Children’s Place

Entries in non-toxic water-based dyes (2)

Friday
May162014

Ideas For Toddlers’ Outdoor Summer Play With Natural and Organic Push Toys

Tommy Turtle. Photo courtesy of Earthentree.

With the weather warming up, it’s a great time for the little ones to get out more, and pull toys are a great way to make it more fun.

Pull toys are great motivators for walking, promoting stability, and bring a sense of joy, self-confidence and control in being able to pull something around.

But as with all toys, it’s also important to make sure that they are safe for your child to use. Things to consider include whether there are removable pieces, their size (choking hazards), and the paint (toxic poisoning) because little kids are always putting everything in their mouths.

Always looking for things that are good for people and the environment, I found three great online boutiques – Earthentree, Maya Organic, and Little Zen Minds – that work with traditional artisan communities that create beautiful handmade pull toys that are non-toxic and made with sustainable materials.

Earthentree

Engine Stacker. Photo courtesy of Earthentree.

Earthentree prides itself on providing toys that are safe and beautiful. All of the toys are traditionally handmade by an artisan community in the city of Channapatna in southern India, where the company stresses that “absolutely no form of child labor is employed in its production process.”

Also, the materials used in making the toys are all sustainable, and the dyes are made only of natural materials. The toys are made of hale wood and rubberwood because they are lightweight with fine grains and the company assures that “the wood does not contribute to deforestation.”

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Thursday
Apr052012

Toddlers Gaining Stability in Walking and Play With Natural Wood Push Toy Walkers

There are few prouder moments for parents than when their babies take their first steps. This proud time comes at about nine months old for most babies, and there are a lot of things that parents need to do to make this a safe, easy, and happy developmental experience.

At about nine months old, most babies will start trying to pull themselves up to a standing position using furniture or whatever is available, which is why a toddler walker is a good idea.

Even if you buy a walker, the first thing you need to do is toddler-proof your home. “Obviously, one of the first things you should do is to remove items that are within your baby’s reach that he could pull down on himself. If you have table lamps, place them far back out of the baby’s reach,” says learningwalker.com.

“Don’t have ornaments that can easily break where your baby can reach them, and make sure that there is nothing sharp that your baby will be able to reach when using furniture to help with balance,” adds learningwalker.com.

Dr. William Sears offers further suggestions for making your home a safe environment for a new walking toddler, which are:

  • Secure lamp cords so lamps can’t be pulled down.
  • Anchor floor lamps, or remove them.
  • Cushion sharp corners on coffee tables, piano benches, and hearths.
  • Display breakables out of baby’s reach, or put them away for a few years.
  • Move plants
  • Push chairs all the way up to the table to prevent climbing.
  • Install latches on drawers and cabinets that hold breakable dishes.
  • Push items to the centers of tabletops.

Watching your baby learn to walk will be a happier and less stressful experience when your home has been toddler-proofed. Then, the next priority is finding a walker that is both safe in itself, as well as fun and versatile enough to be used past when your baby doesn’t need the physical support anymore.

This is why natural push toy walkers are such a good idea. They are safe (using only non-toxic paints and other materials) and most can be used as just fun toys later on. But even with these toys, some additional safety considerations should be kept in mind.

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