Why do kids love classic Wooden Toys?

Wooden toys have been around since humans learnt to use tools and whittle sticks into spears.

Little boys in particular naturally gravitate towards sticks of all shapes and sizes or larger pieces of lumber to fashion their own toys. A stick can become an arrow, a spear, a gun, a wand or anything else their imagination chooses to bring to life. A discarded piece of wood or an interesting piece of bark can become part of a bigger fort construction,baddie hideout, or fairy lair - the possibilities are literally endless.

In 2015, wooden toys still hold their magic even when competing against fancy shiny high tech toys.

Why is that?

What is it about the smooth feel of wood against a small hand that gives so much pleasure to children?

A lot of adult answers run along the lines of they're environmentally friendly, they last a long time, they remind me of my childhood, they're non toxic and so on... they're all great reasons why children should love wooden toys, but they may not be THE reason.

The act of playing and really becoming absorbed in play hinges on the imagination, the ability to take the toy and build an exciting, unique inner world around it.. Have a look at the simple blocks below, wooden, non toxic and perhaps to an adult not all that exciting...

If you're a little person however (or an adult who is a child at heart), the simplicity of this toy instantly fires up the imagination. The fast as lightning child's brain thinks : I see a bunch of blocks, bthey're colourful, they have different shapes, I want to touch them, see how they feel, I wonder what I could build...and before you know it they're off...

A castle and a merchant ship in less than 10 minutes!

Of course you say, building blocks are the ultimate in open ended play - just look at LEGO. What about all the other wooden toys, the abacus, the xylophone, the wooden toy truck - why do kids love them?

The answer all comes down to the same thing, simplicity. When something is simple, but still appealing the child naturally moves into imaginative play.

Imaginative play, as research has shown is a vital component for child development (to read more about imaginative play and research on it's benefits read this article.) Given a plain wooden truck to play with, the child needs to invent a story line behind the truck, as they push the truck along they may imagine themselves as a fireman racing to a fire, or a long haul truck driver hauling food for animals at the zoo or maybe it's not a truck at all, maybe it's a race car or a horse drawn carriage. Without obvious cues provided by toy manufacturers the scope of play becomes wider, more open ended and ultimately more valuable.

So to answer that question of why children love wooden toys, they love them for their simplicity, for the room wooden toys give them to put their own spin on the story behind the toy and develop their own very unique way of playing.

As Tinkerbell always said "Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams last forever" so next time your child is immersed in play, whether it's with a wooden toy or not, maybe take a few minutes and join them - it will lift your heart and remind you of those awesome hours you spent playing.

To buy Wooden Toys in Australia visit our sponsors website : www.toyuniverse.com.au

Magda de Berg, a successful online business entrepreneur based in Australia, is the founder and owner of Toys Online Store - ToyUniverse.com.au