If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. You can subscribe via RSS reader or email (right). Thanks for visiting!

Girls everywhere and some boys too, love to play with dolls. Just take a stroll down the doll aisle at WalMart and you will see what a big business it is…Barbies, Bratz, Cabbage Patch, dolls that swim , and dolls that eat…there are so many options. What most parents may not consider when walking down that aisle is that many of these dolls are toxic. They are often made of dangerous plastics that have PVC and/or Phthalates which can cause numerous health issues. They are often times not recyclable and for something with a short life span as far as quality goes, this is a sad thing. Add to that the fact that advertisements are convincing our girls that they have to have ALL these dolls you could end up with dozens of dolls that are neither safe or planet friendly. So how can we do better? There are many cloth options, organic options, and safer plastic options so there is something for everyone. Here are a few of the ones I discovered in my research.

But here are some questions to ask yourself. Is this doll made of unsafe plastics or vinyl? Can it be recycled or composted eventually? If it is made of cloth what type of fill is it stuffed with? Plastic or cloth based? Is this a quality doll that will last or one that may need to be discarded a year or two from now?

The first doll I want to highlight is probably one of the Cadillac dolls and the price reflects that. I am not sure I would spend over $100 on a doll but if you have the money then Bamboletta might be for you. She is pure and natural from head to toe with cotton interlock ’skin’ and clean, carded wool stuffing. She is handcrafted and inside the tummy of each are three crystals – quartz, fluorite and carnelian – placed there to help produce a calming and grounding effect upon children. Available for $135.00 CAD.

A much more affordable alternative would be the soft Ole doll by Haba. They are sooo cute and colorful I think I want one. Ole is the a boy doll with removable clothes for pretend play fun. He has beautiful blond/red hair and his facial features are very nicely stitched on. He has a padded body, chenille hair, cotton/polyester and velour clothes. He can be washed by hand and air dried. He also has some cute friends: Phil, Souri, Lukas, and my personal fave Lilli. You can see a picture of them at the top of this post. Available for $35-45.99.

Another good option is a Waldorf inspired doll like this Waldorf Fortune Fairy Flippippi and her friends. Waldorf dolls are all made of natural materials such as wool, cotton stockinet and quartz sand. Available for $85.99.

Planet Pixies are soft dolls as well. Kayla looks kind of like Tinkerbell with blondish-pink hair. My daughter would love her. Planet Pixies are made with all natural and organic cotton fabrics and packaged in 100% post consumer recycled packaging. They also have a great story to go with them  and in fact NEED your help as Pixies everywhere are losing their homes due to pollution, deforestation, and global warming. Check out Maya too. Planet Pixies are available for $24.99.

Up next is Jayden Earth Girl and Raji Earth Boy. They are the ultimate in heirloom quality rag dolls and each doll is lovingly handcrafted in the USA from the highest quality natural and recycled materials. Their thick hair is made from cotton. The skin is made from hemp. The soft stuffing is made from recycled plastic containers (although I would prefer cotton or wool). Each doll comes with a backpack, inside you will find a Hope Tree (Douglas Fir) for your child to plant. How fun! And they need to be hand washed an air dried. The Earth Kids are available for $68.00.

Oh and I LOVE this one… a Nursing Mama doll with Baby in Sling. How cute is that?! This adorable pair is handcrafted and made with 100% organic cotton throughout. The yarn and fabric are hand dyed using only eco-friendly dyes from flowers, roots, barks and berries. A nursling toddler would love to have this doll I am sure! Available for $75.

Another soft doll that is just adorable is the Corolle Babicorolle Sorbet Melodie. I have a pink hair thing I think. Yes, I have always wanted pink hair. Melodie is pretty in pink, soft, and a perfect gift because she comes in a shoe-box style package could then double as her bed. Available for $26.99.

A safer plastic option is the Keptin-Jr Organic Girly baby doll. The soft body is made with organic cotton and filled with pure wool, while the head, arms and legs are constructed of a phthalate free vinyl. Available for $50.

For small dolls that you can put in doll houses there are not plastic options like this Doll Family by Plan Toys. The family has solid wooden heads and soft wire bodies that can bend and flex into any position. With movable arms and legs, they come dressed in colorful clothes. The doll family includes father, mother and two children and they are made of natural, chemical free recycled rubberwood and finished with non-toxic water based dyes. There are also several ethic families too. The doll families are $18.99.

Magnetic dolls are a new favorite in our house. We have several Melissa and Doug sets of Magnetic dress up dolls including Nina Ballerina and Princess Elise. They are wooden dolls that can be dressed in magnetic clothes… shoes, hats, dresses, skirts, ect. They are a lot of fun. Woodkins are also very similar.

I hope this list gives you some options for safer and more natural dollies for your little ones!

Also make sure to check out my 2008 Green Christmas Gift Guide & my Top Ten Green and Natural Toys for Toddlers.

The winner of the $100 Plan Toys Giveaway is….. commenter #39…amom. She was chosen via random.org. Congrats!!!

If I had to pick my two favorite green and natural toys of the moment they would be from Plan Toys and from Haba. I imagine these are going to be pretty hot Christmas toys this year and they have something in common…a little click, clack.

The Click Clack is an instant classic for natural toys. It features vibrant colors and a soft click clack sound, that delights children as they watch the ball roll down the front of the board. Like ALL Plan Toys this particular toy incorporates thoughtful design and age-appropriate challenges to empower children, encourages social interaction, promotes natural learning, creative play and rewards discovery. It is made of recycled rubberwood and painted with non-toxic dyes. You can purchase via Amazon.com for $35.00. And slightly cheaper at KangarooBoo.

The Click Clack Ball Track is from Haba. The red ball zips down the Click Clack turbo track, the blue one takes the chatter track. Click-clack they drop down a level! On the way there are things to watch and hear: kaleidoscope, mirror and little bells. A classic game with fun castle-like center pillar. Made of untreated beach wood. Colored parts are nontoxic water-based paint.

If you are looking for more, check out my Top Green Christmas Toys guide.

I am seriously in love with Plan Toys…they ae so darn cute and so earth friendly how could I not be? My son has several of the little wooden cars, trucks, and cranes. I just love the little wooden people too.  They remind me of weebles (remember those?) but made of sustainable materials.

One of their newest toys would appeal to my daughter… a wooden tea set. This is so adorable! Just look at those wooden tea bags!

The set includes:

• a teapot
• a sugar bowl
• a milk pitcher
• 2 tea cups
• 2 saucers
• 2 tea spoons
• 2 tea bags
• 2 pieces of sugar

Made of natural, chemical free recycled rubberwood and finished with non-toxic water based dye. My daughter would be over the moon for this.

Only $24.99 available at Kangaroo Boo.

Guess what? Today is my birthday. I am 31 years young today.

So in honor of that I thought I would highlight one of my favorite natural toys from Melissa and Doug…the Birthday Party toy.

This really cool wooden birthday cake pretend-play set includes a lovely cake with 6 slices, removable candles and toppings, and a cake server. It is colorful and exciting for little ones…especially ones that like playing with pretend food, doing tea parties, and generally love a good birthday party. This set provides hours of imaginative play.

All of the pieces fit into a wooden box (love that common feature with Melissa and Doug) making storage easy. We have several of these boxes and they can stacked on top of each other. It has 34 fun pieces total. And of course it is made of wood and finished with nontoxic paint.

Also see the Pizza Party set. They are only $17.99 each at KangarooBoo!

Children today are used to the more technical toys that are designed to “do” something. Many of these toys simply entertain them and have little to no practical or educational value. With these toys, you can push a button to make them walk, talk, or light up. The flashy lights and noises mesmerize but are these good toys for them to have?

Children have a natural desire to explore, discover, and experience things for themselves. Your child should have the ability to create their own play experience. This means that that the toy should involve your child in the actual playing. It should not be a situation where your child is simply a passive participant that only gets to watch the play happening… toys that encourage your child to use their imagination to create the play activity. When children are allowed to use unstructured toys, their creativity is nurtured. Research has noted that these types of toys encourage children to be problem solvers by promoting the well known theory of “out-of-the-box” thinking.

Another thing to think about is the materials that the toys your children play with are made out of. Some of these materials present certain images for your child. Young children and babies are in the beginning of learning about the world around them. It is an important thing to provide them with toys that give a better image of the world. For example, a wooden rattle is made from nature. It comes from a living thing. This is something that the synthetic made toys can not compare to. Wooden toys have more texture, they are warmer, and every toy is unique. Your child will notice that there is a definite difference between the two. This will happen when they manipulate, touch, and play with the toys. I just love to run my fingers over little wooden toys… how about you? There is just something magical about them.

Plastic or synthetic toys are normally single purpose. These types of toys lead overconsumption. The advertising for the synthetic or plastic toys leave children feeling dissatisfied and wanting more. These toys leave much to desire. They do not allow for much imagination when playing with them. They are designed to be more of a disposable thing than a long lasting play thing. Many children only play with these types of toys just a couple times. I think all parents know this from experience. The gimmicky, commercialized, plastic, hot toy of the moment becomes boring after a short time. Many of these toys are then thrown away or quickly donated to make room for more of the same. When these toys have outlived their few plays, they are added to the pile of toys that are useless and not played with. If you have gone to very many garage sales, you will understand.

All this is doing is teaching your child that when something is boring that they should throw it away. This should not be the case. With natural or wooden toys, your child will see the creative value and insist on playing with them over and over. One of these toys is building blocks. Simple wooden building blocks are a great gift and can be used to make just about anything. Blocks, as simple as they are, teach so many things. Building a block structure takes balance, imagination, creativity with different designs and patterns. Physically it helps with dexterity and strength their fingers and hands, and it improves their eye-hand coordination. They are also so proud of their creations. Take some pictures of their creations and help them create a photo journal to record all of their inventions and accomplishments as mini architects.

Legos are another toy that I like. They are plastic but they are built to last. My 7 year old son has never received Legos of his own, yet he has a huge box of them from his Uncle (my younger brother). He plays with them quite often. They are also easy to find at yard sales.

Another awesome toy is a simple playsilk. Playsilks can be used as a flag, a fairy skirt, a tea party tablecloth, a boat sail, a veil or headwrap, a curtain, a sarong, or a doll sling or hammock. Give them the basic raw materials and see what they can create!

There are also some really good toy companies that make simple, open ended, high quality, natural toys. Here are some of the toys we like in our family:

Little Amsterdam blocks by Haba – This 166 piece set allows for hours of building, stacking, and creating cityscapes. The wooden blocks contain arches, half domes, windows, and many more shapes so that little homes and urban cities can be made. Beautiful colors and non-toxic paint.

Sticki Giant Fit Together Building Blocks – These are classic…just like the ones I had when I was little but with a cool twist. They have nubs on top and holes on the bottom, these blocks can actually be fitted together rather than just stacked. They have multiple coats of natural, water-based, non-toxic paint. These are made to last! Also check out the Haba Bausteine Eene, Meene, Zoo blocks I reviewed for younger kids.

Sometimes though, kids just want BIG blocks so they can create more life size structures. My sons LOVE these Jumbo Cardboard Blocks from Melissa and Doug. These jumbo blocks look like bricks but they aren’t heavy so when a mini Godzilla knocks them down no one will get hurt and furniture will remain unscathed.

Do you remember those plastic spheres that you pushed plastic shapes through? Well here is a wooden version. Very cool… Shape & Sort It Out. Put the blocks through, open the lid to take the blocks out, and then start over again.

For game lovers why not try Domino Rally. Build the domino track, and then tumble it down with one tiny push of the marble! You can also add on to this set with other ball track sets. Domino runs are educational and they help children develop hand eye coordination and problem solving skills.

I also love all the pretend toys they have at KangarooBoo. My younger son has some of these sets.

It was hard to break the cheap plastic toy habit but one thing has really helped is not taking my kids with me on non-grocery shopping trips. If they see all the flashy toys they will want them. When I want to get them a special toy I will take them to a local homeschool store that has a huge Melissa and Doug toy and puzzle collection or I will let them browse a Plan Toys or Haba catalog. Just recently my two older kids fell in love with some Melissa and Doug toys they played with at the library so we ended up ordering them from Amazon. Natural toys do cost more than what you can buy at Wal-Mart most times but they last longer and the extra expense makes it easier to make sure they aren’t filling their rooms with useless toys.

So do you have any natural toy favorites? Share them!

Also these other articles of mine: Green Toys and Lead Free Toys.

Cool Toy Alert!

My two year old recently got a set of blocks from the inventive people at ImagiPLay, and it is already becoming a fast favorite. Bausteine Eene, Meene, Zoo Haba blocks. It is a collection of 25 wooden blocks shaped like fun and colorful zoo animals. Both my two year and four year enjoy playing with them, stacking them, and making all sorts of odd new creatures.

This toy encourages: stacking and building, fine motor skills, and spatial thinking. Perfect for the inquisitive mind. Much better than a toy with many bells and whistles that merely entrances them and doesn’t “involve” them.

Best of all it is a natural wood toy with natural, water-based, non-toxic paint. Haba is also well known for their quality toys crafted to withstand years or even generations of play. They are also a company with a lot of environmental consciousness.

Buy Bausteine Eene, Meene, Zoo Haba blocks at KangarooBoo.

Just as a new feature I am going to start highlighting some of the awesome new toys for natural kids that I come across. Today I want to highlight a great new toy for toddlers from Plan Toys, one of my favorite toy companies, Hammer Balls!

This new toy is is basically a natural rubberwood block with slots for three balls. Kids fit the balls into the slots and hammer them until they release on the underside. A hammer comes with it. This is a great toy for improving hand-eye coordination (aligning, slotting, aiming), combined with all the fun of hammering. What toddler doesn’t like to hammer on things??? I know my 2 year old one does! I also like the fact that the balls just fall onto a shelf or path on the underside of the block so that you don’t have to worry about your furniture getting hammered.

It is made with natural, chemical free, recycled rubberwood and finished with non-toxic water based dye all from a green company.

Available at KangarooBoo for only $17.90!