Many people overlook the fact that toys shape a child's initial perspective and help them understand the world around them on their terms.
They are certainly not just playthings that serve to amuse, distract and entertain them while their parents are at work but educational aids that help develop their sensory and motor skills, as well as bring out their creativity and imagination.
Wooden toys in particular, are credited for contributing significantly to this because for one, since they don't run on batteries and don't move, jump, skip, light up, talk or zip around the room on their own, children are required to use their imagination and become creative by coming up with stories to go along with playing the toy and pushing or pulling it to make it move.
This results in an active mind and body that eventually becomes ready to solve problems and anything else that comes their way when they get older.
Wooden toys go back as far as ancient Greek and Roman civilization, with archeologists digging up wooden toys that are shaped like horses, dolls and chariots indicating how simple and uncomplicated life was back then.
They had also unearthed in Egypt what looked like the wooden version of checkers dating back 4,000 years.
The first puzzle invented in fact, was made of wood and it was invented by John Spilsbury in 1760.
A mapmaker by profession, Spilsbury glued cut up pieces of a map onto a wooden board, with the intention of putting them back together in the soonest possible time.
From wooden puzzles, toys evolved to something more elaborate during the Victorian era where grown women became obsessed over wooden doll houses that were made with marble and ivory and intricately detailed to resemble a real house and it even reached a point where it actually cost as much as a real house.
Another kind of wooden toys that became popular especially during the Middle Ages were wooden puppets, which ventriloquists would show off at street-side carnivals and the Lincoln Logs, which were notched miniature logs that can be used to build miniature forts and buildings and are still around to this day.
The Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright in 1916 and was patterned after the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo which was designed by his father, architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Soon after the First World War, wooden toys became more reflective of the state the world was in during those times with the invention of wooden cars, airplanes, trains and fire trucks that became very popular with children everywhere.
The fact that wooden toys can be made to represent a way of life, increased its popularity more because it made children able to relate to the world around them and adapt to the constant changes.
Today, wooden toys are not just preferred for their timeless and classic appeal.
In a world plagued by environmental problems and people being concerned about their health and safety, wooden toys offer a significant benefit by being non-toxic and free of harmful chemicals that are often found in most plastic toys these days like lead, cadmium and mercury.
Wooden toys are also not made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) that when inhaled can cause kidney damage, cancer and learning disabilities.
Most wooden toys these days are made from wood harvested from sustainable tree farms so no trees were cut down just to make them.
They are also made to be durable and long-lasting so once your little ones outgrow them, you can still keep them for your grandchildren and your grandchildren's children and they will look as good as the first day you bought them.
They will outlast any high-tech plastic toys your children may have which also makes them great investments.
Now, with all that you've read above, do you still need a reason why wooden toys are still the best toys around?
They are certainly not just playthings that serve to amuse, distract and entertain them while their parents are at work but educational aids that help develop their sensory and motor skills, as well as bring out their creativity and imagination.
Wooden toys in particular, are credited for contributing significantly to this because for one, since they don't run on batteries and don't move, jump, skip, light up, talk or zip around the room on their own, children are required to use their imagination and become creative by coming up with stories to go along with playing the toy and pushing or pulling it to make it move.
This results in an active mind and body that eventually becomes ready to solve problems and anything else that comes their way when they get older.
Wooden toys go back as far as ancient Greek and Roman civilization, with archeologists digging up wooden toys that are shaped like horses, dolls and chariots indicating how simple and uncomplicated life was back then.
They had also unearthed in Egypt what looked like the wooden version of checkers dating back 4,000 years.
The first puzzle invented in fact, was made of wood and it was invented by John Spilsbury in 1760.
A mapmaker by profession, Spilsbury glued cut up pieces of a map onto a wooden board, with the intention of putting them back together in the soonest possible time.
From wooden puzzles, toys evolved to something more elaborate during the Victorian era where grown women became obsessed over wooden doll houses that were made with marble and ivory and intricately detailed to resemble a real house and it even reached a point where it actually cost as much as a real house.
Another kind of wooden toys that became popular especially during the Middle Ages were wooden puppets, which ventriloquists would show off at street-side carnivals and the Lincoln Logs, which were notched miniature logs that can be used to build miniature forts and buildings and are still around to this day.
The Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright in 1916 and was patterned after the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo which was designed by his father, architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Soon after the First World War, wooden toys became more reflective of the state the world was in during those times with the invention of wooden cars, airplanes, trains and fire trucks that became very popular with children everywhere.
The fact that wooden toys can be made to represent a way of life, increased its popularity more because it made children able to relate to the world around them and adapt to the constant changes.
Today, wooden toys are not just preferred for their timeless and classic appeal.
In a world plagued by environmental problems and people being concerned about their health and safety, wooden toys offer a significant benefit by being non-toxic and free of harmful chemicals that are often found in most plastic toys these days like lead, cadmium and mercury.
Wooden toys are also not made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) that when inhaled can cause kidney damage, cancer and learning disabilities.
Most wooden toys these days are made from wood harvested from sustainable tree farms so no trees were cut down just to make them.
They are also made to be durable and long-lasting so once your little ones outgrow them, you can still keep them for your grandchildren and your grandchildren's children and they will look as good as the first day you bought them.
They will outlast any high-tech plastic toys your children may have which also makes them great investments.
Now, with all that you've read above, do you still need a reason why wooden toys are still the best toys around?