Sunday, March 30, 2014

What kind of toys do you prefer for your toddler, wooden toys or plastic toys?




harold


I'm curious to the type of toy material that parents prefer to buy for their toddlers?


Answer
Hi Harold,

I tend to have a strong liking for wood toys that are of excellent quality, but find that wooden toys are generally limited to blocks, puzzles and some very expensive hand made train sets. Some of the best wooden blocks on the market are Melissa & Doug's Standard Unit Blocks:

http://www.kids-toys-parents-love.com/standard_unit_blocks.html

They have other great wooden puzzle sets, and ImagiPlay makes an earth friendly dinosaur puzzle with non toxic paint: http://www.kids-toys-parents-love.com/Dinosaur_puzzles.html

Most of the toys we get for our kids are plastic, primarily because of selection and availability. They definitely are easier to disinfect and last just as long as the wood toys.

Most of the concerns over quality come from the massive 2007 recall from plastic toys manufactured in China containing lead and cadmium metals!! Besides keeping manufacturing jobs closer to home, companies like Little Tikes, Step 2 and Kid K'Nex keep a tight control over quality and materials. For toddlers, Little Tikes and Step 2 offer a wide variety of American made toys manufactured in Ohio, while Kid K'Nex is a great company for older kids who love creative building.

http://www.kids-toys-parents-love.com/Little_Tikes_Toys.html
http://www.kids-toys-parents-love.com/Step_2_Toys.html
http://www.kids-toys-parents-love.com/Kid_KNex.html

So in answering your questions, I prefer wooden toys, but availability and selection keeps our toy collection at 90% plastic and 10% wood.

Hopes this helps, and have fun playing with wood or plastic toys with your toddler!!

Toddler toys?




love_my_fa


What is a good thing to buy for a 21m old? I'm always looking for something that will hold her attention because she's at home all day (except when I take her to the park) and she gets bored. She already has legos, trains, a kitchen, books, the usual. I'm thinking either a play tent or a little people playset. Any ideas?


Answer
My daugher is 21 months old (and I have a 3-year-old daughter as well). My older daughter LOVED her Little People at that age and still does. My older daughter has/had a much greater attention span than my younger daughter, so she tends to play with things for longer periods and always has.

Some other things that my daughters like(d) to play at that age...

- Wooden puzzles
- Reading books
- Dancing to music
- Toy kitchen
- Musical instruments (harmonica, drum, tambourine, bells, xylophone, flutophone, etc.)
- Dolls
- Play-doh
- Crayons
- Paint with water
- Bubbles
- Helping with easy housework -- mopping floor, dusting
- Pretending to be a dog/cat/elephant/etc.
- Drawing with chalk on the sidewalk
- Chasing me or her sister around the house
- Pulling a toy for the cats to chase

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off-hand. Hope it gives you a few more ideas!




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