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.

My issue with wooden toys is when they get hurled across the room they break the TV and can cause a lot of pain when they hit flesh. No one tells you that.

@justanotherneighinparadise

My issue with wooden toys is when they get hurled across the room they break the TV and can cause a lot of pain when they hit flesh. No one tells you that.

Not sure you can blame wooden toys for breaking the TV. Surely any item plastic, wooden or other that was thrown could damage or break it?

As for a lot pain, Lego win the award for that.

@AaronPurr. I'm not sure...I think playmobil pirates with swords could potentially be worse than lego .

Plastic toys tend to be lightweight. Wooden ones are heavyweight missiles in my house. Dangerous sods.

[quote MessAllOver]@AaronPurr. I'm not sure...I think playmobil pirates with swords could potentially be worse than lego .[/quote]
Oww that does sound pretty painful. I'd offer to do a comparison, but my feet wouldn't be able to cope 😂

@justanotherneighinparadise

My issue with wooden toys is when they get hurled across the room they break the TV and can cause a lot of pain when they hit flesh. No one tells you that.

Feeling that. When DS was little he threw a wooden train (out of frustration, not directed at me personally) but it did hit me and split my eyebrow! Really really hurt!

We had a mix, my DC did like the little wooden rainbow but they did also loved the noisy V-Tech stuff.

I think the problem with plastic toys is the CHEAP plastic toys. Toys that break after a few uses and are generally utter shite. Good quality sturdy plastic stuff that can be handed down, sold on and reused years later isn’t as damaging as the naff McDonalds toys or Poundland play sets that don’t even last last Christmas but will be festering in landfills when their grandkids are grown ups.

When my DC were small they got a wooden digger (possibly from the white company) it looked nice but they didnt enjoy playing with it nearly as much as the ELC one with nouses and flashing lights! Also thinks like marble runs and hot wheels (as kids got older) had more variety of stunts/obstacles than the wooden equivalent.
We had a mixture (both when I was young -1980s and for my own DC) And my parents kept a lot of my old fisher price toys - some were wooden and plastic and some were plastic, and Lego and they were still quite functional 25-30 years later. In fact my parents bought hardly any new stuff for my DC to play with (at their house) it was a mixture of my old toys and stuff from boot fairs.

They’re more expensive, better for the environment and look better. I don’t boast about it but all of my DC’s toys are wooden as well aside from their mega blox set.

We don’t buy new plastic. DD has plastic toys but they are all 2nd (multiple) hand. And we will pass on afterwards.
Wood is much nicer to handle, DD has my 40+ year old wooden walker, it’s beautiful. Plastic is horrid, but I have no issue with reusing plastic.

My toddler DS much prefers his wooden toys to his plastic ones. This has nothing to do with their eco credentials and scope for open ended play and everything to do with the fact that wooden pieces make a better noise when banged together.

She'll go off them when she gets a wooden block lobbed at her telly!
Toys are for children, not for middle class parents to show off!

🌍🌎🌏🌏🌏🌎🌎🌍🌎🌏🌏🌍🌎🌎🌍🌍

My DS got a tiny purple dragon soft toy with the McDonalds happy meal we bought him at a service station on the way to the seaside last autumn. It sleeps in his bed and he goes to sleep hugging it and his teddy at night. He also likes to zip it in his coat pocket and take it to the park for "aventures".

Not sure what the moral of that story is... Maybe just that the one and only McD toy we've ever got has been absolutely fab . But I'm sure next time we go back, it'll be plastic junk again and we'll be disappointed.

I've never bought toys because they "looked nice" I generally bought stuff I thought my kids would play with. The octonauts playsets did nothing at all to enhance the aesthetic of my home but kept my DS amused for hours. My DD was really into sylvanians and I really like them as well A lot of stuff I bought her second hand on ebay but also sold on for a good price too. So not just wooden toys that have resale value (although again I wouldnt use this as a primary motive - it still has to be something my kids will enjoy!)

More minimalist so middle class houses don’t look so chaotic, god forbid a child lives in one

My DC have a range of toys. Because we are quite environmentally conscious, and that includes concerns about manufacturing, many of their toys are wooden from ethical places or second hand. The second hand toys are everything from building blocks to light up plastic toys. When we are finished with toys, we pass them on so others can use them.

What amuses me is when you hear people being dismissive of wooden toys, or worse thinking that because a child enjoyed a plastic toy at their house/playgroup that they couldn't possibly enjoy wooden toys. It always comes across like they think they've got this big "gotcha" moment and I find it weird.

It’s an environmental and sustainability thing that has quickly become a class, status and aspirational thing. It irks me a little.

Loads of our old plastic toys from the 80s and 90s are now being used by our own children. Similarly buying plastic toys from charity shops and second hand is surely better than buying a brand new wooden item?

I just don’t like the snobbery around it. Plus the sad fact is that children and babies love noisy, bright, interesting plastic stuff. No need to overdo it but in the grand scheme of child rearing, it’s hardly disastrous to have a bit of plastic shite kicking about the house.

It's the Instagram aesthetic.

My DC's have a lot of wooden toys but also plenty of plastic. Second hand plastic is better for the environment than brand new wooden toys.

@Norwayreally

They’re more expensive, better for the environment and look better. I don’t boast about it but all of my DC’s toys are wooden as well aside from their mega blox set.

🤣

Nooooo not boasting at all 🤭

I work in school..and we have Fisher Price kitchens (alongside Ikea style wooden ones) that have lasted many many years.. some of the Fisher Price stuff is over 20 years old, still going strong and being played with daily so I don't think you can say all plastic is bad, or disposable!

Dollshouses... yes wooden are nicer in many ways, but given heavy use, bits still fall off. Brio I agree is fab but best to buy own brand.

My children played with lego from my childhood, added more and soon there will be grandchildren to inherit it.. win for the plastic there too.

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

She'll go off them when she gets a wooden block lobbed at her telly! Toys are for children, not for middle class parents to show off!

Maybe kids should be taught not to throw things at the telly (or other people)