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Welcome to My Natural Wooden Toys Blog
March 30th, 2010
Wooden toys are growing in popularity, and one of the main reasons is due to their robustness and durability. In the long term with some care and attention you can hold on to wooden toys for longer, even turning them into much loved family heirlooms to pass down to the next generation.
Wooden toys also hold their value over time. The price attached to them will depend largely on their condition and the amount of work that has gone into producing them. These stunning traditional toys can engage generations of children, stimulating the diverse imaginings of your children and grandchildren. By looking after wooden toys you can ensure that they continue to develop young minds and bring fun and laughter to your home for many years to come.
When it comes to preserving wooden toys, there is no need for intensive cleaning. Simply use a wet cloth and wipe the surface before they are put away each day. By keeping them clean you will preserve the look and finish of wooden toys for longer.
Traditional toys are often held onto by children into adulthood, a particular favourite for keeping is the wooden rocking horse. They seem to be able to engender nostalgia and sentimentality in a way that plastic toys just cannot hope to emulate. Their versatility and kindness to the environment make them hugely attractive, and often they have played such an intrinsic role in a child’s growing up that they never end up in the landfill.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a magical selection of traditional toys to choose from.
Tags: natural wooden toys, Traditional Toys, wooden rocking horses, Wooden Toys
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March 17th, 2010
A big argument against wooden toys is that they can appear to be more expensive. Many parents opt for the plastic alternatives instead, thinking they are saving money. However, is this actually a false economy? The lifetime value of plastic toys versus traditional toys can be very different. Plastic toys have often been designed to have a limited appeal to children. They will have been designed to focus on one particular developmental stage. The manufacturer will be keen for you to then move onto the next toy to suit the next learning phase.
In addition to this, plastic has less durability than wooden toys and will often not withstand the onslaught of babyhood to toddlerhood. Although a plastic toy may cost less it will entertain your child for less time and is more prone to become damaged.
Children are more likely to become attached to traditional toys. The classic wooden puzzle will quickly become a firm favourite. These simple pre school toys are intrinsic to the development of a child’s mental and emotional capacity in the early years. You may choose wooden toys such as pull toys or farm animals for example, to stimulate their ability to create. Wooden toys often have an educational element – wooden building blocks are a fine example. The tactile nature of wooden toys encourages children to learn via touch in a way that stimulates imagination and creativity and will take them smoothly from baby to pre school age.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a range of traditional toys that will remain firm favourites for many years to come.
Tags: natural wooden toys, Pre School Toys, Pull Toys, Traditional Toys, Wooden Toys
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February 2nd, 2010
Between four and eight months a baby starts to develop into his, or her own person. They are full of curiosity for the world around them and excited by all that they encounter. During these months they are content to be with those people they know best and are starting to appreciate traditional toys.
There is a lot of development at this stage and a baby will begin to recognize when his or her name is called, and will turn their head when it is spoken. They will start to develop the ability to roll over, sit unaided and are able to bring their little arms together in order to grasp toys and play with them.
You will have found until four months a baby is content to look and stare at toys but at this next stage, they want to explore them. Wooden toys are ideal for this stage as they provide a safe, natural material for small mouths to explore. Wooden toys that are shaped so that a baby can grasp and move them from hand to hand are ideal. At these stages a baby will also be able to prop him- or herself up on one arm to reach for toys and will enjoy discovering new textures, colours and sounds. From about six months, traditional toys such as wooden blocks and wooden stacking rings can keep a baby amused for hours whilst helping them to develop hand-eye coordination.
Here at My Natural Wooden Toys we have a beautiful range of wooden toys to suit all age ranges.
Tags: natural wooden toys, Traditional Toys, Wooden blocks, Wooden stacking rings, Wooden Toys
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January 22nd, 2010
Nowadays is a good time to be a child, with the enormous profusion of toys and games that are available. There are computers specifically designed for children, even pre-school children and any number of battery operated toys from cars to robots. You would think there could not be anything else a child could genuinely want.
This may leave you wondering if there is any place in the modern world for wooden toys, which may look a little as if they no longer have a place in the toy box.
However, this is not the case. Although children enjoy being amused by toys that do everything for them and only need to have a button pushed to do something exciting, children still hanker after toys which need them to do something and use their imagination. Children have lots of energy and need to play with toys that give them an opportunity to use up some of this energy.
Here at My Natural Wooden Toys we know all about providing wooden toys that positively invite children to touch and feel and start using their imaginations as they play with the wooden toys.
From pull along toys that encourage toddlers to walk and run, so hopefully tiring themselves out, to dominoes and the abacus for the older child who is learning to count, wooden toys follow on from a long tradition of wooden toys that children have always played with. Traditional wooden toys continue to be enjoyed by the children of today and can still be a fundamental part of childhood.
Tags: Abacuses, natural wooden toys, Traditional Toys, wooden dominoes, Wooden Toys
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January 15th, 2010
Wooden toys that had previously belonged to and been played with by parents, aunts, uncles or even grandparents are a lovely gift for a child. This is one of the advantages of wooden toys; that they last, are sentimental and never go out of style.
The same cannot be said for some types of plastic toys, which may be carefully put away when children grow out of them in hopes that a new generation will enjoy them one day, for example when grandchildren arrive. Then when the toys are retrieved from the attic and unwrapped, it is found that the plastic has degraded and the toys are no longer brightly coloured and fun, but fit only for throwing away.
Short of being hacked up or set on fire, this doesn’t happen to wooden toys. They may need a bit of tender loving care in the form of a good scrub and maybe some new varnish or modern non-toxic paint, but the toy will be just as ready to play with as it was when it was put away all those years ago.
The same is true for wooden toys that are bought for children now. They are durable and do not break easily and will continue to give pleasure for years to come.
Here with us at My Natural Wooden Toys you can find traditional wooden toys and puzzles. Whether you choose the natural look or brightly coloured wooden toys, you will find that your children love the feel of wood and the look of the wooden toys and can’t wait to play with them.
Tags: My Natural Wooden Toys, natural wooden toys, Wooden Puzzles, Wooden Toys
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January 3rd, 2010
Currently in the toy market, the vast majority of toys offered for sale are made from metal and plastic. However, there is a growing market for natural wooden toys, but what makes these wooden toys so attractive?
Most toys are subjected to a vast amount of safety testing and standards. Safety is a big issue for parents, particularly because babies and small toddlers explore with their mouths. Absolutely everything will be inspected in this way, so when it comes to buying toys you want to be sure that they haven’t been painted in anything toxic and there are no small pieces or sharp edges that could cause harm.
The inherent charm of wooden toys is that they are often simplistic in design. They have large but smooth and tactile surfaces to touch, grab and hold, and are these days painted in child-friendly paints. Children and babies can become acquainted with their new wooden toys intimately without fear of swallowing parts or coming into contact with undesirable substances.
From an environmental point of view, many plastic and metal toys unfortunately end up in the landfill. Due to our throwaway society and the short life span of many plastic toys on the market, they are difficult to recycle. However, wooden toys are often designed to take a baby or toddler through several stages. The classic wooden jigsaw or wooden building blocks will take them on towards preschool.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a charming range of wooden toys to choose from.
Tags: natural wooden toys, Pre School Toys, quality wooden toys, Wooden Puzzles, Wooden Toys
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January 1st, 2010
One of the pleasures of going to craft fairs and markets is watching the craftspeople and artists at work. Seeing a skilled person creating a household ornament or child’s toy from a piece of wood or lump of stone is fascinating, as the crafted shape starts to emerge from the formless wood or stone.
For many people, this type of skill is something to be aspired to, but maybe not achieved, as not everyone has the aptitude or training for it.
Although it is not possible to predict what children may do and certainly isn’t possible to ensure that they will follow a specific path just because of the toys they are given, it is a possibility that if they are given natural wooden toys to play with it could awaken their interest in natural wood and possibly inspire them to want to work with wood.
The wooden toys we have at My Natural Wooden Toys are all skilfully crafted from natural wood, and are made to be enjoyed by touch as well as by being played with. As children handle the wooden toys and learn what they can do with them they are subconsciously and naturally absorbing information and knowledge about the feel of wood and what you can do with it. It may be that a small child’s experience of playing with wooden toys could be the starting point for an interest in working with wood that stays with them in adulthood and who knows, could even turn into a career.
Tags: classic toys, My Natural Wooden Toys, natural wooden toys, Wooden Toys
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December 30th, 2009
Some people used to laugh at those who were environmentally conscious and would mock their concern to protect the natural world from pollution and resource depletion. It has been quite a time since then and despite climate change denial, most people are now aware that we do need to look after our fragile world.
For those who have known this for a long time it is very satisfying to know that there are natural wooden toys available from us at My Natural Wooden Toys. These are sourced only from wood that is sustainably produced. Being able to provide the children in your life with wooden toys that will both entertain them and are good for the environment is a double bonus.
Not only do you know that your child is safer from any potential harmful chemicals that may sometimes be found in some plastic toys, but wooden toys aren’t contributing to the pollution that is created through the manufacturing process of making plastic toys.
Wooden toys have always been popular, from the home-made efforts of parents who either couldn’t afford anything else and those who love the idea of creating something especially personal for their child, to beautifully craft made toys that seem to be more like works of art. Many people want wooden toys for their children that are lovely to look at, but most wooden toys will provide pleasure and entertainment for both children and parents. As you enjoy the wooden toys in your own family, you know you are part of a long and sustainable tradition.
Tags: My Natural Wooden Toys, natural wooden toys, quality wooden toys, Wooden Toys
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December 16th, 2009
How often do people find, when shopping for furniture and strolling around the displays of tables and settees, that they are unaccountably wandering over to a wooden dining table or chest of drawers to admire the smooth sheen and finish of the natural wood?
Adults can appreciate the quality of the craftsmanship and the smoothly finished surface, but children also enjoy the experience of wood and are attracted to wooden toys – even though they may not be able to explain what it is about the smoothness of the wood or the carefully dovetailed joints that they like. They just enjoy the shapes and the feel of wooden toys, much like the ones we have at My Natural Wooden Toys.
Wooden toys have the advantage of being made from a natural material, so they are better for the environment as they do not need to go through an industrial manufacturing process with the use of toxic chemicals and high energy input. For this reason, wooden toys also are safe for small children to play with – even if they are at the ‘putting everything in their mouth’ stage, there is no danger of them taking in any harmful chemicals (as long, of course, that the toys are not small enough to choke them).
So from the point of view of both a healthy environment and healthy children, wooden toys tick all the boxes. Not only that, but they are also great fun to play with, so why not browse the vast collection at My Natural Wooden Toys?
Tags: My Natural Wooden Toys, natural wooden toys, Traditional Toys, Wooden Toys
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December 2nd, 2009
Why is it that winter makes many people feel traditional and nostalgic? Is it something to do with enjoying the comfort of a warm home when outdoors it is chilly and damp? Maybe it is just the knowledge that Christmas is just around the corner, which brings out the child in so many of us.
This certainly is the time of year when people are thinking about the children in their lives and what they are going to get them for Christmas. There are so many novelties and up to the minute playthings around these days that it can be very difficult to choose, so it is refreshing to come across traditional wooden toys and games that look as attractive now as they ever did.
Here at My Natural Wooden Toys you will be able to find something to please even the most demanding child and, even better, many adults will be grateful for the pleasant gift of nostalgia, too.
Looking for Christmas presents becomes a genuine pleasure when you can choose between beautifully crafted natural wooden toys.
Despite all of the techno toys dominating the market, children these days love to play with toys that have stood the test of time. It is often the more simple things that are the longest lasting, and you may well find that the toys that become the ones your child simply will not allow to be given away are the wooden toys from when they were younger.
Wooden toys become part of the family in a way that a beeping and buzzing computer game cannot, so make that investment in tradition with My Natural Wooden Toys today.
Tags: My Natural Wooden Toys, natural wooden toys, Traditional Toys, Wooden Toys
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