Wooden or plastic toys – which toys should I buy?

When a child arrives at home, one of the most important action right after decorating its room will be buying toys. Their selection is not the simplest. A wide range of gadgets for children is a cause for confusion because parents often don’t know what to buy. There is a wide range of products to choose from, both wooden and plastic. Which ones are worth considering?

Plastic toys – disadvantages, advantages and characteristics

Currently, plastic toys are most often found on store shelves. This is not surprising, because their range is simply huge. The colours used, fancy shapes and the latest technological solutions make them the most-chosen ones all the time. Wooden toys are their competition, but these mainly associate parents of children.

Plastic toys are especially liked by children because of their colours however, it happens sometimes that they get bored quickly. The right choice is only possible after getting to know your child and finding out what interests it has, what it likes and what it plays with. You should know that, like all toys, modern ones have their pros and cons.

What are the advantages of plastic toys?

Toys made of plastic are a solution for slightly older children who are already beginning to orient their interests. In addition, they are aware of how to handle and know what not to do with them. Certainly, the advantage includes their huge selection. Plastic toys offered by stores can be found in any form and a variety of colours.

They often refer to characters from fairy tales, heroes and objects that are in them. Toy cars, fire trucks, houses or popular blocks, there are a lot of them. A wide range is certainly their great advantage. What makes them special are also the colours. It is much easier to apply different colours to such toys, in particular those consisting of several elements.

The most advanced gadgets for toddlers can walk, ride or even dance on their own. They offer not only entertainment, but also educate the child. In addition, for these types of toys, much more often thematic series are offered, which contain individual elements or characters and buildings, after which you can create a mini-town or build a house.

What are the disadvantages of plastic toys?

Toys made of plastic also have many disadvantages. Unfortunately, they are more significant. Mostly, the models offered by different manufacturers consist of small parts. It is not uncommon to collect them to complete the whole. The problem turns out that some parts are easily lost, and in addition, the little ones can swallow them because of their curiosity, which may end in misfortune.

Another disadvantage is their durability. Plastic is not one of the hardest materials, especially the one used to make toys. Children often throw their gadgets or accidentally damage them. Resulting cracks or – worse – protruding sharp parts can hurt them. In addition, they do not develop the toddler’s imagination and creativity, as it is with wooden toys, because many of them move by themselves, have specific functions and cannot be used in any other way.

Wooden toys – better than plastic toys?

The parents mainly remember wooden toys. However currently trends are changing and more and more often you can see toys made of wood on store shelves. A properly processed natural material can look as effective as a finished plastic product.

There are supporters of both wooden and plastic toys in the world. No matter what you look at, they have their special advantages, but also have disadvantages. This is the case with all things that are available in stores and not just only. Plastic toys certainly do not hit the eyes with simplicity, but it often decides that their wooden counterparts much better affect the child.

What are the advantages of wooden toys?

Wooden toys have many more advantages than disadvantages. First of all, they stimulate the child’s imagination. Only a dozen or so years ago the kids were playing with sticks, pretending to shoot with a pistol, pushing rectangular blocks, acting as it was a car, or putting it on top of the puzzle, claiming that it was the roof of the building. There were many possibilities. These are wooden toys. They are functional and practical and they stimulate children’s creativity.

Nay! To set them in motion, it was necessary to use force, which affected the child’s motor skills and agility. This is still the case today with wooden toys. They also have several other advantages. They are characterised by the fact that they are much more durable and resistant, because the wood itself is hard. Such gadgets are also less risk that the toddler swallows some part, because they usually consist of larger elements. Furthermore, such toys can be made even by yourself at home.

Disadvantages of wooden toys

The choice of wooden toys should be conditioned by several factors. First of all, check whether the paints used to paint them are safe for children. It is rare that they are not, although the market is constantly evolving and more and more countries are involved in their production. Wooden toys are primarily of interest to well-known companies, but also to Asian companies. The problem may be that many of them do not have the appropriate approvals, and yet they are still marketing their products.

The price may be another disadvantage. Their production requires more work, extraordinary diligence, although not all are made by hand. It must also be taken into account that very precious natural material, such as wood, is used in their production, which is now gaining value and effectively raises the price of many goods.