Wooden Toys
Don’t let the simplicity of wooden toys distract you. Wooden toys are used in Montessori classrooms and conscientious parents bring them home to extend the learning of classrooms in their homes. Parents wish to provide the best toys for their children and even before they are born, parents and other family members give them toys.
More and more parents are buying wooden toys for their children because they worry about the environmental impact of the toys once their children are done playing with them. Wooden toys are timeless and safe, and often last generations.
Toys help children exercise their thinking and creativity skills. Beautifully designed wooden toys broaden your child’s imagination and open-ended play helps them stay away from screens. While there is a lot of discussion about how screen time is beneficial, wooden toys provide children with tactile engagement with their surroundings.
Why does Montessori Prefer Wooden Toys?
The Montessori method of learning is founded on principles of independence and curiosity and wooden toys are very common in Montessori classrooms. It’s because toys made of natural materials are safe and encourage exploration and imaginative play.
They also let young fertile minds run wild without distracting them with recorded sounds. Montessori wooden toys are colorful and simple. They can also be played with other kids of the same age and multiple play areas can be lined up in a classroom, or even in a home setting.
Benefits of Wooden Toys
Let’s explore why you should do away with plastic toys and give wooden toys to your child.
Safe
Safety is a concern for all parents because there may be times when you leave your child alone with their toys. To add to that, the little ones like putting toys into their mouths while playing. This is the reason why parents shy away from plastic toys.
Wooden toys are safe for your children. All wooden baby toys in our store have excellent finishing with smooth surfaces and rounded edges. They are painted with lead-free, non-toxic paint. Even if your child chews into the wooden toys, it won’t result in them swallowing toxic materials like polyethylene and polypropylene.
This is not to say that all wooden toys for toddlers are made the same. Poor-quality wooden toys may give your child splinters, which may lead to a trip to the emergency room.
Environmentally sustainable
For environmental reasons, many parents choose wooden toys. Since wood is renewable and environmentally sustainable, you need not worry. Once the children grow up and don’t want to play with the toys, you can simply dispose of the toys without causing any environmental damage or pass them on to other parents with kids.
Durable
Compared to plastic toys, wooden toys are long-lasting, While they aren’t indestructible, they certainly outlast toys made of other materials. They can be passed on from the elder child to the younger one, saving you money in the long run. Some children even develop sentiments for their toys in the process.
Beautifully designed
Wooden toys may look very simple, but the good quality ones are beautifully designed. They have smooth surfaces and have clean lines. The Montessori method of teaching recommends toys that are colorful and clean lines.
Such toys result in a calm environment. Most wooden toys are stackable and simple, resulting in a clean house as the toys can be put away neatly even in small spaces at the end of the day.
Boost Learning and Cognition
Wooden toys ensure the overall development of the child. They increase your child’s logical and reasoning skills. Wooden toys also help kids understand shapes, volumes, sizes, and weights. Wooden toys encourage open-ended play as the child has to be innovative and tell stories to play. For example, a Solar System Stacking Game can help your child imagine a tower or even a tall building while playing with it.
Encourages Brain Development
Most wooden toys don’t have magnets or something that holds them together, giving your child the freedom to explore them freely with imaginative play. They can play with them the way they want, without worrying about the toys breaking.
Stimulates Fine-motor Skills
Children develop their fine motor skills while playing with wooden toys. Wooden toys are available in various sizes and shapes. Most wooden toys are heavier compared to plastic toys and children may find them hard to handle. But that’s how children increase their ability to grasp and manipulate them. Toddlers improve their grasping skills with bigger wooden pieces while older kids can work with smaller beads and smaller wooden shapes to improve a finer grasp.
Final Words
This is not to say that all toys made of other materials are not safe or healthy for the kid. Toys made of silicone are another safe choice.
The way to go here is balance. Include toys made of other materials to ensure the overall development of your child. Including wooden toys in their playtime is sure to prove beneficial in the long run.
Our Best Picks for Wooden Toys -
