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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 24th, 2010
In our fast paced world it can be tempting to sit your baby or child in front of the TV to tune into the latest children’s TV fad, or pop in a DVD. After all, they have been designed by people that understand what a child needs to learn and develop, haven’t they? However, studies have shown that too much TV viewing can actually be damaging to a child’s development, and that toddlers should be allowed restricted TV viewing.
It is the physically tangible traditional toys that should be encouraged, rather than plonking a little one in front of a PC screen or TV. Tangible wooden toys will encourage learning through touch and will help to stimulate neural growth.
Manipulating wooden toys also encourages a child to develop dexterity, as well as hand eye co-ordination. The imagination is kindled and children develop a new world in which to play. There are a variety of wooden toys suitable for different developmental stages. Toddlers will be beguiled by brightly coloured wooden blocks or a wooden puzzle, whereas a child starting school will be attracted to the numbers and letters painted on wooden blocks.
Wooden toys have the added advantage of durability and longevity – think of the wooden rocking horse. They are unlikely to break or splinter. Many of the educational wooden toys can continue to have appeal well into school years; developing problem solving skills and pre lateral thinking.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a range of traditional toys to delight and inspire all ages.
Tags: Traditional Toys, Wooden blocks, Wooden Puzzle, Wooden Rocking Horse, 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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March 10th, 2010
When shopping for toys, the choice can be overwhelming. There are so many plastic toys out there to choose from, but there seems to be a growing trend towards choosing wooden toys instead. This change in shopping habits may be spurred by our new interest in protecting the environment, or a nostalgic longing to reconnect with our dying culture and heritage – or may simply be because these traditional toys will never fail to enchant.
Where plastic toys are concerned, they are often designed to have a short life span. They can break easily and once damaged, they should be removed from babies and small children who could harm themselves on sharp edges or small parts. Wooden toys, whether a wooden rocking horse or wooden pull toys are simply more durable. They will withstand many years of wear and tear by little ones whether stood on, thrown or dropped.
Due to their simple designs they often have longer appeal to children and can carry them through several stages of development. They encourage great creativity in children, which is essential to nurture growth and learning. The wooden rocking horse becomes an Arabian stallion in the desert, or the building blocks transform into a medieval castle: the possibilities are endless when a child’s imagination is captured. Visualisation is so important in developing and nurturing creativity, and wooden toys are guaranteed to support this.
Here at My Natural Wooden Toys we are pleased to offer a stunning range of well crafted wooden toys.
Tags: Pull Toys, Traditional Toys, wooden pull toys, Wooden Rocking Horse, Wooden Toys
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February 24th, 2010
Sound and music is an important part of a baby and toddler’s development. Straight from birth a baby will begin to tune into the sound of its mother voice and may start to feel calmed by a certain lullaby. In fact, it has been proven that unborn babies love to listen to classical music and this adoration of sounds will develop even stronger once born.
Wooden toys can also offer sounds and music to a developing baby. Wooden rattles and shakers can create clacking noises that will delight a small baby as they shake them. Traditional toys such as music boxes will amuse older babies with spinning characters to watch and marvel at. From around eight months babies really start to tune into music and nursery rhymes and will start to move to the beat of a song. This cute shuffle will develop quickly into a form of dance as they start to stand and take their first few wobbly steps. Wooden pull toys often have a rhythmic sound which will make a toddler giggle with delight.
Lullabies are a firm favourite and if introduced early in a baby’s bedtime routine they will lull a fractious baby to sleep. Music can be used to stimulate your baby or create a relaxed and subdued atmosphere. Through sounds babies will learn cause and effect and songs and nursery rhymes will help them to develop speech quickly.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a stunning range of wooden toys to appeal to all the developing senses of your child.
Tags: Traditional Toys, Wooden music boxes, wooden pull toys, Wooden rattles, Wooden Toys
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February 17th, 2010
If you are looking to buy a baby a toy that he or she will love and cherish, you can be overwhelmed by the choice within the first twelve months. If you are buying toys as a present you will want to choose something that is welcomed by the parents and entertains the baby for months, if not years to come. Wooden toys are ideal for this as it is often the traditional toys that will capture a baby’s imagination for longer than some of the more flashy toys available on the market.
At the top of the list for simplicity and entertainment value is the stackable rings. You can find this old time classic in a variety of guises, shapes and colours, but it has been loved by children for many decades. These simple wooden toys help a baby to develop hand-eye co-ordination. Suitable from around six months onwards, initially the baby will simply gain pleasure from holding and mouthing the rings. At a later stage the baby will enjoy banging them together and will laugh and giggle at the pleasing sound that wood makes. The bright colours will teach a baby about the different colours around and they will also learn about different sizes.
As a baby gets into their first year, they will start to enjoy stacking the rings in different ways and time and again, this simple but attractive toy will be played with to the point of exhaustion.
At My Natural Wooden Toys, we have many traditional toys as well as exciting new wooden toys to choose from.
Tags: Traditional Toys, Wooden blocks, Wooden stacking rings, Wooden Toys
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February 10th, 2010
Once your baby is a year old, he or she will rapidly progress to walking unaided. They will be very excited about this new found freedom and will want to explore every inch of their ever expanding world. Babies at this age want to experience everything and they are captivated by everything they see, hear touch and taste. A baby of this age is surprisingly speedy on their feet so you will want to ensure that the rooms are all ‘baby proofed.’
Wooden toys, such as pushers and pull toys will be appealing to babies at this age. A pusher will allow them to show off their new found walking skills whilst providing support and a means to transport their treasures from room to room. They will also enjoy banging blocks together and putting toys into different containers. Now is the time when you will find your keys and mobile phone in all sorts of strange places if you don’t keep them out of reach.
Babies will also become more appreciative of music and will love to dance to their favourite tunes and nursery rhymes. Their attention span is very short at this stage and they will flit from one toy to another, so wooden toys that can inspire their imagination are a great idea and can keep them entertained for longer. Wooden blocks will hold their appeal for many years to come and whilst now the baby may be content to simply carry blocks from room to room, in the future they will build towers and shapes with them.
Here at My Natural Wooden Toys, we can provide you many ideas for great wooden toys to entertain your little ones.
Tags: Traditional Toys, Wooden blocks, wooden pull toys, Wooden Toys
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February 4th, 2010
Within the first twelve months of your baby’s life there will be a huge amount of development and changes that take place before your very eyes. By the time your baby is entering their eighth month, they will start to become more mobile and independent. This is the stage were you need your wits about you as they want to move around and get into everything! However, your baby will still want you close by.
Traditional toys such as the classic wooden rocking horse will become appealing once your baby hits the twelve month mark, and the gentle motion of these favourite wooden toys will delight your intrepid baby. Babies will also enjoy pulling themselves up at this stage so wooden toys that are stable and fixed, such as an activity table will allow them to exercise their strengthening leg muscles. Babies love to pull themselves up and then cruise along furniture so keep a careful eye on your little explorer.
Babies are also learning all about cause and effect, so they will enjoy dropping their wooden toys and hearing the noise. They will also get excited about watching mummy and daddy pick it up again!
Other key areas of development are that they will begin to point and gesture along with making sounds to articulate what they want and need. If they get angry they will express it clearly by screaming and stiffening their bodies and they will delight in simple and repetitive games.
At My Natural Wooden Toys we have a wide range of traditional toys that will entertain your baby and last for many years to come.
Tags: Traditional Toys, Wooden activity table, Wooden Rocking Horse, 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 29th, 2010
Almost as long as there have been children, they have played with toys. Children who had no opportunity to play with real toys would make their own from whatever they could find, often pieces of wood or stones from the fields.
Boys and girls played with their makeshift toys, making up games and stories about the world around them that they lived in. Children are the same these days. Even when they do have toys at home, they love to go out and make up their own games from what they find around them.
An early game that was probably played was to use a stick as a horse to ride, as in the days when transport was all by horse it was natural for children to copy this.
In time, hobby horses were made of wood specifically as toys for children and eventually these developed into the wooden rocking horse. Although these days there is faster and more comfortable means of transport than horse and cart, children still love to ride on a wooden rocking horse. Here at My Natural Wooden Toys the wooden rocking horse is part of our range and children still love them.
By giving a wooden rocking horse to your children, you will be continuing a tradition of children’s toys that is hundreds of years old and your children can find out what has made rocking horses enjoyable to generations of children. A wooden rocking horse is part of the history of childhood that continues into the present.
Tags: My Natural Wooden Toys, Traditional Toys, Wooden Rocking Horse, Wooden Toys
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