Wooden toys vs electronic toys | What do you choose for your child?
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
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Is wooden toys just wonderful and educational? And it is electronic toys educational enough and safe?
Wooden toys requires more commitment and effort from a child than electronic toys: pressing a button and getting everything done is fun for a while, but not for long. Wooden toys often remains interesting for longer.
In this article I will discuss the pros and cons of wooden and electronically toys.
However, the question is whether wood ideal by definition toys is, and or electronic toys can also be very good for children.
That is not always the case wood stands for 'good' and electronic for 'bad'!
However, it is true that your child has... wooden toys are often more active than with electronic toys.
It is especially good for young children that they have to exert themselves more, which makes your child more adept at solving problems and more sociable later on.
It ensures that he can deal creatively with situations and events. But also electronically toys can sometimes make a very good contribution.
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Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of wooden toys?
Wooden toys has many advantages, but that does not apply to unsafe wooden toys.
Therefore always choose reliable wooden toy brands, which is sustainable wood and do not use toxic paints.
Wooden toys does not offer an easy play solution, your child will have to discover how to get something done by searching, turning, pushing, pulling, counting, passing and so on.
Super educational! It stimulates motor and mental development.
Uit wooden toys However, chemicals can also be released, and that is the only real disadvantage.
Wooden toys is not always safer than plastic toys. Toxins may be present in it wood, or the paint layer. Not good and especially not if children suck or chew on it.
To ensure that your child is treated with poison-free and responsibly wooden toys plays, it is better to go for safe brands that are only responsibly solid wooden toys produce.
Wooden toys is stimulating and promotes socializing with other children.
Wood feels good because it takes on body temperature, wood has an attractive scent, and the texture is unique. All your child's senses are on high alert and are almost working overtime.
Wooden toys is usually simple and therefore invites imaginative play.
Wooden blocks or a simple one wooden puzzle like for example the colorful rainbow stimulates fine motor skills and the mind of a child.
Read more about it here essential practice games & toys for fine motor milestones of your child
What are the advantages and disadvantages of electronic toys?
A good children's tablet is of course a wonderful addition to the home, but a plastic piano with tinny music tunes or buttons on it toys cell phones with loud trumpets NOT.
Know which electronic toys you choose for your child.
Some sounds from electronic toys are quite annoying for us as parents and the toys also bore your child quite quickly. This is often the case toys made of plastic and breaks faster wood.
Yet there are certainly advantages to electronics toys. Your child learns with some electronic means toys for example, quickly making sums, reading, writing and even programming.
The really intelligent electronic toys start at about age 5. And I'm actually just talking about electronic equipment.
Have you ever seen programmable robots at work? As robot botley that encourages children from an early age – from five – to a basic form of coding in simple steps.
Another educational and very creative electronic game is Osmo Coding, you start with a Osmo Coding Starter Kit that you can expand.
You only have one an iPad for your child necessary for.
Osmo also allows your child to play physical games; draw, color, put puzzles on the table, while your child sees his actions on the screen.
The (cheaper) electronic toys for babies and young children are often attractive and colorful, they can be quite educational, but just don't use them too often.
However, what I don't like about some electronic toys is that you always need batteries and that they often break faster.
It is also a pity that it makes your child a bit lazy. It simply takes little effort to press a button and get a 'reward'.
Always teach your kids with simple first wooden toys to play, it can be a bit noisy toys occasionally not a lot of harm.
Do you want really good and educational electronics by the age of about 5? toys Purchasing is fine, but make sure that your child also gets enough exercise.
You can put a limit on playing with iPad or PC.
When playing, always leave enough space for your child to fantasize and find solutions themselves.
What chemicals are in toys?
Your young child might suck on his toys, but the possible release of a minimal amount of formaldehyde wooden toys apparently pose no danger to children.
Harmful substances contained in wooden toys could be metals and formaldehyde. If it is painted, the paint layer sometimes also contains metals.
Still, I would go for the safe brands myself.
PVC is more harmful, and unfortunately this material is all too common with electronic toys.
Much electronic toys is made of PVC, which contains many harmful substances, such as phthalates, mercury, lead, dioxin, and BPA.
Bad for the brain development of children and hormone disrupting in the bargain.
My advice: for babies and little ones, always go for the most natural materials if possible.
For example, natural rubber is safe, unlike PVC. For electronic toys, PVC is more likely to be used.
I always choose safe wood, even though a small amount of formaldehyde, as I wrote before, 'poses no danger'.
But toys As far as I'm concerned, it should always be free of any harmful substance!
Here I have the best toys without BPA listed for you
The result of more (educational) electronic toys
Manufacturers are increasingly producing (educational) electronically toys.
Unfortunately, a natural product like wooden toys not always popular anymore. There is also more electronics on the shelves for very young kids toys to find than simple basic toys.
Toy advertising, both online and on TV, is mainly electronic toys, with the necessary consequences.
Electronic toys gives babies and young kids less fun playing time, the child sometimes becomes a bit lazy because he has to put in less effort than when playing with a ball or with a fun wooden puzzle.
A child's creativity may be limited if they are overused.
Yet there is for toddlers and older fantastic interactive software on the market, also calling on their insight and creativity.
Toys has a major influence on a child's development.
Children love to play, but when a child is only used to electronic toys, whose function is limited and obvious, then a child may toys avoid, the function of which is not very clear (such as a block game of a balance board).
Playing with mainly electronic toys can hinder the healthy development of a child.
If kids are a little older and want to play with responsible interactive software, that can be a very good choice.
These games are creative, they work on their mathematical understanding, language is discussed and sometimes even programming and coding!
What is the best choice for us as parents?
Parents should be aware of the functional limitations of some electronic devices toys, and find a good balance.
Toys does not have to be easy for a child, there must always be some challenge involved.
It is good to encourage creativity and imagination, through basic wooden toys – preferably from sustainably managed forests – for your baby and toddler.
Your child will then be motivated and happy to use simple - non-electronic - toys to play.
It determines the functions of the basic itself while playing wooden toys. They can do so many more things with it!
It may be a good idea to inform friends, grandparents, and other family members about the limitations of some electronic devices toys for your little one.
Let them know how you feel about it toys think, and why you make certain choices. This way you avoid tripping over unnecessary electronic toys after a child's birthday.
Ask them for toys with which children can make things a little difficult for themselves. Your little one will feel a sense of victory if he manages to understand the game or toy.
The environmental issue may also play a role for you, and you want to be sure that the toys are safe wood are made from sustainably managed forests, such as rubber trees.
When your child is a bit older, there will naturally be room for the iPad or other intelligent, creative electronics toys.
Also read: Gardening with your child – great tips for working together in the garden
Why is discovery play important?
Discovery play is very important for children, and also for babies.
Toys that encourages this way of playing wooden toys.
It helps your child to understand how his body functions (motor development) and teaches him the consequences of certain actions.
A toy from wood stimulates and teaches your little one how to achieve a desired outcome, and how to play with others.
He also learns to come up with solutions by using his creativity and therefore also his head.
The quality of play and just as well the kind toys that you choose has a major influence on your child's problem-solving ability.
When children with exclusively electronic toys were to grow up, they would most likely miss a lot of important life lessons.
Closing comments
I hope that my story has helped you and that you can make a good choice of toys for your child. My simple conclusion is:
Wooden toys is environmentally friendly, durable toys and definitely cool, just like electronic toys can be cool.
You just have to pay attention to the latter that it does have an educational value. It really must have more to offer than just pressing buttons with light and sound.
Before I close, I would like to point out that there are other ways of playing that should just as well be part of the development; riding a bike, soccer, shovel sand, karting, steppes… just like we used to do.
But that's another story.
Read more in Playing outside: a complete guide | best games and stimulating
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.