To think wooden toys aren't necessarily better than plastic

[BleepingSooty]

I was reading a blog where the author told a story about how she had an unexpected visitor and was worried because her son's toys were still lying out in the living room. Rather than be put out by the mess, the visitor praised her for being such an excellent mother for buying her son wooden toys. She then went on to list the benefits of wooden toys and how they last longer and have more educational value. She did make an exception for Lego.

Now, my kids are very hard on their toys so I feel somewhat qualified in this subject. We have had a mixture of wooden toys and plastic, cheap toys and expensive (mostly gifts) and I have to say I see no difference. The wooden toys break just as much as the plastic ones. We especially have problems with paint flaking off. I also don't get how wooden toys have more educational value at all.

I know I probably should have written this on her blog but don't want to upset her. And yes, her blog is a tad self absorbed but I love reading it!

I think there is also an issue with the supposed possible toxicity of plastic toys. Unless wooden toys are coated in lead-based pigments there's less to worry about.

After all they do chew the damned things and if we're worried about the toxicity of plastc cups and plates, there might also be an issue with plastic toys.

disclaimer: our house is littered with both types of toy here. But NOTHING that lights up, beeps or talks apart from the robosapien who was liberated from the loft

DS has a lot of bigjigs stuff which is wooden, lovely and not expensive

But he also has some noisy plastic vtech shite which he adores.

I got off my PFB wooden high horse fairly quickly.....whatever he likes is fine by me.

I just hide the plastic when people come round

Those poxy wooden peg people! Exactly, Sminko, exactly :o

YANBU.

Some things work better in wood, IMO (the barnyard, for e.g.) and some in plastic (the animals that go in said barnyard).
DS has a good mix of both, including some that light up and make noise (although the plastic wurlitzer courtesy of DS's godmother did mysteriously "break" quite quickly...)

He has no problem with his imagination

wooden toys look very cute on shelves as room accessories
and they invariably stay on said shelves, spurned in favour of garish and noisy plastic

the fact that wooden toys "do less" and are therefore perhaps more versatile has nothing to do with wood. you can say the same for plastic stacking cups and duplo/lego/plastic building bricks.

I agree, Thumbwitch. DD has a lovely wooden farm building with a red roof and nice strong doors, and then she has those great Schleich plastic animals to go with it.

She is also very partial to her mini-Miele cooker, dishwasher, refrigerator and washing machine that are plastic, with AAA batteries, and make great realistic noises with flashing lights when pressed. They go beautifully in her wooden dolls' house.

My DD loves her wooden spoon! Does that count?

I think that both have their purpose. My 8yr old charge with asd tendencies takes plastic toys very literally and won't do any imaginative play with them. Wooden toys can and will be anything though. I think it's because the plastic stuff looks so much more like what it's portraying whilst wooden toys are usually a bit less accurate so she is happy to label it differently.

I like wooden toys because they are old fashioned, and a lot of them can be played with in a didn't way. I like plastic toys because they can have extra features, they can be molded brilliantly and look like the thing they are portraying.

I don't like plastic tat though.

Wood is a great material too, obviously.

Thumbwitch has it with the house/occupants split.

There are some brilliant dolls' houses made out of wood. It is often the right choice.

"Wooden toys can and will be anything though."

I think some people worry about the poison in plastic.

I bought a great 'bash the pegs through the board' game at the nct nns the other day, that wouldn't really work in plastic. Also a wooden xylophone. At £1 each it seemed silly not to.

Ds loves his plastic tat too, though, especially things with a slightly rubberised surface because they're nice to chew. His favourite toys though are mummy's keys and the remote control, which he can operate with his teeth, aged 9 months. Sigh.

I think more people worry about the imagined moral poison of plastic "tat".

I had a friend who, before her PFB was born a few months ago, told me he would only have wooden toys. I haven't been round to their house for ages actually, I should find out whether she stuck to her word.

What AThingInYourLife said

I have to say though, given that

1. I don't have a big enough house to hide all the toys away when they aren't being played with, and

1. DD doesn't seem to care much whether a toy is wooden or plastic

if I've got to see the bloody things in my house, I'd rather look at the wooden stuff than the plastic stuff.

I think more people worry about the imagined moral poison of plastic "tat".

Not sure what you mean?

Wood is organic and therefore not harmful, many plastics are highly toxic. And little children often suck on their toys so to reduce the level of toxicity to their systems, some parents reduce the amount of plastics in their environment.

I've just looked up Anna's description of the plastic toy and OMG

www.amazon.co.uk/Miele-Dolls-House-Kitchen-Cooker/dp/B007VDHLHO

Have you ever seen anything cuter? I want them! I may have to adopt a small child so I can buy them these for Christma and play with them.

Too early this morning for any sort of relevant response from QQ.

dysfunctionalme

"Wood is organic and therefore not harmful, many plastics are highly toxic. And little children often suck on their toys so to reduce the level of toxicity to their systems, some parents reduce the amount of plastics in their environment."

This is a seductive argument but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny: a) organic doesn't automatically equate to risk-free and healthy. Wood is organic, yes, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been coated or treated with inorganic varnishes or lacquers. b) unless you're buying plastic toys from China, they aren't going to be toxic. The standards western manufacturers have to hit to get approval to make toys don't leave much room for that.

Ultimately, safety aside, the key reason for buying a toy should be that the child gets the maximum utility out of it. A lot of wooden toys are beautiful and many of them are dearly loved by children. But the idea that wooden toys are intrinsically better for children's imagination and health is just misdirected puritanism. IMHO.

A friend's toddler has a vtech dinosaur with letters down its back that you press and it says things like 'a is for apple' and, disturbingly, 'x is for exit'.... [hmmm] so I'd rather not have stuff like that but generally my DD has a mix of plastic and wooden toys.

I had a friend who, before her PFB was born a few months ago, told me he would only have wooden toys. I haven't been round to their house for ages actually, I should find out whether she stuck to her word.

Impossible once you go out and about. Also people will buy presents.

How old is she though, Silverten? If she's under 18 months or so she may not have got round to telling you that she wants more plastic in her life!

mind you, I do agree with you and Bonsoir that aesthetically pleasing items are no bad thing. I have very happy memories of the dolls house and furniture my mum made, ostensibly for me but really because she wanted to try her hand at making it, being a crafty type who got crazes for all sorts of projects. I didn't really play with it but I liked rearranging the furniture now and then and just the fact that she was so clever and had made it for me. I still have a few of the pieces.

Does anyone remember the Frazier episode where his son wants the must have xmas toy and Frazier and Lilith keep getting more and more tasteful educational stuff?

Love this thread!
Take a look at the wooden toys in schools if you need convincing of their lack of durability. The dirt is well and truly ingrained into the wood, the paint is worn away and the toys look well, just grubby.
They can of course be washed in hot water and soap the same as plastic toys but plastic doesn't suck the dirt in.
Wooden toys only remain beautiful when they are not played with.

Well, wood looks nicer strewn all over the living room .

I do get a bit disturbed at how cheap plastic toys can shatter and leave quite sharp shards though.

Have you ever trodden on a wooden block?! :D