Wooden or Plastic Toys: Make the Best Choice When looking for the perfect toy for our children, we seem to be influenced by media, bright colours and dazzling sounds. Boab toys The toys are often made of plastic and demand the further purchase of batteries. The box the toy came in often becomes the child's favourite thing to play with! While plastic toys are cheaper as well as flashier, parents should seriously consider purchasing their child wooden toys. Developing Critical Learning Skills Many times we neglect the wooden toy section at the store when it should be our first stop. Toys constructed with wood have many advantages over plastic toys. Remember that play is a child's work. Play that involves imagination and creativity leads to a child developing better problem-solving, fine motor and critical thinking skills. Wooden blocks, mazes, and puzzles fill the bill. Providing your child with a set of blocks will improve his or her spatial skills. Spatial skills are essential in moving around effortlessly in a child's environment. Playing with wooden toys has also been shown to help children develop better communication skills. If you want your child to develop these critical skills, wooden toys are the ticket. Bright and Colourful for Creative Play Plastic toys have bright colours, mirrors, lights and sounds to captivate a child. This is true, but wood toys have many of those characteristics as well without the need for batteries. Many manufacturers add bright colours and moving parts to their toys. Bulldozers, trains, construction, sets rival plastic toys for colour and movement. Sounds? The child supplies the sounds, building on their inventiveness with different scenarios for their trains or bulldozers. Children can also make endless new formations and constructions. Cost Effective It is true that wooden toys are more expensive than plastic toys, but what happens when children are finished playing with plastic toys? They end up in a landfill. Plastic toys are easily broken as well. Wooden toys, on the other hand, are durable and will last for generations. If a wooden toy breaks, it is often easily repaired. Plastic toys are not. The wooden toys you purchase for your first child will still be able to be used with new additions to the family. Wooden toys offer much more value for your dollar. Safe Materials Parents also must be aware of the toxicity of toys. Traces of dangerous chemicals have been found in several brands of plastic toys lately. Because wooden toys are often made locally, the materials used must meet U.S. standards for safety. Choosing wooden toys for your child has many advantages over cheaply made traditional toys. They help children develop skills necessary to their development. These toys spark a child's imagination for years to come as they develop new storylines for play. |