Tag Archives: green toys

Great Green Toys for Toddlers

As babies become toddlers, they start to take more of an interest in playing with toys. The challenge comes in avoiding the parade of plastic toys and keeping things a little better for your tot and the planets. Here are some suggestions:

Plan Toys Punch and Drop

Plan Toys Punch and DropPlan Toys in general makes great toys for kids. They use organic recycled rubber wood for this to. It’s made really well too.

The Punch and Drop is your classic hammering toy. Kids have played with these for a long time, and there’s a reason why they keep making them. Kids enjoy hammering. The colors are great too.

And you can’t forget the lack of batteries!

Educo Alphabet Abacus

Educo Alphabet AbacusThe Educo Alphabet Abacusis the kind of thing that can hold my toddler’s attention for a long time. She’s very much into anything brightly colored and fairly complex. Pictures in books and magazines get her babbling too.

This has the advantage of giving her something to look at as we sing the alphabet song. She loves music of any sort and even babbles along. Using any sort of visual may eventually help her to start pointing out letters at a young age without quizzing her all the time. Early exposure helped my older two, anyhow.

iTunes

No, it’s not a toy as such. But it’s a great idea to expose your baby to all kinds of music very young. But rather than buy a musical toy, just find appropriate music to download on the computer you already own. Get that toddler dancing!

WONDERWORLD Puffy Dragon Ride-on

WONDERWORLD Puffy Dragon Ride-onIs the WONDERWORLD Puffy Dragon Ride-on cute or what? I mean really!

My one year old is very much so into ride on toys. She started liking them before she could walk, of course. This looks nice and soft as well as fun.

And I could never resist saying my child rides a dragon! He’s made from rubberwood and biodegradable fabrics.

Why Do Kids Love Play Silks?

My favorite toys for my kids are always the ones that encourage active play or creativity. I’d rather avoid the ones that are supposed to be used in one particular way… even if that rarely stops my kids from coming up with other uses.

But I think one of the best gifts my daughter ever got for her birthday from a friend was some play silks. 2 years later and she still keeps pulling them out. They’re holding up well.

Play silks are such simple toys really, just a beautiful piece of silk. But the simplicity is the real delight. They get used to create costumes, mostly. It’s amazing how many costumes can come from a single piece of fabric, and yes, a bride can wear a green veil and look wonderful.

Play silks can be found at sites such as Magic Cabin or Amazon, as well as many others.

At the ages my kids are at, I really think they’re happiest when they’re being creative, and that’s why I think they love the silks so much. They may beg to watch television or play on the computer, but once they’re involved in creative play, they’ll go on for hours. Watch TV or play on the computer, and I can count on multiple requests for snacks and other signs of boredom.

All-Natural Toys for Kids

A site I’ve recently discovered is Magic Cabin. Their selection is just stunning. Their play silks come in seasonal colors. The Kraul Science-Craft Kits look like a delight. I love being able to teach my kids a touch of science in a fun way.

One of the really cool things is the Play Teepee. I love the idea! I don’t have the budget, for all these cost less than many a video game system. $239 right now for the largest size, which is 12 feet tall, and you don’t have to keep buying or renting cartridges. It may not compare to kids who really want the video games, but I know of a lot of children who would be delighted to have something they could be so creative with.

Their range is a lot of fun to go through. Travel games, connecting toys made of wood, craft felt and so on. I rarely get this kind of reaction to a store since my “I don’t need it” radar is set to high, but this is exactly the kind of stuff I want my kids to have.