Posts Tagged ‘parents’

A child who is playing with a toy, some might argue, is a child learning. Nevertheless, many parents and experts maintain that wooden educational toys are the best toys to teach children when compared to plastic toys.

Wooden toys have many advantages. They are synonymous with durability. A well made wooden toy has the potential to last not only a child’s journey into adulthood but for generations. In some cases, wooden toys have been passed down as family heirlooms.

If the environment were a consumer it would certainly purchase a wooden toy over its plastic competitor. The production of plastic can be harmful to the environment, whereas, wood is part of the environment. Wooden toy production, when compared with plastic toys, produces much less waste, which in turn means a healthier planet. Nevertheless, the health benefits of wooden toys also extend to children.

Some wooden toys retain their natural finish or they might be painted with a non-toxic finish or color. Plastic toys are synthetic and made with chemicals, and recently experts have published studies indicating harmful properties released by some plastics. Another positive attribute of wooden toys is the natural resistance of wood to bacteria. Under the same conditions, a wooden toy is said to have less germs on its surface than a plastic toy. This seems advantageous to many parents who watch as their infants taste everything they touch.

It is possible to further enumerate the advantages of wooden toys. Dense, grainy, or smooth, many children enjoy touching wooden toys. Some children are drawn to the natural warmth exhibited by the toys, even to the extent that they are soothed and drawn to them. This inherent quality, some might assert, heightens the educational experience of a child, because they might play with a wooden toy more frequently and for longer periods of time. However, wooden toys not only appeal to the sense of touch but also to the sense of smell. Many wooden toys are carved from aromatic woods and thus provided further sensory stimulation for children.

There are numerous wooden toys said to promote learning. Toys for learning are meant to encompass the social, intellectual, emotional, and physical growth of a child. An infant might first play with a chew toy or a rattle. This experience begins to develop the their motor-skills and sensory levels.

Then there are toys for older infants and toddlers. Spatial awareness, color and shape recognition and motor-skills are all engaged when a child plays with a wooden sorting toy or stacking game. Large wooden blocks, an early childhood version of the basic building block set, teach balance and hand and eye coordination.

For children who are a little older there is a wide variety of wooden toys to choose from. These children will enjoy learning about animals on the farm, at the zoo or in the wilderness by playing with wooden animal sets. They may even feel like they have traveled to all those places. They can also better understand everyday life within their house and community when they place with housekeeping, baking and building sets. Wooden number and letter sets develop language and counting skills. Also, these children might still want to engage with wooden toys geared towards younger children: rattles and stacking games. Just as they might want to adventure out towards more analytical toys, such as puzzles and mazes.

When a child is older they often seek out toys that are more intellectually challenging. Wooden toy makers create many intellectually based toys, such as puzzles, mazes and labyrinths, model building and play sets. No matter how old a child is, some experts and parents maintain that wooden educational toys give a boost to the confidence of a child, further the scope of their imagination and deliver a good time.

Buying baby toys isn’t just to provide your child with a fun activity - it’s also to help them learn! Shopping at local toy stores will provide you with educational toys that are both enlightening and fun, all at the same time!