Teach children how to put toys away. Avoid plastic or wooden toys that have sharp edges, as they can cause serious injury to the child. Don't allow reckless or inappropriate gambling. Injuries can occur when toys are thrown, skipped, or disassembled.
Visit the CPSC website for the latest information on toy recalls or call their hotline at (800) 638-CPSC to report a toy you think is unsafe. Even if children only have basic shapes, they can start using wooden toys and their imaginations to develop real-life skills. Because wooden toys don't come with sounds, lights, or other interactive features, children must find other people to interact with them. For example, children can experiment with physics by building different structures with wooden toys or learn geometry by manipulating toys to create their own geometric patterns.
When children play with wooden toys, they emit all the voices, alarms, and other sound effects, instead of hearing the toy. Rather than having a set purpose and limited use, wooden toys have the potential to last for years. Even if companies reimagine the organization, color, or design of their wooden toys, they still have the same classic feel and offer the same educational benefits that children have been reaping for generations. While some children love toys with all kinds of bells and whistles, noises and electronic functions can interrupt children's thinking process or limit the reach of their imagination by forcing them to adopt specific ways of playing with the toy.
Unlike toys made of lightweight plastic, many wooden toys have a little weight, so when children interact with the toys they are more aware of what they are doing. As children get older, they will find different ways to use wooden toys to help develop their imagination, solve problems, and develop fine motor skills and reasoning skills. Whether you have a space dedicated to homeschooling or simply include educational toys with your child's other toys, you want the area to look good. Instead, you can focus on the sound of your children's voices and laughter as they learn and interact with their wooden toys.
While some wooden toys come in the form of vehicles, food, or common household items, they still encourage children to use their imaginations to incorporate them into learning and play. For example, children may have wooden food-shaped toys and common household items to use while playing around the house or at the grocery store. Since most wooden toys don't come with a preconceived purpose, they encourage children to expand their imaginations even more. At a more basic level, children can use wooden toys to help visually represent addition and subtraction problems.