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eco-friendlyplaytimesafety tipsToddlerwooden toys
A wooden indoor jungle gym for toddlers set up on a vegan leather play mat in a Portland house.

Ranking the best indoor jungle gym for toddlers as a new dad

My 11-month-old’s left big toe was wedged firmly into the cooling vent of my PlayStation 5 while his right hand maintained a white-knuckle death grip on the edge of the media console. He was attempting to scale the living room...

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A toddler playing with a wooden block set on a living room rug.

Why we finally switched to holz kinderspielzeug (wooden toys)

It was a Tuesday. 6:14 AM. Leo was three, Maya was basically a blob, and I was holding a cold mug of coffee while wearing a stained Nirvana t-shirt I’ve owned since college. I was staring at our living room...

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educational toysparenting humoursensory playsustainabletoddlerwooden toys
A minimalist toddler room with a few wooden blocks and a very tired mom holding a giant coffee cup.

What I wish I knew about spielzeug für kleinkinder back then

I was sitting dead center on the rug in our tiny apartment living room, wearing yoga pants that I’m pretty sure had crusty sweet potato purée smeared on the left thigh from three days prior, just staring blankly at a...

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Two toddlers playing with wooden shape sorters on a living room rug

Why Wooden Toys for a 1-Year-Old Might Actually Save Your Sanity

It's 5:42 am on a Tuesday, and I'm currently staring at a plastic farm animal that has been singing the same off-key rendition of 'Old MacDonald' for fourteen consecutive minutes. Maya has her tiny foot firmly planted on the cow...

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Baby toysdevelopmentparenting humoursensory playteethingwooden toys
A tired dad holding a wooden baby rattle while twin infants sit on a neutral playmat.

The newborn rattle timeline from potato stage to blunt force trauma

I was standing in the kitchen at 4am, holding a plastic object that resembled a neon torture device, trying to work out why my three-week-old daughters were actively ignoring it. It was a Tuesday. Or possibly a Thursday. Time becomes...

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A tired dad holding a wooden baby toy and a coffee cup

A letter to past Tom regarding the babyrassel aus holz trend

Dear Tom from eighteen months ago. You're currently standing in the kitchen of the flat in Highbury at 3:14 in the morning, holding a bag of frozen peas against Florence’s surprisingly robust forehead while Matilda screams from the other room...

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A simple wooden baby rattle resting on a crumpled organic cotton blanket.

What I wish I knew about the holz babyrassel as a first toy

I was sitting on my living room floor at three in the morning, staring at a battery-operated plastic cow that was playing a distorted, low-battery version of a nursery rhyme on a terrifying loop. My son Dev was screaming. The...

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Priya sitting on a rug surrounded by wooden blocks and organic cotton baby gifts.

Why buying nachhaltige kindergeschenke almost broke my spirit

I was sitting on the floor of my Chicago apartment at eleven at night, staring at a singing plastic dog that smelled vaguely of gasoline. It was the aftermath of my son's first birthday party. The living room looked like...

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baby toyseducational toysparenting humoursustainabletoddlerwooden toys
Two toddlers attempting to eat a wooden block while a tired dad watches

A Letter to Past Me About the Reality of Wooden Toys

Dear Tom of six months ago, You're currently standing in the nursery, aggressively arranging a set of aesthetically pleasing, neutral-toned blocks on a floating shelf. You're exhausted, operating on perhaps four cumulative hours of sleep, but you're deeply smug. You've...

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