Posted on 30th Jun 2011 @ 12:57 PM

Wooden toys aren’t only appealing for their retro look and feel, they’re probably more appealing because they’re as hard as nails and last for what seems like forever. Of course this depends on what wood has been used to make them and how well made they are, but as a general rule wooden toys are tough.

Teaching safe play

It’s important for your children to learn how to play, but you need to show them how to calm down too, play safely, and how to respect their belongings. While you do this you could end up getting through a lot of toys. This is why many parents choose wooden toys. You can afford to have wooden toys thrown around a little because they’re so hard wearing.

If you use these toys you can teach your child that it’s wrong to throw their toys without having to replace the toy; you could perhaps take it away for a short time when the child refuses to look after it. This is a popular way of teaching your child, and this way they don’t have to learn the very hard way by ending up with a broken plastic toy. They can have their wooden toys back when they have apologised and are prepared to try and play properly with them. Should the first attempt fail (which undoubtedly it will) then the wooden toys will live to be throw around the room another day.

Pass on the toys

Wooden toys are so tough that they can often get outgrown and simply not be played with anymore. It’s such a dreadful shame when this happens of course, but children grow and there isn’t much we can do about that is there? However, if you have no other younger children to play with the wooden toys you might want to consider hanging onto them for your grandchildren. It might not be the best thing to be thinking about when you’ve only just decided to buy some wooden toys for your children, but if you wrap them up and put them in the attic when your kids have grown up and finished with them, you can bring them out again in 20 years or more in perfect working order!

If this doesn’t appeal to you, then simply pass them onto a child who needs some toys and can enjoy them, or perhaps take them to your local second hand charity shop and put them to even better use.