Toys that Won’t Drive You Crazy: Quality Wooden Toy Roundup

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The Mom Science

Please note, this is Mom science, not actual scientist science. So, the biggest reason wooden toys don’t drive you crazy is because there are no screens, sounds, or buttons that do something, involved. That automatically makes it easier for our brains, overstimulated or not, to process and work around the noise of play. However, there may or may not be an overall lower volume of play though, because sometimes when your kid learns to use their imagination and play, the VROOOOOMS and CHUGGA CHUGGA’S and all of the other sounds of play can get very enthusiastic. I mean, I’m just being honest here. Let’s dig in to the wooden toys that have been long time staples in our home.

Wooden Toys with wheels

The School Bus, and the wooden train are both 5 plus years old, still in great condition and still played with on a regular basis. We have managed to retain all of the pieces of them too. The bus comes with a full cast of wooden characters. The wooden toddler cars are a couple of years old but are the perfect size for toddlers to run around on the floor.

Wooden Stacking Toys

These wooden stacking toys have seen a lot of play too. We did lose one of our rainbow pieces a couple of years in, it broke, but the rest have been going strong for over 5 years. The Hearth and Hand wooden ring stacker has a flexible pole up the middle that lays completely flat when pushed over. Making it hard to poke someone’s eye out in that inevitable stage where babies don’t have very good motor control. The blocks, a classic. They have letters, numbers, pictograms with words and block images for actual structure building. They are super versatile.

Wooden Sorting and Problem Solving Toys

The carrot sorter and the numbered sorter both got daily play for months after they were gifted to my one year old last year. They are still in regular play rotation and she is two now. The busy board with the fasteners is a more advanced toy, for an older two year old through a four year old. This one is newer to us and is not quite age appropriate yet for my two year old.

Open Ended and Imaginative Wooden Toys

These toys are some of my very favorites. Yes, we do have two wooden rocking horses. The balance board. It’s balance board, a slide (pictured), a cradle, a tunnel. It is a very multi use toy. The camera, it has a push button on top, and an eye hole. My kids love this toy. They ‘take pictures’ of each other often. The wooden sword and shield. You can get a set of two swords and two shields for about $40. And they are STURDY. My boys and the neighborhood kids have put these things through so many sword fights and they aren’t even cracked. They are lightweight, easy to handle from probably age 4 and up, and so sturdy. They are a must have for imaginative play.

And last but definitely not least is the thrifted IKEA dollhouse I picked it up for $20. I wanted to gift it to my almost two year old for Christmas. But I didn’t want to give her dollhouse furniture yet. I saw someone draw the rooms onto the walls and was inspired. I had a friend draw the rooms onto scrapbook paper. And then I covered the scrapbook paper in clear contact paper so they couldn’t get ripped. And I used spray adhesive to apply them to the walls. Fabric for rugs, and peg people make it easy for her to play and imagine without dollhouse furniture that she’s not ready for yet.

Links for what I can are below. But I strongly encourage you to check Facebook Marketplace, thrift stores, and other resale sites for what you can. It’s the most affordable way to add wooden toys to your collections. These are the toys that get passed down for generations. Get quality toys that don’t make noise for everyone’s sanity.

Cheers to open ended imaginative play!
Melinda

Helpful affiliate links

School bus with kids and driver – here
Wooden train – here
Wooden toddler cars – here
Wooden ring stacker – here
Stacking rainbow – here
Stacking blocks – here
Carrot sorter – here
Number sorter – here
Busy board with latches – here
wooden rocking horse – here
Balance Board – here
Wooden Camera – here
Swords and shields – here
Dollhouse that you can easily remove furniture if you want to do the walls like I did. – here
Peg people – here

Other posts you may enjoy

Sensory Toys that you and your kids will love – here
How to store Lego so your kids can play and you don’t step on them! – here