WOODEN TOYS vs PLASTIC TOYS

There are many obvious reasons as to why we choose wooden toys over plastic toys. First off it no surprise that "durability" is a key reason. Let me tell you about my antique rocking horse - I don't know how far back it dates, since I bought this rocking horse at my favorite thrift store a few months ago and although the wood looks worn it is still in perfect rideable condition. I don't worry about leaving it on the front porch as decor right now because I know it can withstand the changing temperatures (not too much change here in California) and it will still stay covered until baby girl can actually play with it. I debate whether to paint it one day for her or keep it in it's natural wooden state, but that will be another story. 

As for plastic, I lived in Arizona for six years, and to leave anything plastic out in the summer would usually have it end up in melted form. Even out here in California, our pool toys would have very hot surfaces and usually end up fading or breaking, so I can imagine what it would be like to have a plastic rocking horse. Another indicator of durability is the fact that you never really see "vintage" or "antique" plastic toys unless they were preserved like a vintage Barbie in box. It is far more prominent to find wooden toys rather than plastic. Again, proof the rocking horse. 

I've mentioned already that we love wooden toys and have quite a collection! And if you've read or seen the photos in our last post you would know that baby girl is currently teething on her Little Sapling Toys wooden CA state teether. Huntley already knows how to crawl and is also learning to stand unassisted. In the process of doing so, she will be holding onto a toy while in seated position and will usually end up dropping and/or throwing the toy(s) she had been holding in order to start moving. I feel far more confident that as her strength continues to grow with her, I know her toys will remain intake and stay the same as wood is less likely to crack or break. 

(With cousin Ezekiel Kingston)

Like the wooden rocking horse I have been so lucky to find, there are many stories that wooden toys can hold for a child, and that child's child, and so on. Even though I don't have the memories from our rocking horse, I am sure that it holds in it someone else's memories. I hope to keep some of Huntley's wooden toys in hopes that she'll appreciate the memories that come with them and can hand them onto her children. 

(Cousin Kaitlyn Irene)

Before we even had Huntley, I had knew that if I were to buy toys, I would love to invest in wood toys! I've always like the wholesomeness and pureness of wooden toys. As with Little Sapling Toys, most wooden toys are handcrafted with creative ingenuity and quality meant to last a lifetime and beyond making plastic toys an inferior choice by far.

Another reason I had for wanting to invest in wooden toys for my children was the fact that plastic toys tend to end up in landfills. Growing up I've always heard of landfills and never quite grasped the terrors of what landfills were actually like, until Tanner had been building a French drain in our Arizona home and asked whether I'd like to go with him to drop off the dirt and rocks he had dug up to create the trench on the side of our house. I hadn't any idea where we'd actually be taking the dirt until we were driving through to the landfill...it was perhaps one the most "real" experiences I've had with pollution and actually depicted how poorly we treat our environment... Families were throwing old mattress, lots of trash, many of which included tons and tons of broken plastic toys! 

Wooden toys are by far the most environmentally friendly option for toys. They are generally made of sustainable sources of wood and can withstand years and years of use and are a great alternative to endlessly replacing plastic toys. I've always been a great advocate buying secondhand, not just because of quality of items that withstand the test of time, but also for costs. Buying secondhand tends to be a cheaper alternative when you want to purchase items that are generally more expensive when purchased new - say wooden toys for instance! And thanks to the recession, many high end consignment shops have emerged and sell tons of our favorite beloved products for half the cost. Still not sold on wooden toys, I would still suggest buying secondhand for those expensive battery-operated toys that could have you spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to "help fine tune your baby's motor skills" as many of them promise. 

This brings us to my last reason, "battery-operated" plastic toys, and I would be a hypocrite to say we don't use/play with these toys...I still try to keep them to a minimum. Do you know how much batteries cost these days?! It's insane! I can spend $15 on a battery-operated toy and then spend $11 on batteries to operate that toy...that's $26 spent to actually make that toy work, until the batteries run out (which they probably will, since chances are your kid will leave the toy on for days until it's played with again and it needs new batteries)! Where as you can invest in this wooden toy set, or this from another one of our favorite wooden toy brands, or these which can muster up some imagination!  

Although some may argue that wooden usually cost more than plastic, which I totally agree with - I would argue that the wooden toy will usually last longer and the cost over longer term will be far less than the plastic toy.