Natural Toy Review
If there is an opportunity to buy natural toys made with safe, water-based dyes and non-toxic wood material why wouldn’t you? Maybe it’s because the mainstream toys appear to be proven “liked” by infants and children. I buy natural and wooden toys and my children love them. Read what my children and I think about natural and wooden toys to find out if these safe toys are really any good.
There are several different makers of natural and wood toys but I have a couple of favorites. Haba and Plan Toys have proven to stay the test of time and endure the abuse children’s toys sometimes receive. I have wooden toys made by some manufacturers that aren’t in nearly the condition our older Haba and Plan toys are. As I have watched our collection of wooden and natural toys grow over the past few years, I have now chosen to share my thoughts about these particular toys we have and my overall opinion of the manufacturers. You will find reviews on toys made by Haba, Plan Toys, Educo, Melissa & Doug and more.
Magic Cabin is a great place to get wooden and creative toys. They usually always have items on sale.
Haba Dolls: Nellie (Nelle)
This is the sweetest little doll. I had originally purchased a waldorf style doll for my daughter’s first birthday and the doll was too big for her (approx 18″.) Haba’s Nele is only 12″ and is the perfect size for a doll sling or just for holding. The clothes she comes in are fashionable, just like something a “real” girl would wear and they are super quality. My daughter loves to dress and undress Nelle and she absolutely loves sharing the flower hairband with her and using it in her own hair although it doesn’t stay in very well (this may be from my daughters thin hair.)
A boy version of this doll is available too (Lukas.) This doll will definitely withstand tugging, pulling, and unlimited undressing and dressing. She will probably even last for your grandkids.
Haba also makes larger dolls in the same style which is perfect for older girls. Extra sets of clothing can be purchased for these bigger dolls. Hopefully Haba will come out with some extra sets of clothing for Nelle and Lukas.
Rattles:
We have a few Haba rattles and I love that they used water-based color dyes that are non-toxic. I have noticed the smallest amount of color bleeding onto my baby’s skin when
he teethes on a Haba rattle or teething toy but nothing serious (no staining on clothing, etc.) I would much rather experience some color bleeding than a toy recall. Most of their rattles have multi-functionality. They function as teething and discovery toys. One of my favorites is the Trio from Haba. It is a triangle with a tiny bell, a squeaky button and a small mirror. This toy is easy for baby to hold and it gives the caregiver a fun way to entice baby to play with the toy.
Some other Haba rattles and clutching toys we have and love are Croo-ak the frog. This clutching toy seems difficult at first to hold but it helps baby develop grasping skills. The little string arms make it easy for the crawling baby to hold it in his mouth while he roams from room to room taking the frog with him. The Kringelring is another great toy with vivid colors. This one doubles as a teether toy and a rattle.
The best way to keep these toys from falling away from baby while in the car or stroller is to use one of Haba’s pacifier clips. These are almost a toy in themselves as my children often play with them even with a toy attached.
What I like best about these toys is the durability of the color. You won’t find the color chipping or rubbing off after a short time. These European made toys from Haba are durable and heirloom quality.
More Great Toys We Love from Haba:
First Blocks is another European made item from Haba. This is a great deal for the money. The blocks are a wonderful size for small hands and they all have a different surprise for a curious baby as well as a little buggy for those who love to push around things with wheels which is what our little guy loves to do. But the blocks definitely capture his attention as he figures out just exactly what the surprise is.
Tiny Town from Haba is the perfect stacking game for a toddler and the toy will grow with them as they learn how to make a scene out of the blocks as they stack them. The idea of stacking these blocks can be a littel bit difficult for the younger toddler but it’s a good challenge and I think it makes it a fun, interactive toy for a caregiver to interact with the child, teaching them the different shapes and curves and how they fit together.
Dream Journey is another soft toy thoughtfully designed by Haba to grow with a child. This toy has three little characters that rattle, squeak and jingle. An infant can play with these individually and as she gets older she can put them in their car and pull it along or transform the car into a boat with a sail. Dream Journey leaves room for the imagination and allows a young toddler to “take their friends” along for a ride.
Recently we purchased Haba’s wooden Cash Register and the coins and tear proof money to go with it. The buttons on the cash register can actually be pressed which I wouldn’t expect with a wooden toy. There is also an abacus style counter. The top of the cash register opens up for money storage. I like the fact that the register doesn’t require batteries which helps it to be an even greener and safer toy for children. What is even better is the tear proof dollars. We spent much time printing and cutting out bills for my daughter to play with just to have them crumpled and torn. This paper money from Haba is absolutely adorable, it’s a must-have even if you don’t own the cash register.
My daughter loves to role play and has a bright imagination so although she doesn’t know any different because it’s the only cash register she has had, I think she likes that there aren’t any numbers on the buttons of the cash register because she can pretend it is a button for whatever she wants it to be. I’m not worried about her learning her numbers because we do that in many other ways but I wouldn’t sit at a toy cash register and show her which number is number 2.
As far as role playing goes, my daughter uses different pieces of her wooden velcro play food to make ice cream; usually its half of a radish and part of an eggplant. I have looked at just about every wooden ice cream play food item available and Haba’s is by far the most adorable. They come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. They look very real and I like that they are simply an ice cream cone. These have fast become a favorite in my daughters kitchen.
The Walker Wagon from Haba is the most recent addition to our collection. I was pleasantly surprised to see this item. It was already assembled except for a couple of bolts and nuts needed to put the handle into place. It is very sturdy, sturdy enough for a small child (3-4 year old) to sit in, although some websites say it is not intended for children to sit in Haba’s catalog says there is a seat for brother or sister as well as storage for toys. However you choose to let your children play with this, it is a wonderful walker with outstanding design and construction. This walker wagon from Haba will be kept in our family to be passed down to the grandchildren.
Wood Kitchen from Educo
This wooden kitchen from Educo is the best deal out there. For only $99 you can get a sturdy wood kitchen that will fit into small spaces and the kitchen comes with over 20 different wood pieces of food and kitchen utensils. I was absolutely ecstatic about this find because other wood kitchens are very expensive and cost almost $200 for just a piece of a set. This wood kitchen has 2 burners, a sink, an oven, a refrigerator and a backsplash for storing pots, a spoon, a spatula and salt & pepper shakers which are all included. The salt & pepper shakers by the way are very cute and real looking; they even make a faint sound when shaken. The only thing I don’t like but I get over it very quickly for the price is that one of the shelves in both the oven and refrigerator are open to the back and items can fall out the back; although this never happens that I know of while being played with. This is one of the best toys we have bought for the money and it gets played with all the time. Available at Magic Cabin.
Plan Toys
Plan Toys are wonderful toys too. I love their wooden toys as much as I love Haba’s wooden toys. They are made of recycled rubberwood which is highly renewable and Plan Toys also uses non-toxic cures for their toys.
I bought the as a gift for my niece and although I didn’t have the luxury of watching her play with them, I thought that they were very well made. I would have bought one for my children but the kitchen we bought came with lots of play food already so we didn’t need them.
One of my favorite Plan Toys that we bought was the Geometric Shape Sorter. This toys is great for teaching shapes and counting and is initially a challenge. The quality is what you would expect from a company like Plan Toys and the color will last for years. My daughter gets very excited when she completes the geometric puzzle and I feel like I can celebrate with her because this shape sorter isn’t just a mediocre toy.
I bought the Nuts & Bolts from Plan Toys also and although I thoroughly like them, my daughter doens’t care for them but I think that is because of the nature of the toy. Older boys have come over to play and they have picked them up to unscrew the “nuts” from the “bolt” so I think it might be a bit of a boy toy. My son isn’t old enough to play with them yet but I’m sure he will like them.
My all time favorite toy from Plan Toys is the Solid Drum. There are two reasons I like it so much. The first is the cost. It is under $15 as a lot of their toys are. Secondly, the entire top and sides of the drum are solid wood and the bottom has nice little rubber pads that are screwed on to protect furniture that the drum might be set on. The tone the drum makes when hit with the included drum stick is very pleasant. I initially bought this drum for my nephew as a Christmas present and we have now bought another for our home.
Plan Toys also has many other toys including doll houses and roadways. You can build an entire town with Plan Toys and they will all be safe, non-toxic and possibly the most affordable brand of wood toys.
Melissa & Doug
All of the Melissa & Doug toys we have were given as gifts as they seem to be the most readily available wood toys. They can be found at stores such as Ross and Target and sometimes at local boutique shops. Although Melissa & Doug offer a gaurantee on their products, I haven’t found them to stand up as well as other wood toys.
The majority of Melissa & Doug toys we have are food items and art supply products. My favorite Melissa & Doug product is the set of kitchen bottles with magnetic lids. These are very fun and I haven’t found anything else like them. They do use paint on their products and although it is non-toxic, it does chip and rub off very easily.
We also have the magnetic dress up dolls from Melissa & Doug which I think is a great alternative to paper dolls.
Bottom line: Melissa & Doug do offer fun toys that aren’t available through European toy makers and sometimes the prices are a bit less but I think the price difference represents the quality.
Green Toys
Green Toys is a U.S. company based out of San Francisco, Ca. They even manufacture their products in San Francisco so they are a “made in the USA” toy maker.
All of their products are made with recycled #2 HDPE plastic. That is the plastic from milk containers, etc. Making their products from recycled plastic is reducing fossil fuels and the impact on the planet that creating toys can have.
We tried the tea set from Green Toys ($24). I think it’s great. It’s nice to get away from all of the themed tea sets so the little ones can just imagine even more. The plastic is sturdy and it meets FDA regulations for eating on. The size of the plates and cups are perfect and they don’t tip easily. I’d like to get some more outside play toys from Green Toys. They also make gardening and sand sets. Those are the kind of toys that you just buy plastic so why not go with Green Toys.
