Listmania! Ten Great Non-Toxic Toys
By GlindaAnother great way to “go green” is to give your child toys that are made out of non-toxic materials. With all the toy recalls, it is becoming tougher than ever to try and figure out which toys are safe for your child. I’m here to give you some toys you can feel good about, because wondering if a toy could possibly harm your child should never be an issue that a parent has to deal with.
All Plan Toys are safe and environmentally friendly. Their wood toys are made out of recycled rubber trees and their paint colors meet all international standards. (Read: Euro standards which are more stringent than US standards. Now why is that, anyway?)
Plan Dancing Alligator Pull Toy
Makes a very fun clickety-clack sound, and kids are fascinated with the way the alligator moves.
Melissa and Doug Cutting Food Box
Kids love playing with pretend food. Even better? Being able to “cut” the pretend food! All Melissa and Doug toys are made with non-toxic paint and wood.
Melissa and Doug See and Spell
Great for beginning spellers, this toy helps them to learn their letters in both tactile and visual ways.
German-made HABA toys are coated with non-toxic laquer. This toy makes a clicking sound that will entertain your baby, and is safe for them to gum.
Melissa and Doug Deluxe Stamp Kit
Your kids can make hundreds of different designs using the washable, non-toxic ink pads.
Made from renewable, sustainable materials, this cute zoo set meets all international safety standards.
Melissa and Doug Band in a Box
Is it loud? Does it make a huge racket? Of course it does! That’s why kids adore musical instruments. This set has a set of cymbals, which is sure to please any young musician. Just make sure you have some ear plugs handy.
This bus opens up to become a classroom with chairs, figures, a blackboard, and books!
Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle
Now I am all for unisex toys, but I have to say this looks freaking awesome.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
My kids have the cutting food box and *love* it! That castle does look pretty cool!!
March 16th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I want the castle for myself!
March 16th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
What Steph said. My son still loves loves loves that cutting food box after two years. We have frequently given it as a birthday present (or the Melissa & Doug pizza or bday cake) and it is always a HUGE hit for some reason.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Great toys, but isn’t it sad that we have to now preface this with “non-toxic”? Would that ever have been something you would have considered, before all the lead-paint infused crap was discovered?
When I was a lass, we had toys that were dangerous, but not from lead (unless you count the ammo in my brother’s BB guns, or the metal in Lawn Darts).
I wish my kids were young enough still for these lovely toys, esp the fold up Princess Castle (that is so beautiful). Wow. The unisex Melissa and Doug castle is also impressive–I may have to order that for my nephews, who are almost 5. They would really love it!
March 20th, 2008 at 2:16 am
We have a few Melissa and Doug wooden toys and puzzles, and I’ve noticed that they are all made in China. My understanding is part of the toy concern is lead based paints, especially from China.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:21 am
@Robyn- This is from the Melissa and Doug company:
Melissa and Doug Toys are free of all toxins and lead based paint.
Melissa & Doug have 6 children themselves, and are very diligent about the safety of every toy they produce. All of the M&D toys are made in China. After the toys are made according to M&D strict standards they are inspected in the Chinese facilities by M&D employees from the United States (this is very important to remember– M&D DO NOT OUTSOURCE the testing of lead based paints and toxins in toys to a 3rd party or to the manufacturer of the toys, they have a team of employees from the US in China full time to do all the actual testing)
Once the toys are brought to the M&D warehouse in Connecticut from China they are tested again (which is not required) by a different set of M&D employees to make sure nothing was contaminated during the shipping process. After 2 stringent quality control procedures the toys are released to stores.
Hope this helps.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Am I the only one who’s blinking over the fact that the Plan Toys wood toys are made from recycled rubber?
April 7th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
@La BellaDonna- Actually, my bad. That should say recycled parts of rubber trees, not just rubber. You know, if you type the word rubber a lot, it just starts sounding really weird.