We think old school toys are where it’s at! Playing with wooden toys that are considered classic toys, or ‘old school’ is a wonderful way to reconnect with your child and enjoy learning through play.
But why do we think classic, old school toys are best?
Well, here’s just 5 reasons we love playing with toys from our childhood with OUR children.
Get back to basics and avoid screen time!
By playing with wooden toys that would have been popular when you were young, you are helping your child avoid screen time. The lights, the screens, the battery-operated noisy toys are all adding to the extra stimulus we are all subjected to in the modern age. We know from expert after expert that long stints of screen time is adding to a whole range of issues from babies through to adults – so why not enjoy old school play time and put down the remote.
Electronic does NOT mean educational.
Parents are bombarded with advertisements claiming that the latest ‘high tech’ product is a wonderful educational tool. But these claims have been shown to be unsubstaniated. Electronic toys do not provide the communication and interaction that comes from when you play with your child. If you would like to read more about that you can here
Simple is best.
Learning is such a huge task to start with. When you use a classic toy there is typically one skill your child is learning. Yes, we totally believe in using a toy for multiple purposes, but using wooden toys to learn individual skills has been proven successful. Working on hand eye co-ordination? Pop your child in front of a hammering toy. Want to develop their patience? Let’s do a wooden puzzle together. Want to learning to stack? Wooden blocks are perfect for stacking and building! Find a skill you want to improve and we are sure to help you find a wooden toy that would help!
Sustainability.
This is a big one. Every day we hear about the impacts we are having on our environment. Wooden, old school toys are built to last – meaning they are perfect to pass along through generations of families, and by doing so you are reducing the environmental impact of battery operated, plastic toys, that typically end up in landfill years (if not decades) before a wooden toy will.
Connection.
Have you ever connected with your child while you’re playing a game on your smartphone? It’s not likely. BUT, do you recall completing a puzzle with them? Or building a wooden train track and taking turns pushing the carriages along your creation? The connection you develop while you play with old school toys is second to none. It’s the moments of play that memories are made of. So put down the modern day tech, and kick it old school to strengthen your connection to your child – we promise, it’s worth it – we have some more ideas on how to connect with your child over here.
So what do you think? Is old school the way to go or are you more of a tech loving parent?
