Gentle, soft toys are the best type of playthings for babies. The fact that soft toys are adorable, cuddly and tender makes it safe for the infants and babies. Even as children grow, soft toys are their constant companion. This is especially true for girls. They talk, laugh and go to bed with these toys by their side.

Toys, without doubt play an elemental part in the child’s growing years. Soft toys are the favorite of babies and children because of the cuddly feeling they offer. When we say soft toys, the image that immediately spring up in our minds is that of a teddy bear. However, there are many other soft toys apart from teddy bear that are available in the market today.

Soft toys for babies are nowadays made by hand and available in many types of materials. They are available as soft books, play sets and soft blocks. Soft toys are safe for infants, small babies and for children of all ages. Premium quality soft toys are made of high grade, tested materials and are completely non-toxic. Parents do not have to worry about babies biting into these toys during their teething phase as the materials and fabrics used are safe and non-hazardous.

There are many advantages of buying soft toys for your baby. As they are mostly made of fabrics, they can be easily washed when they become dirty. Being light weight and without any sharp or hard parts, they are the best toys for infants and babies. Handmade toys tend to be less expensive than factory made toys. You can get more number of soft toys for your baby in a small budget.

Soft toys, if taken care of properly can last for many years and can retain their excellent condition as well. As they are mostly devoid of any mechanical or electronic parts, there are no issues of malfunction or breakdown that you will ever face with soft toys. It is common to see soft toys handed down to younger children of the family because of the ability to maintain these toys in the new, original form.

Babies being born today are still being given these traditional wooden toys that even my grandparents were playing with. The log cabin kits were my personal favorite wooden toys. You could play with Barbie or Polly Pocket after building different sized cabins. You were definitely missing out if you have never gotten to play with Lincoln Logs! The assortment of different sized miniature wood logs in these kits could be stacked on top of one another because of their specially designed notches at each end of the logs. The notch is really just a deep groove that allows the other log to sit perfectly into it.

These wooden toys were invented back in 1916 but they weren’t mass produced to the public until about 1918. While most people assume these classic toys were named after former president, Abraham Lincoln, they were actually named after the inventor’s father’s middle name! Inventor, John L. Wright, got the design of the Lincoln Logs by looking at an earthquake proof basement structure in Tokyo. All the way up until about 1970 all of the logs included in the kits were wood, but that soon changed. Most manufacturers switched over to plastic because it was cheaper but there are just a few manufacturers left that only produce wooden logs.

Educational wooden toys were also popular at my childhood day care and pediatrician’s office. While at day care I would play with the wooden tic tac toe board, and another wooden toy that had you match up wooden shape pieces into shapes set into a wooden block. Building blocks were also considered a type of educational toy so those were always around too. The building blocks were a little cooler than the Lincoln Logs simply because you weren’t restricted to one or two designs. You could make homes, castles, bridges and many other things with the building blocks.

There are some kits out there for those of you who want more design potential. A variety of homes, including Appalachian homes, can be built with these kits. You may be able to find some classic wooden toys like these in local retail stores but most of these kits can only be found online at certain retailers. You should start looking online though if you want the best selection with these wooden log and building block toys.