Why are wooden toys seen as superior to plastic ones?

[catinbootsx]

I'm ancient and it's been years since my kids had toys. But just had a colleague boasting that her kid only has five plastic toys and the rest are wooden.

Wooden toys are a dog whistle to the middle classes

My DC’s favourite toys, bar none, were (i) as babies/toddlers, a set of stacking plastic cups; and (ii) thereafter, Lego. To be fair I think Lego gets a middle class dispensation because it is “creative” and “Scandinavian”.

Some wooden toys are great. But a lot of the baby ones end up full of teeth marks and can go musty and mouldy if stored. No as easy to clean.

Vintage ones can be dangerous by today's standards and could have lead paint on.

Becuase plastic toys come from China and anything from China is urine from the last leper in hell.

think of a 2 year old pushing a wooden fire engine around and making nee-naw sounds rather than a plastic one that makes the noise itself.

You'd be stretching your child's imagination even further if you just give them a lump of wood and told them to imagine it was a fire engine. Or even better give them nothing and tell them to imagine they have some toys.

I prefer wooden toys because they are more durable, better for the environment and kinder on the eye - plastic is just so ugly. I'd love a plastic-free playroom! My kids don't agree though, they love plastic tat toys, so apart from the Brio train set all their toys are 100% plastic.

I find some wooden toys end up properly bashed and battered. Some plastic toys last years and are used by many children (those v tech plastic walkers go on forever). We also have things like a plastic shopping trolley we got from the charity shop 5 years ago that's still going strong and more children will enjoy it when we donate again.

It's mostly snobbery I reckon.

There is a big difference from the plastic tat in party bag and proper quality plastic toys. Nothing I’ve got from fisher price or little tykes has been breakable and will last multiple children. Many children will have standard wooden block set, toy food or wooden skittles. That’s just not all they have. A plastic block set does not have less imaginative play than an equally coloured set that’s made of Plastic. Good on you if you can afford pay hundreds on toys but don’t pretend is live style what that life style is money.

[quote sadpapercourtesan]@Fuckadoodledoooo your dh's comment has just made me guffaw out loud[/quote]
She spent the whole party shrieking at any child who tried to touch the carefully displayed toys. It was tedious!

Not here they are not. Wooden toys get chewed and damaged and then thrown away, even very expensive ones.

Obviously there will always be exceptions, and it's very dependant on your children. However, for the most part wooden toys are more durable, and outlast the plastic one (with some exceptions such as Lego)

After a toddler party at one of their houses once, my Dh asked me which Scandinavian website she'd bought the stick up her arse from.

Haha 😂

Wooden toys are prettier and more tasteful, and often more environmentally friendly.
I remember when my first baby was born, we had some lovely tasteful toys for her - wooden toys and a couple of soft toy bunnies in muted tones which were just gorgeous. Well she never touched the bunnies, she went straight for the offensive neon green dog my friend had got her , complete with flashing lights and songs and with plastic buttons. It went on to be one of her favourite toys ever and my son loved it too, he now sleeps next to it every night
We now have plastic tat in our house, you can’t force your taste on your kids (or at least, I can’t be bothered to) and some of that wooden stuff is incredibly expensive. You can offset the environmental impact by getting them second hand where possible.

I also agree with everything @Akire said. There can be such a snobbishness that doesn’t reflect quality or experience. Good quality plastic toys do last, and if a child is playing with plastic food vs wooden food they’re using their imagination in the exact same way.

Wooden toys don’t usually have a whole raft of chemicals that leech out when babies chew on them...I’ve no problem with my little girl have plastic toys like Lego when she’s older and doesn’t spend all her time chewing them.

plastic can go in the dish washer though

i think it is snobbery

Because you are seen to be doing a bit for the environment with wooden toys rather than plastic ones

People keep banging on about the environment but a huge part of it is that it doesn't contain all the toxic chemicals that plastic does and that these people don't want their kids around/munching on.

My PIL insisted on buying all their DGC traditional wooden toys. Some in particular were very heavy and cumbersome. They were lethal weapons in the hands of our rambunctious toddler DSs and swiftly relegated to the back of the cupboard. It's all fun and games, 'til someone loses an eye. We brought out these WMD only when DGP visited; they looked suitably worn and much-loved because of the battering they'd had before they were confiscated.

@NotDavidTennant

think of a 2 year old pushing a wooden fire engine around and making nee-naw sounds rather than a plastic one that makes the noise itself.

You'd be stretching your child's imagination even further if you just give them a lump of wood and told them to imagine it was a fire engine. Or even better give them nothing and tell them to imagine they have some toys.

🤣

Yeah I got the impression she thought it was superior. She was comparing herself to another family member.

People like to pretend they are helping the environment and their DC imaginations.
In reality, they want to appear more middle class, more wealthy, more superior, and they want to have their houses ‘looking pretty’ and take photos for Instagram or Facebook.
In reality, wooden toys actually do very little for the child, it’s the parents they are bought for. Always cracks me up when a parent gleefully shows off her new wooden toys

They cost more.

It's a class issue wrapped up in the bullshit bow of "quality".

We have both. I tend to be on the alert when my DS takes any of the heavy wooden toys out of the cupboard like the big wooden parking garage or rocket. Much more potential to injure himself/dent the floor or walls. With the happyland, duplo or plastic paw patrol junk, I can relax more (until I step on the damn stuff ).

Wooden stuff looks better in pictures .

I know what I would rather get thrown at the head by.... and it ain’t a wooden toy

It's for the aesthetic often. I am fairly conscious of the environmental impact m, which is why I buy a lot of toys second hand, and sell them on after they've been outgrown. But my children like the Vtech, Fisher Price brightly coloured stuff, so I wouldn't prevent them from having it because it didn't match my cushions.