Children love classic wooden toys, and parents and educators love them too. It’s not just about how beautiful a toy is or how nicely it’s made. The real benefits of a wooden toy are the social, emotional and developmental benefits they provide to children.
These educational toys are so much better for your child because they support learning and help build their imagination. They also encourage your child to explore and experiment with cause and effect. Because of that, you can expect an increase in fine motor skills and problem-solving skills, as well as an ability to cooperate and collaborate with others.
And this links in with the use of biophilic design in schools where the use of natural environments is proven to have positive impacts on the development of schoolchildren. Playing with wooden animals made from natural materials also creates a bond with the natural world to hopefully create a respect for the future.
So why are wooden toys better for children? Here are some of the benefits.
Why choose wooden toys?
Most wooden toys are always in style. Since they’ve been enjoyed for generations, there is rarely any commercial hype surrounding the latest wooden pieces. Because they are as healthy as they are timeless, wooden toys are seldom the focus of commercial hype or heavy advertisement campaigns.
And you must remember any child will play with toys that they are given. It’s only later on when commercial consumerism and rivalry gets involved that they will seek and desire certain toys. There are many examples of timeless wooden toys adored for generations including dolls houses, rocking horses, train sets, blocks and puzzles.
There are numerous benefits of solid wooden toys for both your child and the environment. They are more durable than plastic versions (producing less waste as a result), biodegradable, and may even be created from sustainable wood. Furthermore, high-quality, environmentally friendly wooden toys don’t include phthalates, PVC or other substances commonly found in plastic toys.
But do watch out for cheap, inferior wood. Some are constructed with formaldehyde and hazardous glue-laden plywood. There is a strong likelihood that lead-tainted paints were also utilized because there is little quality control on these less expensive products. Quality products do cost more but last so much longer and can be sold on or re-gifted.
High quality at less cost
Even on a tight budget, you may still be eco-friendly by purchasing sturdy wooden toys. There are several high-quality wooden toys available that won’t break the bank and are more intricate than you might realize.
According to the 2015 TIMPANI toy research, a wooden cash register was favoured equally by boys and girls from various socioeconomic groups and scored well in the creative category.
Wooden Toys are better for the environment
The fact that simple wooden toys are environmentally friendly is one of their best qualities. In a world where there is pollution, climate change, and an expanding carbon footprint, you can help the environment by selecting the more environmentally friendly alternative.
Given that plastic toys nearly never disintegrate and are almost always broken before you can recycle them, it’s a perfect method to educate your children about these problems. Wooden toys are produced using the best materials available and without the use of any harmful chemicals which helps to safeguard the environment for future generations.
Help improve learning support and imagination
Children are learning a lot when they play with instructive toys, so it’s not simply for entertainment. The skills that your child will be acquiring and honing from early childhood all the way into adulthood will highly be beneficial to them.
They will be skills that will genuinely impact your child’s learning process by enhancing resilience, cognitive ability, and linguistic skills. According to research, unstructured playtime such as imaginative play with simple, open-ended wooden toys is both beneficial and preferred to classroom time.
When kids play with things that don’t have a clear, single use, their imaginations fly. A young child can stack wooden blocks into the shape of a house, a building, a zoo, or anything else they can imagine.
It will pique their natural interest and support the growth of their hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, social skills, gross motor abilities, language skills and so much more!
More durable than plastic toys
You can find young children scattering their toys throughout the living room floor, all over the garden, and there are probably some of them wedged between the cushions of the sofa. This increases the chances of being trod on, and lets face it babies are known to bang anything they are holding so the density of natural wood reduces breakages.
Wooden toys can withstand normal wear and tear for a lot longer than plastic toys, which frequently break and become brittle. They are therefore the ideal, long-lasting gift.
They’re a safer option than plastic
A child in the UK will typically receive toys costing close to £500 over the course of a year. They play such a crucial role in a child’s growth, but with so many available to them, you need to be sure they are free from any dangerous chemicals especially with teething babies prone to putting things in their mouths.
Wooden toys created naturally don’t present the same danger as synthetic toys if manufactured correctly.
Some plastic toys have a combination of chemicals in them that can wind up posing more risks than they’re worth. Our ability to provide high-quality, secure items, including wooden toys created with kid-friendly paints, stains, and lacquers, is something we take great pride in.
Plastic toys can be over stimulating
The toys that are most in demand or appear to be the most exciting to children and adult, are frequently not the best additions to the toy box. These are the bold, plastic toys with an electronic component that, despite what the manufacturer may claim, offer little in the way of creative play and may even hinder growth.
In the end, simplicity is preferable when it comes to the sensory experience. All the bells and whistles are not necessary and the smoothness of a wooden toy can be ideal for a baby. Additionally, excessive stimulation may have a negative effect on the nervous system, making it more challenging for the brain to think critically.
