Wooden Toys Better than Plastic

Wooden Toys Better Than Plastic

So are wooden toys better than plastic toys? Here are a few points justifying this statement.

Plastic is made from chemicals. Wood is a natural substance. Say what you will about our modern world, chemicals leaching into in our enviropnment do not help us. Plastic toys can contain PVC (poly vinyl chloride) or BPA (Bisphenol A) both which are toxic chemicals that is harmful to everyone, both during the production process and in the final product.

There are those that say plastics, and plasticisers are safe, but why take the chance in exposing your baby when you have alternatives like wood toys instead of plastic toys? Here is an example of a study showing the danger of plastics:

"A recent study found premature babies hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units had levels of BPA in their urine 10 times higher than the general population, and the researchers concluded the likely source was PVC medical devices."

Again, why take the chance when you have an alternative?
Wooden toys are made from large pieces of solid wood and will not break. Plastic toys have small thin edges and pieces can break off during play. These pieces are sharp and small, a real danger for kids swallowing them. So not only are wooden toys more durable, they are safer when considering wear and tear.
Plastic does not biodegrade. Even if a wood toy becomes unusable, at least one day it will disappear. That broken plastic toy will sit in a landfill for thousands of years. Why add to the level of garbage?
Wooden toys make better toys than plastic toys. See my other article about this. Basically, wooden toys are simpler toys with less bells and whistles. in general, they are more open ended which encourages childrens imaginations.
Wooden toys won't go out of style. If you had them, your kids would be just as happy to play with your grandfathers wooden toys. Even if you wanted to pass on your plastic toys, a plastic toy sitting on the shelf for 20 years will become brittle as the plasticiser in the toy off gases over time.

In general, toy manufacturers want to sell you stuff that becomes unusable eventually. That way they can sell you more stuff.

If you kept your toys from when you were little and passed them on, and so on, then that's alot of new toys that would not get bought. So toy manufacturers, and big toy stores don't like to sell wooden toys because it hurts them in the long run.

In summary, wood toys are safe for your child and the environment. They are strong and durable.

They are a long term purchase. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pass along the toys you played with to your children? You can if you buy a wooden toy.