows and current trends which come and go.
We have reviewed a lot of these ourselves and although some become firm favourites, others are barely played with before something new and exciting comes in to replace it and they are passed on to live out their relatively short lives in the local preschool or taken to the charity shop.
Very generally speaking, wooden toys are more classic, with multi-generational appeal and never go out of fashion.
5. Wooden toys also make better gifts
Lots of modern plastic toys are electronic and come with flashing lights and sounds or music.
If buying for your own child then you might be OK with this, but if it’s a present for someone else’s kid then they may not appreciate the repetitive noises, and wooden toys can provide an inoffensive alternative.
6. Wooden toys look nicer
Wooden toys tend to be less garish than their plastic counterparts and blend into a room nicely. If you have a separate playroom then a sea of plastic might be fine, but if children and adults are sharing a space then most people would agree that wooden toys are also more aesthetically pleasing!
Where can I buy wooden toys?
Try Amazon for some great bargains on children’s wooden toys.