First I'll tell you I'm not a mother. I don't have friends or relatives with children. So I don't have first hand experience with toys. But I do believe that it is very important for children to be brought up to be healthy and creative individuals, for they will be building the future of our species and our world.

I first became interested in natural toys more than twenty years ago when I was looking for alternatives to plastic toys (see Toxic Toys? No Thank You! for more on the dangers of plastic toys). Because children's bodies are much more susceptible to toxic chemical exposure, it is especially important for the things in their environment to be safe and natural. Twenty years ago it was difficult to find natural toys, but like everything else natural, interest has increased so dramatically that--while there are still not natural toy stores in most communities--natural playthings are easy to come by on the internet (see Debra's List: Babies & Kids: Toys).

I also have been enchanted over the years every time I go to a natural toy website. So I want to introduce this magic to you, with hopes that you will introduce it to the children in your life.

Natural Play

Most natural toy websites choose their products around the concept of natural play.

Play is essential for children. It's how they develop control of their bodies, learn to experience the world, and develop social skills. They also learn life skills through play, such as counting apples while playing grocery store.

The concept of play actually has a definition. Researchers agree that for an activity to be considered play it must
* be pleasurable and enjoyable
* be spontaneous and voluntary (children should chose their own play)
* be actively engaging rather than passively watching
* contain an aspect of make believe (thereby developing their ability to create for themselves)
* occur for the sake of play only.

I look at this list and think, "What a great preparation for life!" Seeing this definition for the first time got me thinking about how I could play more in my own life.

Natural Toys

All of the natural toy websites sell toys made from natural materials, such as sustainably forested woods hand painted with vegetable, water based or beeswax finishes, or hand made from natural fibers. Many are imported from Europe--particularly from Germany--but some natural toys are now being made by small family toymakers in America.

Many natural toys were developed for play in Waldorf Schools. Waldorf School was developed in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, scientist and artist. Mr. Steiner had a natural ability to perceive the spiritual realities behind the world of our physical senses, and used these abilities to develop a method of investigating spiritual realities in a scientific way. He called this anthroposophy or spiritual science.

Anthroposophy is a human-oriented spiritual philosophy, not a religion. It is based on an understanding that the human is a being of body, soul and spirit. It has as its core the development of the spiritual nature of individuals with spiritual freedom being the goal. From this spiritual viewpoint, Mr. Steiner developed a perspective about life that touched many fields, including natural science, history, the arts, architecture, medicine, and agriculture. Various movements have developed to apply these perspectives in a practical way, the most well-known among them being bio-dynamic agriculture and Waldorf Schools.

Children in Waldorf Schools are given a curriculum that allows them to learn basic fundamentals about life. They are taught to appreciate the essence of each human being as members of humanity and world citizens, a basic reverence for nature and trust that the world is basically and interesting and good place to live, and how to understand and relate to the world through development of their artistic awareness. As they grow older, they are encouraged to use their own observations and experiences to learn about the world. The goal of Waldorf School is to enable students to freely choose experience their own individual path through life as adults (to learn more, visit Waldorf Answers, a website compiled and written by Waldorf parents and students, with many links to other Waldorf sites).

Many of the toys sold on natural toy websites were developed specifically for Waldorf School play, or are based on the Waldorf philosophy. So they are respectful of the child's creativity and designed to draw out a child's creative imagination rather than to impress ideas upon the child. We all have a natural desire to experience, explore, and discover things for themselves, and children are no different. Their toys should encourage this exploration of life.

I also find natural toys to be exceptionally aesthetically pleasing. As toys are some of the first impressions of the world that babies and young children receive, wouldn't it be better to surround them with beauty rather than plastic? A wooden rattle, for example, comes from a living tree, and has a warmth, softness, uniqueness, and aliveness to it that plastic does not have. I know I can sense this difference between natural and synthetic materials, and I believe children can too.

Natural toys cost more, but in the long run have better value. They are made to be heirloom quality to be passed from generation to generation, or from child to child. And you don't need a lot of toys. Remember, a child attention is in a very small sphere. They only need a few playthings in the world of their imagination.

Types of Toys

I want to take you on a little tour of what you'll find on a natural toy website, for at first it may seem like a strange world. It's certainly different from our modern industrial consumer toy store!

Here's what you'll find...

Stuffed dolls and animals. These come in a wide assortment of animal and other whimsical other shapes, as well as baby and child dolls. Human dolls come with different skin colors to represent all the colors of humanity. Some are stuffed with wool, that warms when it is cuddled.

Play house and play grocery store. These toys teach the child about everyday life skils while they play. Toys include everything from wooden cabinets to food and utensils.

Wooden figurines. These are life-like representations of animals, trees, people and other things of life, made of painted wood. They include fairy tale and legendary characters and royalty, to aid children in creating and telling their own stories.

Props. All manner of things are sold to be used as props as the child creates their own stories: capes, crowns, fancy slippers, magic wands, etcetera. (Props needn't be store-baught. In Waldorf kindergartens children are given sticks, silk scarves, shells, rocks, and planks of wood as props for their own creations.)

Playsilks. These are simply long lengths of silk in various bright and neutral colors, some decorated with designs such as starry nights. Children use play silks to transform themselves into fairies, dancers, skydivers, gypsies, or whatever they want to be. A simple silk scarf can be rolled up to make a pretend doll, tied on for a cape, become a knights belt, a pirate hat, angels wings, or whatever the child can imagine.

Games, puzzles, and building blocks. These are usually made of wood and often brightly colored with natural finishes.

Cooperative board games. These are designed for children to play as friends, rather than opponents. They help each other do things like climb a mountain, make a community, bring in the harvest, complete a space exploration...where they win through everyone helping their fellow players.

Art supplies. These are all-natural materials, including colored pencils and beeswax crayons. Colored modeling beeswax is used as an alternative to plastic clay to make any shape your child can imagine.

A World of Imagination

Natural toys invite children into a world of living nature, teach them skills, and develop their inherent creativity, all while using materials that are safe for health and the environment. It's a world worth exploring...

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