Welcome to our ‘ Wooden toys vs electronic toys ‘ guide
You may remember playing with wooden toys as a child. Wooden toy trains, wooden shape games, and even wooden rocking horses were favorites for many children growing up. But now, electronic toys are taking over. Everywhere you look something needs a battery or charging.
Wooden toys are better for the environment, safer for children to play with, and promote more creative and imaginative play.
Let’s look at some other reasons why wooden toys are more favorable.
5 Ways Wooden Toys Are Better Than Electronic Toys
1. Reliability
Electronic toys, such as remote controlled cars or toys that involve sound speakers, are reliant on their electronics in order to be usable. Children can sometimes easily break electronic toys, as they are clumsy. Even spilling a tiny amount of water into the internal electronics can ruin a toy.
Wooden toys are much more sturdy. Wood is a strong material that can withstand a lot of punishment. Houses and buildings are made out of wood for that reason. Wood, when coated, is also waterproof, meaning it can played with at bath time or outside on walks.
I for one used to bring my wooden toy cars along on walks and subject them to being pushed through deep puddles. I tried the same thing with my electronic talking action figure and was devastated to find he no longer said his catchphrases. The water had gotten into the electronics.
2. Safety
In the same way, electronics can raise the question of safety. Electronic toys, by definition have an electronic current flowing through them at some point. Although unlikely, it is possible that your child could receive an electric shock from electronic toys.
Although they are regulated—and recalled if there are found defects—electronic toys still have more probability or shocking your child than wooden ones do. A wooden toy will not generate an electronic charge.
3. Sentimentality
Wooden toys will last a lot longer than electronic ones. As electronic circuits are prone to decay, it is common for things to just stop working after a certain number of uses. It is very common however, to see wooden toys still working over 100 years after being made.
You may have even had a toy passed down to you from an elder relative. Having that connection between your childhood and the childhood of someone you love is a great thing to have. Electronic toys, although they can be sentimental also, are less likely to work years later.
4. Imagination
When children play, it is important to stimulate their imagination. Wooden toys allow more scope for imaginative play than electronic ones. Electronic toys normally have a set function that they perform in one specific way, whereas wooden toys are a tool for endless imagination.
Wooden toys therefore act as a blank canvas for children to project their imagination onto, rather than a toy that electronically makes a noise or performs a movement. Although there are cases that contradict this idea, wooden toys typically invite more imaginative play.
Rather than hearing or seeing what the toy can do itself, the child can project their own story onto the toy. Imaginative thinking is linked to stimulating many areas of the brain, allowing for more critical thought and open mindedness in later life.
5. Environment
Electronic circuits and batteries use a lot of energy to make. All that extra metal, silicon, and plastic that goes into making an electronic toy causes pollution and waste products to be created as a by product.
Wooden toys are made from trees that have the opposite effect on the environment. If your wooden toys are made from sustainable wood, then rest assured that the wood in them will be from trees that are grown specifically for use.
Although deforestation is an issue in the environmental debate, the majority or wooden toys are made from sustainable and ethically sourced wood. This industry as a whole is carbon negative, meaning more carbon is extracted from the atmosphere than is released into it.
Wood is also biodegradable meaning if your wooden toys are thrown away, they will turn back into materials that can re-enter the ecosystem without damaging it.
Final Thoughts
So, although electronic toys have more to offer by way of functions, wooden toys are better for your child’s development. Rather than presenting the child with one way of playing with something, children should be let loose to invent their own ways.
Wooden toys offer a longevity that make them the more sentimental option for families. So try and overlook the flashing lights and realistic noises, your child should be the one thinking them up.
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