It's an old argument and one that will never be won by either side, but being a die-hard wooden toy fanatic I will never tire of promoting the wooden toys side of the argument. In fact, I'm such a die-hard that I started my own children's toy retail business five years ago, but this is more about my family and the decisions we've made regarding toys for our kids to help their education and development.
I am sure that there has been plenty of research into both types of toy and their respective benefits (in fact, I'm sure there has been more research done on the electronic side of the fence, in terms of the scientific side of things), but I am talking to you specifically from an onlooker of kids that play with toys, how they engage with them and what they seem to get out of them. I'm lucky enough to see first-hand young kids (from varied backgrounds) engaged with the fun and educational toys that we have in our shop, and conversely how kids react and play with electronic toys.
Although we were unlucky enough to not be able to afford our usual foreign holiday this summer, we were fortunate enough to have friends generous enough to let us stay in their gorgeous home in Cambridgeshire. They, like us, have two kids at fairly similar ages. However, unlike us their home is filled with electronic, noisy, flashing toys.
I guess you probably know where I'm going now...
Now, I'm not a toy snob (I have to admit that my near eight year old daughter has a DS) but watching my kids for the fortnight we were in Cambridge was confirmation of my thoughts on electronic toys. To sum it up, life was noisy! This wasn't the first time that this had occurred to me. Our kids were bashing buttons simply to get a reaction from the toy. They barely had to twitch a nerve to set some new light or noise off. As far as I could see this just cemented my argument about the benefits of electronic toys for young children, especially babies and toddlers -- they are left with no imagination to engage with the toys they are in front of. The toy does the entertainment for them. There is no peaceful contemplation of working through the puzzle a wooden toy has to offer.
Let me give you an example. In our shop we have a toy called the Glutting Giraffe. It's based on the old-fashioned click clack car toy -- kids adore it. They sit in front of it and play with it over and over and over. There is not one button, no flashing lights and no techno voice telling them what to do -- they sit, they concentrate, work out what they're supposed to do and then play, play, play! They basically interact with it, rather than the other way around. It fascinates them and parents are always surprised at how captivated their kids are.
For me, the whole raison d'etre of my work and toy research is to seek out the best in educational, wooden toys for babies and young children from around the world - looking to convert as many parents as possible to the joy of wooden toys. So let's encourage our kids to find the pleasure in discovering toys for themselves. Let there be a little bit of peace in this mad world of noise and mayhem.
Since starting Little Nut Tree Toys five years ago Jo Nicholson has continued to source the best wooden and educational toys from around the world.
Offering value for money is also important, especially during these hard times, so she has also been really keen to ensure the wooden toys offered by Little Nut Tree Toys are accessible to all. The company offers a wide range of price points that make wood a lifestyle choice that is available to all pockets.
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