Wooden Toys for Kids
This holiday season, parents will flock to stores to buy all types of gifts for their children. We’ve all seen the videos of parents fighting over the hottest new figurine or doll. This year, shirk the plastic type toys and instead invest in some wooden toys.
Wooden toys were the first type of toys kids knew. Dads would whittle a piece of wood to create toys in the shapes of animals, wooden dolls, puppets on strings, and toy cars. Kids would play for hours with these toys. Once the kids outgrew them, they could be passed on to younger kids.
Wooden toys have not lost their luster or durability but they have been passed over for the more colorful plastic types that talk and move. When kids are young, the one thing they have is their imagination. Wooden toys inspire the use of the imagination during play.
Wooden toys are also environmentally friendly. Many are used in their natural wooden state. Paints used on eco friendly toys are non-toxic and safe for kids.
When other toys are broken or the kids get tired of them, they are thrown away. Each year something new will replace the old favorite and they will no longer like it as much. In a landfill, those toys just sit and take up space.
Lots of toys that are thrown away still have their batteries inside. Toys that are filled with substances still contain them when they are disposed of. These chemicals can be released into the ground as the housings break down. This poses a potential hazard.
When wooden toys are broken, they can be fixed. If you know someone good with their hands, they can fix it for you. The point is that you don’t have to throw them away. Wooden toys can be passed down from generation to generation.
They maintain their shape and if scratched, the imperfection can be sanded out. Wooden toys hold together better than modern toys created on an assembly line. Small parts that break off of new toys can choke a young child.
If wooden toys are old and no longer usable, they can be disposed of. Because they are made of natural wood, they can be chopped up and used in compost. Colored wooden toys can’t be used for that, but maybe they can be refurbished and donated to local charitable organizations.
Introduce kids to wooden toys when they are young. Puzzles come in wooden and paper shapes instead of plastic. Most wooden toys have rounded edges so they are safer to play with and handle. Even if they gnaw on wood it won’t hurt them.
Choose wooden toys for the young’uns. They are environmentally friendly, safe for young children, durable, and repairable if they are damaged.
Showing posts with label Baby Toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby Toys. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Responsible Holiday Shopping
For many, Christmas has become a commercial holiday. Instead of being a season of giving, we have bought into the media circus and it has become a season of greed and excess. This year tailor your shopping to be a bit more responsible in the items that you purchase.
Shopping responsibly doesn’t stop at spending frugally for what we need or want. It is also a matter of global implication. By that, we mean that we look at the people behind the products that we invest our monies into.
For example, let’s say that you wanted to buy a diamond ring for the wife this year. There are several jewelry stores in your area but which is the best one to use? One jewelry store may get their diamonds from a mine in South Africa that employs unsafe practices for workers or pays less than fair wages. By patronizing that store, you are condoning the practices by which they received their merchandise.
Who would have ever thought that buying and selling would come to such a level, but it has. People who do not value human rights are counting on us to let our wants overshadow any responsibility we have to our enslaved brothers or the environment. Eco friendly groups work to inform us about what is going on in the world and how we can make a positive difference.
The biggest way that can happen is through our shopping. We spend billions of dollars during the holiday season for gifts, decorations, and other things. Make the purchases mean something to someone besides just the recipient.
Shopping responsibly leads to helping the environment. Purchase recycled wrapping paper, low energy lighting for Christmas trees, organic cotton for creating clothing, and recycled ornaments and decorations. This supports the recycling industry. All paper that is recycled may not be suitable for paper bags in grocery stores, but it will make Christmas cards, gift tags, and wrapping paper.
Visiting fair trade merchants supports cooperatives and groups working in favor of oppressed and impoverished peoples in countries all over the world. These artisans use recycled goods and natural products like stone and coal to create ornaments, decorations, baskets, utensils, and more to be sold on the open market.
Fair trade merchandise can be purchased at a variety of stores including Wal-Mart, Target, Harris Teeter grocery stores, Whole Foods Market, and Costco. For a longer list of stores, go to www.transfairusa.org. Put in city and state or zip code to find merchants in your area who are fair trade certified.
Along those same lines, local merchants need your help and your patronage. Consider their wares when looking for unique gifts and decorations this year. Visit local farmers markets, flea markets, and trade shows to see who the local artisans are.
Save the planet and prevent waste but making informed choices this holiday season. In the process you will discover a world of new products you never knew existed.
Shopping responsibly doesn’t stop at spending frugally for what we need or want. It is also a matter of global implication. By that, we mean that we look at the people behind the products that we invest our monies into.
For example, let’s say that you wanted to buy a diamond ring for the wife this year. There are several jewelry stores in your area but which is the best one to use? One jewelry store may get their diamonds from a mine in South Africa that employs unsafe practices for workers or pays less than fair wages. By patronizing that store, you are condoning the practices by which they received their merchandise.
Who would have ever thought that buying and selling would come to such a level, but it has. People who do not value human rights are counting on us to let our wants overshadow any responsibility we have to our enslaved brothers or the environment. Eco friendly groups work to inform us about what is going on in the world and how we can make a positive difference.
The biggest way that can happen is through our shopping. We spend billions of dollars during the holiday season for gifts, decorations, and other things. Make the purchases mean something to someone besides just the recipient.
Shopping responsibly leads to helping the environment. Purchase recycled wrapping paper, low energy lighting for Christmas trees, organic cotton for creating clothing, and recycled ornaments and decorations. This supports the recycling industry. All paper that is recycled may not be suitable for paper bags in grocery stores, but it will make Christmas cards, gift tags, and wrapping paper.
Visiting fair trade merchants supports cooperatives and groups working in favor of oppressed and impoverished peoples in countries all over the world. These artisans use recycled goods and natural products like stone and coal to create ornaments, decorations, baskets, utensils, and more to be sold on the open market.
Fair trade merchandise can be purchased at a variety of stores including Wal-Mart, Target, Harris Teeter grocery stores, Whole Foods Market, and Costco. For a longer list of stores, go to www.transfairusa.org. Put in city and state or zip code to find merchants in your area who are fair trade certified.
Along those same lines, local merchants need your help and your patronage. Consider their wares when looking for unique gifts and decorations this year. Visit local farmers markets, flea markets, and trade shows to see who the local artisans are.
Save the planet and prevent waste but making informed choices this holiday season. In the process you will discover a world of new products you never knew existed.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Purposes of Baby Toys—the good, the bad, and the ugly!
With the holiday season upon us, I’ve been slowly building the following list of reasons we give our babies toys…there are some very positive reasons, of course, but I’ve also been pondering the not-so-positive (but sadly true, if we’re honest) reasons as well…
1. To help teach baby developmental skills that common household objects might not teach as safely or efficiently.
2. To entertain/distract baby when mom or dad need a momentary break from the job of full-time most interesting person in the universe.
3. To babysit baby—i.e. replace mom and dad.
4. To calm when baby is bored, over-stimulated, tired, or upset.
5. To give baby something safe to “put in the mouth” (for sucking, chewing, etc).
6. To provide safe tactile stimulation for baby’s growing senses.
7. To safely encourage baby’s boundless curiosity and exploration.
8. To expand baby’s horizons—through music, bright colors, manipulation, etc.
9. To help baby play pretend—either practice/ role-play adult activities (like cooking, eating, building, etc.), imagination-stirring toys (like unicorns and dragons), or experience aspects of the world not otherwise available to baby (like foreign cultures or being a horse trainer).
10. To sell merchandise associated with popular movies or TV shows.
11. To acculturate baby into gender-specific societal norms—like dolls and purses are for girls, trucks and transformers are for boys.
12. To subliminally teach/reinforce our own values and beliefs upon our children (ie: what we think is beautiful, right, appropriate, desirable, worthy, etc.)
13. To grow up good little consumers, who think that the more the better, and who always want something NEW.
14. To make mommy and daddy feel less guilty for not spending the time with baby that baby needs...
15. To reward or celebrate a milestone or special occasion with baby.
16. To satisfy our own need/desire to spend money (all the while justifying our poor choices because "it's for baby") by buying far too much for baby!
I hope this list gives you pause as it gave me—please email me with any other purposes that I might have missed!!
1. To help teach baby developmental skills that common household objects might not teach as safely or efficiently.
2. To entertain/distract baby when mom or dad need a momentary break from the job of full-time most interesting person in the universe.
3. To babysit baby—i.e. replace mom and dad.
4. To calm when baby is bored, over-stimulated, tired, or upset.
5. To give baby something safe to “put in the mouth” (for sucking, chewing, etc).
6. To provide safe tactile stimulation for baby’s growing senses.
7. To safely encourage baby’s boundless curiosity and exploration.
8. To expand baby’s horizons—through music, bright colors, manipulation, etc.
9. To help baby play pretend—either practice/ role-play adult activities (like cooking, eating, building, etc.), imagination-stirring toys (like unicorns and dragons), or experience aspects of the world not otherwise available to baby (like foreign cultures or being a horse trainer).
10. To sell merchandise associated with popular movies or TV shows.
11. To acculturate baby into gender-specific societal norms—like dolls and purses are for girls, trucks and transformers are for boys.
12. To subliminally teach/reinforce our own values and beliefs upon our children (ie: what we think is beautiful, right, appropriate, desirable, worthy, etc.)
13. To grow up good little consumers, who think that the more the better, and who always want something NEW.
14. To make mommy and daddy feel less guilty for not spending the time with baby that baby needs...
15. To reward or celebrate a milestone or special occasion with baby.
16. To satisfy our own need/desire to spend money (all the while justifying our poor choices because "it's for baby") by buying far too much for baby!
I hope this list gives you pause as it gave me—please email me with any other purposes that I might have missed!!
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