I’ve found some wonderful, sturdy wooden toys that my baby seems to love so much more than any of his others. Here are some companies I like:
Mossy Creek Woodworks
They make rattles and ducks and my personal favorite, a baby clacker. Your baby will squeal with joy when she figures out how to make it clack, and we can rest easy when she chews on it knowing it comes from locally harvested reclaimed wood with no harmful paint or finish.
Another great manufacturer is Maine Toys. From their website:
“Our wooden toys are best known for the quality of their craftsmanship. The primary material is white pine, and every board of wood is carefully selected to show off its natural beauty and grain. The completed wooden toy is finely sanded to a satin smooth natural finish
In designing and building our toys, safety, simplicity, and durability are the main considerations. In manufacturing we make sure that all joints are solidly glued, that corners and edges are well rounded, and all surfaces are sanded smooth and feel soft and pleasant to touch. No artificial finishes are applied to our wooden toys, except to the sailboat and the “executive desk toys” and games, thus reducing concern about toxic substances going into a child’s mouth.
We believe that toys intended for children should be non-violent and simple in design, leaving the child to use his or her own imagination (instead of a battery) to fill in whatever details are needed at the time of play. Only those wooden toys aimed at older kids (adults) are designed with extra details.”
We especially love the helicopter!