There’s no questioning how much kids love to play with today’s hottest new toys, especially the ones that light up and make music and whizz and zing and beep, but there also is something to be said about the value of wooden toys, which may at first glance seem less exciting. The truth is that wooden toys are in many ways much better for child development than those electronic toys. For several reasons, they do more to help children develop into intelligent, competent little human beings, and the following are the most common ways that happens:
#1 Wooden Toys are Great for the Imagination
The easiest way to argue in favor of wooden toys in terms of child development is in their ability to help children build imagination. When plastic toys do all the work of generating voices and movement and actions, the child doesn’t have to do any of it on their own. Conversely, when a child is given a wood puzzle or some wooden blocks to play with, they can turn those blocks into whatever they want, and they can do it in infinite different ways. Science has long since proven that when a child can take part in this sort of high-level imaginative play, they do more to strengthen the synapses in their brain. In short, exercising the imagination is a great way to help your child develop and grow, and introducing them to wood toys is one of the best ways to exercise their imagination.
#2 Young Children Learn about Weight and Texture
The material from which a toy is made has a large impact on how the child interacts with the toy. In other words, something made from plastic can look like all sorts of materials, which can be confusing for a child trying to learn about the world. Wood, meanwhile, looks and feels like wood because it’s the real thing, giving the children more authentic information about the world around them.
#3 Wooden Toys Provide Richer Sensory Experiences
Frankly, plastic does not invite the richest of sensory experiences. It isn’t as lovely as organic materials like wood (or cotton, silk, wool, and other natural materials). When children have more materials to play with, they get a more diverse sensory experience, which is especially important when they’re young.
#4 Over-Stimulation is Bad for Young Brains
Overly-flashy toys actually can exhaust children’s brains, creating a negative neural impact that ultimately can affect a child’s ability to think critically. That’s why simpler is better; it inspires the sort of simple, creative play that does the most good for children’s brains.
#5 They Are Toxin-Free!
While most plastic is eco-friendly, it isn’t true for all plastics. Wooden toys, meanwhile, are completely free from harmful chemicals. Why introduce your children to things that could stunt their development when a healthier, organic alternative exists?
If you want to do right by your own child’s development, consider purchasing a wooden name puzzle or wooden letter blocks from Hollow Woodworks. They will help your child become smarter and better adjusted to the world, and who doesn’t want that for their kids?