4 Great Children’s Toys You Can Make Rather Than Buy
Jan 21, 2010 Budget Environmentalism, Eco Friendly Parenting
Children’s toys can get really expensive fast. That’s one thing parents learn pretty quickly. There are some great toys out there, but the expense can be hard to deal with.
Add in that many are plastic and really not so environmentally friendly, and it can be a bit of a problem.
But some toys you can make rather than buy, saving money and even reusing things that might otherwise have been recycled or even thrown out. Here are some ideas to get you started that don’t require a ton of sewing or construction skills.
Playhouse
What child doesn’t love a good playhouse? The popular ones are plastic and can be left outdoors in all weather or kept indoors. And they’re pricey, ranging from about $30 for a cardboard one they can color on, to a few hundred dollars for the fancier ones.
Even that $30 for a cardboard one is expensive when you realize you can get the cardboard pretty easily for free.
My children for a couple of years had a cardboard playhouse that was made from a double thickness box my husband got from the blinds department at Home Depot. He worked there at the time, and just had the night crew save him one. Not a hard thing to ask for, as they’re going to dispose of it anyhow.
That house was strong enough that the kids climbed on its roof regularly as they played. No problem. It tolerated pretty much everything they could throw at it, sometimes literally.
It took some time with a utility knife to cut the doors and windows, but it worked out really well. And being free was a great bonus.
When the box finally broke down enough it went into the recycle bin. We’ll be doing the same soon with a washer or dryer box we happen to have handy.
Play Kitchen
Play kitchens are also very popular with children, and once again can be rather pricey. You can make one on your own fairly easy, however.
My sister made one from a short dresser she bought at a garage sale or some such for her daughters. All she had to do was paint the burners on there and the kids were happy. That’s just enough for imagination.
You could also make one from a cardboard box, obviously a smaller one than you’d use for a playhouse. Draw on what they need, maybe cut in an oven door and there’s a play kitchen.
Bowling Set
You’ve probably seen the plastic bowling sets at the store. While they’re not all that pricey, relatively speaking, you can make your own.
All it takes is soda or water bottles (20 ounce or 2 liter size, your preference) and a ball. If you don’t drink much soda in your family and don’t buy bottled water (yay!), you can always talk to friends about giving some to you. You probably know someone who would have bottles available.
Stilts
Kids love to be just a little bit taller. You can buy plastic stilts for fairly inexpensive, but they’re really easy to make. My daughter’s preschool had these, and the kids loved it when the teachers pulled them out. There was usually a line for them.
Take two coffee cans and two pieces of rope. The rope should be long enough that, doubled up, it can reach from your child’s hands to the floor with just a little to spare for knots and of course growing room.
Punch two holes in each coffee can, on opposite sides, a short distance from the bottom. Thread the rope through each hole and tie a knot on the inside end. This will form a loop for your child to hold while walking on top of the cans.
Any of these toy ideas can be painted or decorated as you like, but I think it’s best to let the kids decide how to decorate them. It’s just one more part of the play for them.
If you’re really into making homemade toys, consider buying Learn and Play the Green Way: Fun Activities with Reusable Materials
Tags: childrens toys, kids, recycle, recycled toys, reuse, toys
Bringing Kids Down From the Christmas Crazies
Jan 7, 2010 Eco Friendly Parenting
Even when you keep your own Christmas fairly simple, kids get really wound up around all the presents they get at Christmas time. If you’re like me and have a lot of family giving presents, it can be hard to control just what happens.
With the new year, kids need to recover from getting so much fun new stuff and really taking a look at what they have that they really don’t care about.
This is the time of year to go through the old toys and get rid of any that aren’t really played with if you didn’t do that before Christmas. Send them off to charity. Teach your kids about giving to those who have less!
Honestly, my kids resist the clean out and then love giving the toys away. I don’t hide the process from them at all. I could, very easily. Especially this year with so many of their toys still boxed away in the garage.
But I don’t do that because it’s a great lesson.
They get to do the first sort, which is to get the toys they are absolutely not interested in keeping into the give away pile.
Then comes the challenging sort, when my husband and I get to decide if they’re keeping things we know they really won’t use. This one generates a number of protests often followed by an admission that yes, it’s really not used that much. But it’s special, you see! And they just know that they’ll start using it more soon!
That plea works some of the time but not that often.
We don’t aim for tears or a lot of frustration or anything, and it rarely goes that badly. Talking about the children with very few toys who might be able to get their old toys works pretty well. Children can be amazingly sympathetic if you play it right.
Tags: charity, donations, natural toys, toys
What’s the Fuss Over Zhu Zhu Pets and Antimony?
Dec 10, 2009 Environmental News
There’s been quite the fuss online about Zhu Zhu Pets and the results the Good Guide published with regards to the amount of antimony in them. They claimed the results were higher than allowed.
Turns out, however, that the Good Guide used an invalid testing method. The Smart Mama does a great job of explaining that what they found was total antimony, when soluble is what matters for safety. The Good Guide has since admitted they used the wrong form of testing.
Dealing with total versus soluble quantities can be a difficult thing to understand. There’s that urge to say “if it’s there, it’s a problem” that I’m seeing quite a bit of.
There’s a comment on the Good Guide’s blog that explains why they look at “soluble.” By looking at soluble, they’re looking at what would come out in the process of being digested by a human. That’s an important number to be concerned with.
All that said, I have other reasons to be disinterested in buying a Zhu Zhu Pet for my kids. Not the least of it is my refusal to buy into the latest consumer frenzy. It’s a cute toy and all, but I won’t bet on how long it will really be interesting to kids. Then there’s all the plastic in the accessories.
I much prefer toys that encourage creativity and activity. They tend to hold my children’s interest much longer. There are so many great toys you can buy, and you won’t have to stand in long lines or pay higher than retail just because the demand is insane. Try shopping at Magic Cabin or eBeanStalk.com for more interesting toys.
Tags: good guide, sloppy results, toys, zhu zhu pets
It’s Amazing How Few Toys Kids Really Need
Dec 8, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting
We’ve been in this house several months now. It’s nice having all the space but what has been most interesting is how few toys my kids really need in order to have fun.
You see, we’ve hardly unpacked any of them. They’re still in boxes in the garage.
I’ve known for a long time that most toys pretty much don’t get played with. That’s just how kids are. They have the favorites and then the toys that come out once in a long while.
Yes, they have asked for their toys sometimes. Not often at all though.
And there are a few that I really do want to get out for them, especially the wooden train set and more of their crafting supplies.
With the holidays fast approaching, it’s a good reminder that they really don’t need a ton of new toys to have fun.
They will be getting some, but so far we have a bit of a fun science focus. My kids love to do “science projects” and I would like to encourage that. We’ve gotten some good deals for them.
Probably after Christmas we’ll get around to going through those boxes and really push the kids on getting rid of the stuff they just don’t need. There are other children more in need and who would really appreciate the things mine aren’t paying attention to.
Green Gift Ideas to Give to Kids
Nov 18, 2009 Green Gift Ideas
Kids, especially younger ones, can be pretty easy to shop for. Watch commercials with them and see how often they say “I want that.”
If you’re trying to keep things a little more green and rather less plastic you have a bigger challenge ahead of you. But even then it’s entirely possible to find great green gifts that kids will really welcome.
As children vary so much in what they like, I prefer to recommend stores to shop for them, rather than just particular toys. But I’ll mention a few favorites.
I love Magic Cabin’s stuff. They call their toys “kid powered” as they’re all about the imagination, not the batteries. And their toys are just beautiful. They have a Forest Friends Bower that I can picture my daughter going nuts over. It’s perfect for over the bed as a canopy or off in a corner to encourage imaginative play.
Ok, so this isn’t a store. But it’s a great gift for just about any child in the age ranges that play with play dough.
If you want to make it really special, give the ingredients, containers to store it in, and the recipe, and make it as a project with your child. Time with the parents is a great gift too!
These guys make some amazing wooden toys as well as some practical things. There’s the Learning Tower, for example. It’s a safe stool for kids to stand on, capable of holding up to 500 lbs. and with an adjustable height. They even sell a kit to make it into a playhouse for those times that it’s not being used as a safety stool, or you can buy an easel attachment.
And of course they have plenty of games to choose from, toy trucks, wooden blocks, play kitchens and much more.
These guys aren’t specifically green, but they have some great old style toys available, not just all the current stuff. Stuff like Lincoln Logs and Red Flyer Wagons. You’ll have to watch it a bit to avoid plastic toys, but it’s always good to be able to find your old favorites.
Now, I don’t know that I always agree with what they label as green toys. There are a lot they label as green just for having their Frustration Free Packaging. The packaging is certainly an improvement, but has nothing to do with whether the toy itself is green.
Many of the plastic toys are made from recycled plastic in this category.
There are some great green technology toys available too, such as the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit
Don’t forget the possibility of quality used toys. This can be harder to apply to older kids than to ones young enough to not know the difference, but sometimes you can still manage it. eBay can be a great source for many of those toys that you remember so well.
Garage Sales and Thrift Stores
Yet more great places to look for used toys. A bit more of luck can be needed to find particular items, but the prices can be just amazing.
