Eco Friendly Baby Toys

Many don’t know that I started babysitting at age 12 and at one point was even a full time nanny. Now that I have two small children of my own, it’s safe to say that I have seen my share of toys. I often hear other mothers complain how expensive wooden or Eco-friendly baby toys are. Though I can’t argue with the fact that they do cost more than your average cheap plastic toy from Walmart., I can say that quality goes over quantity. If you consider the amount of those “cheap plastic” toys that end up in the trash and how much you spend on replacing them, the cost is probably equal if not more. My personal belief is that children, especially babies, don’t need a 100 different types of toys. Though it may seem nice to a have a mountain full of presents to give to your children on their birthday or Christmas, I would rather just give them a few high quality, durable, eco-friendly, non-toxic and safe toys.

Just a quick thought about the company Hevea that I wanted to share. When I was pregnant with #1 I researched several toy and baby companies. Hevea had this simple line on their website which really stuck with me till this day : quality products last longer, save money and reduce waste. 

Hevea Natural Rubber Bath Toys The great thing about their products is that they are 100% natural rubber and don’t have any BPA like your average rubber duck. The great thing about these bath toys too is that there are no holes for water to get in aka mold build up waiting to happen.

Hevea Pacifier Clip This isn’t a toy but I had to mention it. My oldest had it in brown and now #2 has the blue hevea pacifier clip. They are 100% organic cotton which is important since usually the pacifier isn’t the only thing being sucked on. #2 doesn’t use a pacifier anymore but we use it to attach his panda teether to it now. This way he can’t keep throwing it out of the stroller like he would like to :)  Hape Pound Bench with Xylophone We got this pound bench for our #1’s first birthday. He loved it and now #2 (9 months) is playing with it. The great part about this one is that the xylophone is removable. Now that #1 is 3 he doesn’t find pounding to the balls as much fun but still enjoys “making music” with the xylophone. It’s such a great quality and though our boys have definitely given it a beating, it hasn’t shown any signs of wear. Hape Wonder Walker I just read that this walker is from ages 12+ but I have to disagree. We bought this for #1 when he was 10 months old and he loved it. #2 started playing with it from the time he could crawl (6months). He wasn’t using it as a walker at that point but definitely played with all the neat knobs and balls on the side. Now at 9 months he’s pushing it along everywhere.    Hape Play Cube This play cube is definitely more on the expensive side. However, the time my kids have and are still playing with is has been worth every penny. Sit my kids in front of this and I can make dinner, do laundry, and sit on the couch for 5 minute break. When we have other children at our house they are magically drawn to it. A friend of mine had to take her daughter away from this screaming because she refused to stop playing with it:)   Green Toys First Keys No baby would be complete without their own set of keys. Yes, these are made of plastic but of recycled plastic that is non toxic (no BPA, PVC, phthalates).        This list is a work in progress. I’ll continue to update it with many more eco friendly baby toys when I can :)