Please welcome Sreeya to the blog today! She is doing amazing things to get your little one to play imaginatively and creatively! Get ready to learn, people!
6 Reasons To Introduce Your Digital Native To Wooden Toys
With the popularity of action figures, branded cartoon character toys, electronic toy gadgets and computer games (all of which are heavily marketed and saturate your children’s every day), wooden toys have been all but transformed into some sort of novelty.
Add to these the heavy use of tablets and smartphones, with some schools even requiring the use of the former in classroom settings, then you, as the parent, have one huge toy hurricane to deal with.
So how do you comb through all these options?
Then you remember those old wooden blocks you used to play with, with your own siblings. You had so much fun with them; in fact, they’re still in storage. But you’re wondering whether your own kids, with all the distractions posed to them, would even venture to look at your old toy wooden blocks, as colorful as they may be.
Well, if you happen to want to introduce wooden toys to your kids, then give yourself a pat on the back. You’re doing the right thing, and here are the reasons why.
1. Wooden toys enrich children’s imagination.
When kids play with wooden toys such as random blocks of wood in an assortment of shapes, colors and sizes, it is entirely up to them to think of a scenario or situation for play.
They can assign a certain role to a particular toy block. They can say one piece will serve as a car, two similar shapes as an opening gate, and use a few other pieces to build what they would designate as the house.
By using wooden toys to create scenarios, children get to play different roles and make up stories whereby they can apply their own level of reasoning and logic. They also get to create dialogue and sounds to enact each scenario they play out.
2. Wooden toys teach them basic learning concepts.
With wooden toys in different shapes, colors and sizes, parents can teach their children about different colors. For example, you can ask your children to group their toys based on color after a simple lesson introducing them to the basic colors.
The same can be done with shapes and sizes. You can also teach your child to count using wooden toy pieces.
3. Wooden toys help children develop balance and hand-eye coordination.
Playing with a set of wooden blocks and building a tower with them teaches young kids that one can build a sturdy tower using specific pieces of blocks. By using trial and error, children will remember which shapes and sizes go well together, so their creation doesn’t fall apart.
Through constant play and experimentation, children learn to distinguish which shapes, colors and sizes they should use to make a house, create a car, a bridge or a tree.
4. Wooden toys teach children to be social.
There is nothing like a pile of wooden toys to get children together. By cooperating with each other and taking roles to play in whatever situation they think of playing, children learn to socialize and interact with other kids.
By learning to share their toys, they make friends and enhance their imagination together.
5. Wooden toys are safe and long lasting.
Think low maintenance, then you’ve got wooden toys. They require minimal upkeep and are generally safe since they are made with natural non-toxic materials. In fact, there are even eco-friendly wooden toys in the market! The way they are manufactured is meant to ensure they don’t crack or get chipped even with tough handling.
All you need is a box in which to keep them, and they can last for generations. This is why wooden toys are sometimes handed down from one generation to the next like family heirlooms.
6. Wooden toys are simply suitable… for everyone.
Finally, unlike electronic and mechanical toys which tend to make a lot of noise, wooden toys are generally quiet or make only a little noise that doesn’t disturb the peace at home, so you can rest easy.
Even if they happen to be scattered in the living room or dining area, wooden toys do not create an unpleasant image in any part of the home.
Wooden toys may seem pricier than their modern day counterparts, but their advantages are simply unbeatable. Far from being traditional and boring, wooden toys present your children an exciting world of play where their imagination can run freely, and their learning is enhanced in the most unexpected and fun ways.
Sreeya Patil Wiesner is the founder of Ecotoys in Dubai, UAEs. She started her online toy store with an aim to provide healthy, safe and eco-friendly wooden toys to kids 0-6 years of age in the UAE.