Magazine

A muddy toddler wearing yellow rain boots standing in a puddle next to a wooden toy.

Why Most Plastic Backyard Toys Are Trash (And What Actually Lasts)

It was three o'clock on a Tuesday in late July, it was roughly a hundred and two degrees in the shade, and I was standing in my backyard holding a piece of jagged neon green plastic that used to be...

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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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A wooden and crochet rattle sitting on a minimalist nursery rug.

Why Your Plastic Baby Rattle Might Be A Terrible Idea

My mother-in-law brought over a solid silver shaker straight from a jeweler in Delhi. A woman in my mom group swore by a terrifying plastic monstrosity that flashed strobe lights and played generic techno beats. My doctor looked at both...

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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 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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A baby chewing on a silicone panda teether while sitting on a playmat.

The Brutal Truth About Buying Safe Non Toxic Teethers Today

Your mother-in-law is convinced the baby's 102-degree fever and explosive blowout are just teething signs. I've seen a thousand of these exact cases roll through the pediatric triage desk, usually accompanied by a panicked parent holding a drool-soaked infant at...

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A wooden baby rattle next to a digital caliper and a cold cup of coffee

Dear Marcus: Stop Buying Loud Plastic Toys and Read This

Dear Marcus of exactly six months ago, It's 3:14 AM on a Tuesday. You're standing in the dark hallway of your Portland bungalow, clutching a lukewarm bottle of formula, staring at a flashing plastic boombox toy that's aggressively singing "I'M...

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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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A chewed up wooden baby rattle sitting next to a half empty mug of cold coffee

The Truth About Babyspielzeug Holz And Keeping Your Baby Safe

When I was pregnant with Maya, my mother-in-law cornered me at my baby shower holding a terrifying, neon plastic saxophone that played a high-pitched, vaguely demonic version of 'Old MacDonald' and told me it was the best toy ever because...

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