Touch Wood

By Kindred

Wood is a regenerating raw material and part of the nature cycle (which applies neither to plastics, or even to metal). It smells good, feels lovely and has a warmth other materials do not have. ‘Wooden toys have life to them. Wood warms to the touch, retains the aroma of the tree from which it was created and has a sound that is rich and real. Children innately resonate with this natural material,’ says Megan Kinninment of Mellimoomoo.

Besides its beauty, wood is clean and in most cases, safe—bacteria cannot increase on wood. And it’s durable! A wooden toy passes through the hands of several brothers and sisters and even on to their own children.  

But there’s more to wooden toys than meets the eye. Parents still need to be discerning with their purchase. ‘… parents should be aware that not all wooden toys are the same. I advise all parents to ask questions about the toys they are looking to purchase,’ says Melissa McGroarty of Honeybee Toys. She suggests parents look beyond just the label. ‘Many toys labelled “European” are actually designed in Europe, but made in China,’ she says.

Jannine Barron of Nature’s Child suggests consumers look for four key things:

• Environment—where does the wood come from: renewable or recycled resources or rainforests?

• Safety—is the paint or finish safe for the child, and the planet? Has the toy been built well so that it causes no injuries?

• Educational value—is the toy ‘open-ended’; ie, can it be played with in many ways, through a child’s various growth stages?

• Fair trade—were the artists and craft people paid and treated fairly for their labour?

‘If these things are not mentioned on the packaging, the manufacturer or retailer should be able to answer your questions,’ says Ms Barron. ‘If they can’t, find a retailer who can.’
Avoid lead-based paints and chemical finishes and look for toys finished with beeswax polish and natural vegetable oils. Saliva can dissolve the proactive coating on some toys, which may expose a harmful toxin underneath and beeswax withstands saliva.

Certainly quality wooden toys cost more than the plastic variety. Are they worth the extra expense? ‘Wooden toys have more play value—they are often simple and open-ended which means that the child can use their imagination to play with one toy in a variety of ways,’ says Linda Lodue of Dragonfly Toys. ‘They also have a longer play life—a set of nesting bowls given to them as a toddler will become a set of pots and bowls for their pretend kitchen at age five.’
  
They also teach the child to treat their toys with care and respect—they can’t be thrown around and simply replaced when broken, says Ms Lodue. ‘They are made to last and children seem to know this—they respect the material and the workmanship and treat beautiful toys with care.’

Published in Kindred issue 24, Dec 07 as part of a larger plastics feature