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.

@Wearywithteens

OnlyFoolsnMothers - agree! I’m convinced that’s why all the MC kids my children went to school with are now as adults all into drugs and kink. Because they weren’t allowed Argos catalogue tat when they were little!

It’s an environmental and sustainability thing that has quickly become a class, status and aspirational thing. It irks me a little
I think it depends how it's done.

I know lots of people with a similar approach to me who choose to buy wooden toys from companies with transparent production, who buy second hand plastic toys and pass them on, who dress their children in hand me downs or second hand clothes, who don't make lots of international flights, etc. These people's toy choices reflect their wider lifestyle and from my perspective I find it annoying that trying to be mindful of the human/environmental cost is viewed as a status symbol.

Then there's some who have fallen down the Instagram rabbit hole and have bought into the cult products, namely wooden toys and scandi clothing. These people seem to spend a small fortune, turn their dining room into a playroom with neatly arranged toys, wet themselves with excitement when a 'drop' of new printed clothing occurs and upload photos of their post. It's better overall than putting money into less ethical company so it's a more ethical consumerism, but I find the hype and tribal element to be bizarre.

From an environmental perspective, the most sustainable purchase you can make is one you don't make, and I'm not convinced anyone who is obsessed with collecting Grimms is being particularly environmentally conscious.

But for posters who dismiss plastic toys altogether - whether it’s for faux eco reasons or not - it just boils down to pure snob value and quite frankly MC bullshit.

Has anyone dismissed plastic toys altogether? I think the majority of posters have said a mix of both is fine, and to go with what the children enjoy.

We have a mixture of both and I am happy with that.Babies often like bright, flashing lights, noise and toys that move, so you would go for plastic in that case. I find that wooden toys are more durable and so are great for several kids to get use out of. With plastic toys it really depends on how gentle (or not) your child is and how well built the toys is. At 3 my son loves playing with toy cars, lego and loves his playmobil toys.

Personally we have a variety. But wooden is more durable. And it's not snobbery in my case. Although many it is.

Eg. We were gifted a toy shop and kitchen in plastic. Kids love it but it broke easily . So we upgraded to wooden purely for the durability.

Only. Other wooden we have is a block train, abacus and puzzles I think

Wearywithteens
I would see your point if the parent claimed their child only ever enjoys wooden toys and couldn't possibly find anything enjoyable about plastic toys.

You're right that toddlers play with anything though.

It bothers me that anyone making environmental decisions on toys is viewed as being full of rubbish though. Some of us are genuinely trying to make sustainable choices throughout our lives and although we might buy from some of the same companies, we don't buy into all the tribal hype of collecting specific things.

They are heavy, hard and pointy. Excellent feeling of satisfaction for your kid when launched across a room. 10 points if you hit a person, 20 points if you break the TV.

If you don’t have much money and your toys are from Wilko and B&M where plastic dolls/cars/trucks/games are a few quid, something wooden from Grimm costing £70 just isn’t going to be a priority. Amazon have cheaper wooden toys, but not everyone has the ability to use Amazon.

Ages ago I saw a discussion in the comments on a National Trust Facebook page about a ‘real childhood’ - someone had posted a picture of their child enjoying the outdoor spaces in one of the NT properties and commented she was having a ‘real childhood’ by being outside playing in the trees, not ‘spending her pocket money on plastic tat from Poundland.’ Others were pointing out that those kids might cherish their ‘tat’ because it’s all their parents can afford - not everyone can afford NT memberships and wooden toys

Others were pointing out that those kids might cherish their ‘tat’ because it’s all their parents can afford

Or they might just like their 'tat', regardless of their parents' income. Because children are not mini-mes and have their own personal preferences. So they might like the McD toy or the disfigured slinky which they can wind around their parents' legs over 'worthier' toys.

@MessAllOver

Others were pointing out that those kids might cherish their ‘tat’ because it’s all their parents can afford

Or they might just like their 'tat', regardless of their parents' income. Because children are not mini-mes and have their own personal preferences. So they might like the McD toy or the disfigured slinky which they can wind around their parents' legs over 'worthier' toys.

I totally agree, I was just meaning that the lady who posted seemed completely oblivious to the implications of her comment - she said tat from Poundland (an obviously cheap shop that many use because of necessity as they don’t have the choice of other places). She could have just said plastic toys (there’s enough of them in an NT gift shop!), but it just came off really rude and thoughtless

What age does this throwing-toys-at-my-head phase start? Do I need to start ducking soon? Son is 15months

@ItsTheDramaMickILoveIt. I don't disagree with you! It's just that kids make their own choices in the end. We are NT members and DS has lots of lovely toys, but he still loves the Kinder egg crap and the slinky we won at a Christmas fair (). Also, his plastic Paw Patrol figures. His favourite teddy which he sleeps with is a very ugly white (now off-white and food coloured) one he was given by DH's brother , not the lovely fluffy Jellycat one I chose for him when I was pregnant.

What can you do ?

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

MY son has an imaginary tablet (electronic not medicinal) that he plays imaginery games on. He's had the invisible tablet for about 2 years. I have NO idea how this actually works but it's very good for (freaking out the driver on) taxi journeys

LolaSmiles - I’m not saying that I don’t walk down the plastic tat aisle at B&M and other shops and my heart doesn’t break a little at the sheer pointlessness of all that unnecessary and wasteful use of plastic. I do. But people saying that children prefer wooden toys, or that people buy them for eco reasons is absolute tosh and it’s pure snobbery masked as moral superiority
This is what I don't get though.

You say yourself that you see the wasteful use of plastic, so why is it snobbery for someone who sees the same thing and chooses not to buy them for those reasons?

Why is it automatically tosh and snobbery for someone to choose to spend their money in a way that aligns with their concerns?

You wouldn't say my environmental concerns are tosh or it's snobbery for me to buy most of DC's clothing second hand or for me to avoid consuming high trend fast fashion items (note I still buy from H&M and places, because it's affordable to me, but I try to buy less and throw away less), so why would it be tosh and snobbery to buy wooden toys for the same environmental concerns?

Is it also tosh and snobbery that I choose to buy second hand plastic toys because I don't think the world needs to keep churning out more and more toys? Or is it only snobbery for buying the wooden toys for environmental reasons?

Wooden toys are more dangerous in toddler hands as they are heavier. I preferred plastic for my kids for this reason.

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

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤭🤭🤭

I think they look smart

[quote MessAllOver]@ItsTheDramaMickILoveIt. I don't disagree with you! It's just that kids make their own choices in the end. We are NT members and DS has lots of lovely toys, but he still loves the Kinder egg crap and the slinky we won at a Christmas fair (). Also, his plastic Paw Patrol figures. His favourite teddy which he sleeps with is a very ugly white (now off-white and food coloured) one he was given by DH's brother , not the lovely fluffy Jellycat one I chose for him when I was pregnant.

What can you do ?[/quote]
we also had a rejected Jellycat...in favour of a £1 Asda Valentines bear I let DD hold to keep her quiet in the trolley

we also had a rejected Jellycat...in favour of a £1 Asda Valentines bear I let DD hold to keep her quiet in the trolley

Ohh the shame!!! A judgment on our Instagram-unfriendly parenting . Rather than "Isolde just loves getting creative with her Grimm's rainbow and peg dolls", I'll be posting "Little Mess finds it hilarious to wrap his broken slinky around his daddy's legs when he's watching Masterchef and then run round the corner and let go".

ChocOrange1, yes you do teach children not to throw things, but that is a process and not much good if the first time they lob a wooden block, it breaks your TV or worse, hurts a sibling!

I enjoy the cycle of blame.

So small child has temper tantrum and lobs heavy object at the TV and breaks it. Parent thinks it was a silly idea to own this bloody great lump of wood anyway and makes mental note to buy plastic in future. Internet judges parent for owning plastic and also for owning a child that has temper tantrums and throws stuff. Suggests parent ‘teaches’ child not to throw stuff.

Parent says ‘child, throwing is NOT nice. We don’t do that’. Next time child is cross they lob something across room. Internet tells parent to discipline child. Parent says there must be a consequence to throwing and gives punishment. Internet says punishing children is wrong. You are damaging child emotionally, you are a monster. Parent gives up and buys a new TV, clears all heavy toys from reach of small child and resolves never to post on the internet again.

Snobbery and eco credentials. My kids have a mix and the wooden ones drive me mad: they hurt like hell when toddler lobs them at you, rot when kids put them in the rain/bath/ toilet and cost more. I’ve come to the conclusion that second hand plastic is the way forward. 2nd hand so you’re doing your bit for the planet and plastic so they wash easily and hurt less when they are aimed at your head.

@ThatDoesntBelongInAIBU DS is 20months and is loving watching the rest of the family dive for cover when he gets his toys out. I’d start looking for some protective head gear now. Plastic or wood - your choice.