Kid's Wooden Toys are the Best Toys

Wooden toys have a warm and inviting feel to them. Often, however, the materials and craftsmanship that go into making wood toys causes them to be more expensive than their plastic and metal counterparts.

Parents, families, and caregivers are well-advised to choose high-quality wooden toys this holiday season. They are worth more than any additional cost and will be loved by children for generations.

Plastic cannot be mended, and when a hard plastic toy breaks it gets thrown away. The sharp edges of the broken plastic can cut and is especially dangerous for young children.

Wood lasts longer than a lifetime. We build houses and furniture with it; the longest lasting toys are made of wood. Families pass down from generation to generation wooden building blocks, lincoln logs, and children's furniture made from natural wood.

Giving wooden toys is an investment in the family's toy collection and, therefore, well worth any additional money spent over a cheap, plastic toy. 

Wooden toys stimulate the imagination and encourage creative play more than battery-operated toys that operate simply on cause and effect. Battery-operated toys are similar to television in that many of them want to be watched instead of played with in a creative and open-ended fashion.

A wooden car or doll invites open-ended play that is best for the brain development of children. Blocks and other wooden toys do not suggest or require a specific course of action, but rather children may play with them in any way they choose.

Wood toys are safer than metal and plastic toys.

Wood toys are lovingly crafted with rounded edges and sanded to a soft, smooth finish. Metal toys have sharp edges. Even plastic toys rip and the resulting tear has sharp edges that can cut. Wooden toys are safer.

Children put their toys in the mouths. The more we learn about plastic, the more we may choose to have less of it in our lives and homes. A baby will teethe happily and safely on a large, wooden teething toy. Wood is naturally non-toxic.

Wood also has a much more pleasant smell (and taste!) than plastic or metal.

Wood is a natural and renewable resource.

Plastic is a relatively recent invention that is made with non-renewable resources. When plastic breaks or tears, it is near-impossible to mend. Discarded plastic sits in landfills for countless generations while it slowly emits toxic chemicals into the air we breathe.

If and when the day comes that a wooden toy does get thrown away, it does no damage in landfills. It decomposes the way nature intended: in a timely fashion, breaking down into its natural elements and going back into the earth. Wood toys are much better for the environment. 

Do you children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren a favor. Buy naturally wooden toys!