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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 fΓΌr 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 purΓ©e 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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Babyeco-friendlyHumorParenting Guidewooden toys
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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