This blog post is not about ‘good toys vs bad toys.’ It is all about bringing to light the qualities of wooden toys for babies and children, highlighting the features and benefits of baby wooden toys, and focussing on the benefits that make them the preferred option for your little ones!
1. Safety
It is vital that any toys coming into contact with our baby or child are safe, especially as babies love to explore by putting things in their mouths! A lot of plastic toys contain chemicals and harmful substances such as BPA’s and phthalates, whilst some may even contain traces of lead in the paint! Wood on the other hand, is a natural material which is safe for babies and some species of wood have even been found to contain antibacterial properties! How cool is that?! As parents, we are constantly worried about germs around our babies so this aspect of wooden teething rings is a huge plus! Wooden toys are also durable and break a lot less often than plastic toys do, and tend to be easier to fix if accidents do happen. When plastic toys break, they often leave behind sharp and jagged edges which are dangerous for babies and children. The durability of these wooden teething rings makes them last longer, which in turn creates less waste from otherwise disposable products. The durability factor of these wooden teethers brings us to our next benefit – sustainability.
Leaf Teether Red, Leaf Teether Grey, Leaf Teether Mustard, Leaf Teether Green
2. Sustainable
Most of our wooden teething rings for babies are made with beech wood. Beech wood is uniquely sustainable in that it can be grown in renewable and managed forests. This means that more wood can be grown to replace the trees that have been used and cut down. Here at Edith and Blanche, sustainability is a HUGE factor in all of the products we carry. So, of course we have gravitated towards these amazing wooden teething rings as the best option for soothing babies’ gums!
Silicone & Natural Beech Wooden Infant Baby Bangle Teether Toy
3. Sensory Experience
A wooden toy is soothing and appeals to baby’s sense of touch as it is smooth, warm, and tactile. Plastic toys tent to be cold and less appealing to all the senses. Remember that babies in particular, (but toddlers and children too), experience toys with all of their senses so it’s really important to make sure their toys appeal to, and gratify those senses in the best possible way- especially to their sense of touch!
Pixie Petrol Blue, Duck, Pixie Pink, Dinosaur Turquoise, Dinosaur Blue
4. Quality of Play
Wooden toys lend themselves so much more to open-ended, imaginative play. As they ten to be more simple in design, with less distractions through things like sounds and lights, they’re less ‘formed,’
Thus opening up a world of opportunities for your little ones! Imaginative play in early childhood is really important as it encourages problem solving, promotes language development and enhances fine motor skills, as well as building nerve connections in the brain. We have seen from our own son that as he has developed into a toddler, he creates ‘characters’ and voices for his wooden animals and toys, stacks and builds his wooden toys in different ways, and his motor skills were refined early on from being introduced to wooden toys and sensory baskets from birth. Wooden toys for babies and young children allow the child to move the toys and make sounds themselves, in a way that battery operated toys do not allow for.
Wooden Teething Rings from Edith and Blanche
So now you know about the amazing benefits of option for wooden teething toys over plastic, metal or other baby teethers. Let’s take a look at some of the cute and practical wooden teethers we sell at Edith and Blanche >>Wooden Teethers
