Why are natural wooden toys better?

What comes to mind when you hear the words, “natural wooden toys”? When I first began thinking about them, I thought plain, wooden toys: Wooden cars, wooden blocks, and wooden dolls. However, this is not the case. While cars, blocks, and dolls are included, it does

not have to suggest that the toys are plain. These toys are wonderfully colored and engage your child’s imagination. Experts refer to them as natural wooden toys or organic toys. Both terms indicated the absence of batteries or electronics.

With all the battery-operated and electronic toys that are made, imagination is not something that is important to use while playing. Natural wooden toys encourage the use of imaginative and creative play. There are no batteries to make it move and no set way of using the toy. With these toys the possibilities are endless. Your child is able to come up with any number of sounds to use for their car, instead of the toy doing it for them. This is a great opportunity for the child to stretch their creative legs.

Natural wooden toys also help in downtime. With bedtime and naptime, it is important for children to be able to wind down naturally. Electronics emit a blue light, which makes it difficult for the brain to calm down naturally. Wooden toys allow your child to play without the blue light. Natural elements also have a calming effect on children, it is hard to explain, but simply playing with wooden toys relaxes them. Their brain will begin to calm down when it is ready, instead of pushing their body past their natural clock.

Using organic toys also helps stimulate your child in a positive way. Battery-operated toys come complete with many sounds, lights, and movements. This makes your child’s brain go haywire. Most often when using battery-operated toys; the environment is chaotic and noisy. When encouraging play with natural toys, the play area is calm and engaging. This promotes healthy play for all the children involved.

Natural wooden toys are made and painted with all non-toxic and non-chemical products. Plastics and metal contain harmful materials. Wooden toys are simple and natural, and they are environmentally friendly. Several companies grow their own trees and replace them as they are used. These companies also use as much of recyclable material as possible, so as to not affect any more of the environment than is necessary. Companies are also making the toys which withstand the test of time. There are no upgrades or new models, so there is less waste over time. This makes a big difference in the footprint that we are leaving on the earth.

While buying a few electronic toys will not ruin your child’s creative chances in life, they should not be the only option for your child to play with. Invest your money in natural wooden toys and activities for your child. This will encourage their imagination and creativity and ultimately promote their health and well-being. Foster their inner actor or actress. Help them problem-solve to build the tallest building possible. Who knows, they may just end up in Hollywood or building the next Empire State Building. The possibilities are endless.

Grace A.