Wooden toys also offer a beautiful, tactile and open “blank canvas” for the child to explore at their own pace and on their own terms. Additional bells and whistles that can make other toys more attractive instantly tend to restrict and direct the way children play with them. Do you want to contribute to saving our environment? In general terms, wooden toys are more environmentally friendly than plastic toys because of their biodegradable nature and their recyclability. Instead of filling landfills with man-made products, you can buy toys for your child that will contribute to the environment.
Every time you give your child a wooden toy, you contribute to saving our planet and, as a result, you are transmitting these values to your child. As an organic, renewable and sustainably sourced product, of course, wooden toys are a much more environmentally friendly option than plastic. Did you know that most plastic toys are full of harmful chemicals? These toxic chemicals are linked to many different health disorders in children, and the most common of which are the suppression of hormones and the interruption of normal development. As they build, move, stack and balance wooden materials, children train their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
In particular, they learn to grab and pinch different parts to manipulate their game. In addition, through trial and error experiments, children develop their memory and muscle strength, as well as their patience and persistence. Wooden toys made from certified sustainably sourced wood are a much more environmentally friendly option than plastic toys. As an organic and renewable substance, wooden toys are biodegradable and can be recycled.
While a Fisher Price toy usually has a single function or purpose (such as pressing a button and waiting for an answer), wooden toys are much more versatile. According to Maggie Moffat Baxter, education counselor and first-time mother, deciding what type of toys and materials you will expose your child to is a choice that all parents should consciously make. For example, by counting wooden acorns aloud, classifying Matryoshka dolls by height, or stacking wooden rainbow pieces on top of each other, parents can explain natural phenomena as well as mathematical or scientific concepts in much greater detail in an intimate environment where questions and dialogue are encouraged. Wooden toys offer more green credentials when the paint used on them does not contain toxic chemicals, or if no paint is used.
Parents find it a great added benefit for their children to improve memory and concentration and learn problem-solving techniques (playing with toys such as alphabet bricks, construction toys, and shape sorters). The results of Professor Trawick-Smith's TIMPANI toy study, which analyzes how young children play in natural environments with a variety of toys, revealed that toys that were traditionally considered to be oriented to men (wooden construction toys and toy vehicles, for example) generated the highest quality games among girls. Wooden toys have been an important part of childhood since the beginning of civilization, and while today's children are very different from those of thousands of years ago, many of their favorite toys are similar to those that have existed for centuries. Wooden toys encourage open play, providing an opportunity for a toy to keep the child interested for longer.
Wooden trains, along with their wooden rails, were one of the best-selling toys during this period of time. When wooden toys are carefully manufactured from high-quality materials, they last even in the toughest games. Children also begin to exercise fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination with wooden toys instead of simply pressing buttons and watching.