The NRDC, among others notes that toxins found in toys related to plastics can interfere with normal sexual development, and may even lead to early onset of puberty.

Collect up any soft plastic toys, toys with older paint (could be lead based), and drop them off at the recycling center. Make sure that friends and family know that your goal is safe holiday toys. Tell them to limit the amount of toys they buy your kids, and also look for toys made with sustainable materials. Instead of plastics, look for wooden toys, toys made from recycled plastics, wool, organic cotton, and other eco-friendly materials.

Additionally encourage friends and family to offer other gifts – i.e. not toys but an outing, or experience, like a play, vs. a toys that may get tossed aside.

Also see…

• Nine Affordable Green Toys for the Holidays
• Well-priced organic toys for baby
• 2008 “10 Worst Toys” List

[image via stock.xchng]

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Ping Pong Catapult – fun outside with some action! This toy is a cool idea for older kids (small parts make it bad for very young children). This natural, non-toxic wooden ping pong catapult is powered by a single rubber band and your kids. Kids lock the ball cup in place, load a ball, and push down on the lever to launch a ball across the yard. The launch is strong enough to toss balls, marshmallows, or acorns through the air but it won’t shoot hard enough to hurt a kid who gets in the way. Kids can even set up targets to aim for.

The Double Playstand Set is on the pricey side, but if you have more than one child or are ok with a summer splurge, it could be worth it due to the versatile fun factor. The set comes with two Playstands, four Play Clips and an Elemental Silk. This is a great outdoor or indoor play space for kids and allows their imagination to run the show. Kids could use this to put on plays, set up house, or just relax in the shade and read or draw.

The Nature Bag is such a great summer-time toy. Sustainable, educational, and way fun. Plus, I like that it’s a good choice for the whole family. The kit includes: a Fair Trade 100% certified organic cotton shoulder bag, an all season activity booklet, 2 leaf viewers, 8 color cards, recycled notepad, recycled pencil, soy based crayons, hemp twine, organic cotton blindfold, and a rubberwood magnifying glass. The kit also comes with various outdoor suggested activities like scavenger hunts, bug searches, and clay imprints.

SUMMER-MINDED TOYS WE’VE SEEN BEFORE:

Brand New Spring Line of Green Toys!

Perfect Summer Recycled Dollhouse Project – OK, NOT a bought toy, but so very cool.

Action Toys without Batteries

Solar Grasshopper Robot Kit

What kinds of toys do your kids like for summer fun?

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Like all Green Toys, this new collection is made with recycled milk jugs. Other new toys include a recycling truck, dump truck, and adorable play tool set. Go see all of them. Oh, and speaking of giveaways, we’ve got one coming up, where you can score green parenting reading material so stay tuned.

Images via Green Toys

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Most likely, not all the toys your kids get this year are going to be perfectly green. First of all, for holidays, you should do the following:

• Encourage family and friends to purchase green toys for you child. Of course, you need to do the same.
• Make sure that handmade, safe, green toys continue to be an option for your child.
• Buy less or give the gift of time over simply giving products to kids.

Not all the tips above work all the time though. Some family members can be a hard sell, and will continue to give your child toys that aren’t so green, and that may not be safe. To protect your kiddos do the following:

• Sign up to receive information about toy recalls.
• Always fill out and return the registration cards that come with toys – many have online registration options. If there is a recall, you’ll be notified.
• Read the label to make sure the toy is age appropriate and check for out of the box broken pieces.
• Thrift store are a good green choice, but one investigation reveals that 63% of thrift stores sell hazardous or recalled items. Be careful, and always check with cpsc or the manufacturer to make sure a thrift store toy hasn’t been recalled.

Stay up to date with current toy news at:

• Leadsafe
• W.A.T.C.H
• Toy Industry Association
• Consumers Union

For more tips read this excellent article; 250+ Lead-Free Toys Made in USA 4 Tips for Finding American Toys This Holiday.

[image via stock.xchng]

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I like the Fair Trade Alpaca Wool Finger Puppets. Super cute, simple, and fun, these little animals won’t cost you an arm and a leg. You can have a triple shot for under $30.

They have lots of adorable animals, so it was hard to choose favorites. I picked three I like, and you can go here to see the rest, and also to see these puppets up close. I choose Monkey, Snake, and Tiger.

Cute; and so many more adorable finger puppets are available. You can also check out the Planet Happy Kids blog.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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Now, I’d be surprised if you knew your comment number, so the winners names are…

Kamber who said: “My 10 month old and I love going for walks. We live close to a park and he loves all the trees around. He can stare for hours, and most of the time he does. My husband and I enjoy telling him about the different trees and he loves it too. We did this last summer when he was a month old, but he’s much more into it now.”

Sarah Flanders who said: “My 7 year old daughter Sarah says that Our family is having a large yard sale. We are using the money for outdoor kids activities like backyard camping, making bird feeders, wreaths from twigs, branches and other things that are on the ground. Planting a kids garden for neighborhood kids. With fruits and vegetables. And a lot of other outdoor activities that my mom has told me about. She is a Girl Scout Leader. I have learned a lot of reuse this and that from her and my family. Brownie Girl Scout – Sarah.”

Jessica who said: “My son who is 3 says “to play with bugs” “and ride bikes.”

Cheryl English who said: “My son Derek age 2, loves to play outside in our fenced in yard. He watches the big fat squirrels climb up and down the trees. He giggles with delight. Nature at it’s best. Gotta love it.”

Congratulations to all our winners! Each of you will receive one of the following thanks to Green Toys:

• Cookware & Dining Set
• Indoor Gardening Kit
• Sand Play Set
• Tea Set

I will email all winners for their addresses; as noted in the rules you do need to be a U.S. resident, and you will need to email me your mailing info within 5 days or I’ll go with the next random number on my list.

Big hugs and kisses to Green Toys for sponsoring this wonderful contest – If you didn’t win, please check out their website to learn more about how you can purchase one of these green toys for your little one. Lastly, thanks to everyone who entered, we’ve loved reading about what your kids and family are doing outside in nature.

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Sand Play Set – super cute and includes a shovel, hand rake, cool sand castle mold, and of course a bucket. Perfect for summer beach fun.

Last, but not least, the adorable Tea Set. I really like this set. If you were setting up a kitchen play station for your little one, this and the Cookware & Dining Set would go great together. The tea set is jam packed with everything your child needs for a fun tea party; well except tea and cakes (you can work on that). The set includes: Tea pot and lid, sugar bowl with lid, a little creamer cup, tiny teacups and saucers, spoons.

Eco benefits of this cookware and dining set (like all Green Toys) include:

• Easy open 100% recyclable packaging made from recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• Made from plastic made from recycled milk containers.
• Locally produced – as in, every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in one place (in this case California).
• Contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.
• Designed without any external coatings – non-toxic, no lead, no icky paint, etc.

Enter to win the sand play or tea set from Green Toys.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[Image via Green Toys]

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In our current Green Toys giveaway, one of the prizes up for grabs is the very cool Indoor Gardening Kit.

I LOVE this set. It comes with the most adorable pea pod shaped planting tray, 3 planting pots, a trowel, soil, and organic Teddy Bear Sunflower, Zinnia, and Basil seeds. This is really the most perfect little starter set for your tiny gardener.

Eco benefits of this cookware and dining set (like all Green Toys) include:

• Easy open 100% recyclable packaging made from recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• Made from plastic made from recycled milk containers.
• Locally produced – as in, every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in one place (in this case California).
• Contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.
• Designed without any external coatings – non-toxic, no lead, no icky paint, etc.

Enter to win this great gardening set from Green Toys.

See more about the equally cool Cookware & Dining Set.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[Image via Green Toys]

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My favorite toy set is the Cookware & Dining Set. As a kid, I had a toy kitchen and it was one of my favorite toys ever. I played that toy to death. It encouraged me to do all sorts of other things like create pretend menus with old magazines, open pretend restaurants with my siblings, and bake up fancy clay cakes. Really I think every kid needs a toy kitchen and this cookware and dining set is the perfect accompaniment to any imaginative and green kitchen.

The set comes with:

• Stock pot & lid
• Skillet (I love the skillet)
• 4 place settings including silverware, plates, cups, and bowls.

My mom just gave me a mismatch of old dishes for my kitchen set – which was good, but I would have loved a matching set like this. The colors of this set are just beautiful too.

Eco benefits of this cookware and dining set (like all Green Toys) include:

• Easy open 100% recyclable packaging made from recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• Made from plastic made from recycled milk containers.
• Locally produced – as in, every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in one place (in this case California).
• Contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.
• Designed without any external coatings – non-toxic, no lead, no icky paint, etc.

Enter to win this cookware and dining set from Green Toys.

By the way, if you’re looking for a good green kitchen to go with this cookware and dining set, Plan Toys a leader in greener toy options has the most beautiful new children’s play kitchen sets available in July.

Check out the refrigerator, kitchen center, and dishwasher! Amazing right.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[Image via Green Toys & Plan Toys]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Here are some ideas.

Buy natural, non-toxic, Fair Trade toys: We don’t do this 100% (Cedar loves Legos) but the more you can do this, the better for the environment and your child’s health.

Limit sets: One large problem seems to be sets. At least in my experience. Kids don’t just collect one set of toys; they collect Barbie, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Little People and more all at once. Of course kids tastes change, so this is a tricky issue, however, you can say, “No more sets!” especially if it’s clear that your child has fun with the sets he or she has. Example. Cedar loves Legos, Cedar loves K’NEX, Cedar loves magnet building sets, and usually some other sets too. It’s a little much. What we did was ask people to quit buying him sets. If he gets a new add-on set, it’s always Legos, because time and time again he takes out his Legos over other sets. We don’t ban sets completely but he can’t have huge collections of all sorts of sets. One major set collection is enough for any child.

Buy used or join a toy trading group: There’s nothing wrong with used toys and they cost less. Just make sure there hasn’t been a recall.

Encourage active outdoor play: This will solve more than the toy issue. It’ll limit obesity in youth, health issues like diabetes, and more. Not to mention, it will help your child to appreciate the outdoors. Get out there with your child too. Buy, build, or otherwise locate toys that help to encourage fun outdoor time – a Frisbee, trike, sandbox, tire swing, balls, chalk, and more can help your child to be more active.

Encourage creative play: Kids still love playing with boxes, sand, and dressing up in your old clothes just as much as kids in the past did; we miss it, because kids don’t have to play with this stuff. But they should. Tents with blankets, pretend plays, dancing, and more are fun for kids.

Frown on toy overload: Cedar has so many toys it’s insane. I hate it. He doesn’t get them from us, he gets them from relatives. We’ve been going through them and giving many away. We continually talk with the relatives about limiting toys , because he doesn’t need all of them, and honestly doesn’t even use them, and it’s finally (seven years later) starting to sink in, but it’s been a HUGE battle.

As a baby, we could give things away before Cedar ever saw them, now that’s tough. Since, “Please don’t buy him more than one gift per holiday” doesn’t work, Cedar’s dad and I have changed tactics to saying things like:

• “Holy smokes, does Cedar ever LOVE art supplies.”
• “He told me he wanted this new book… “
• “He’d like this game (name game).”

We offer ideas like the ones above in hope that relatives will not buy him yet another useless plastic toy – it works about half the time.

Whatever happened to games?: Play games. Games are good. Games last. Games equal togetherness which is better than solo play. Also, in my experience, games encourage less of a need for other sorts of toys. You can play games that require no purchase, like hide & go seek, treasure hunt, or guessing games, or you can play bought games. Cedar and I play at least four plus games per day on a normal day, usually more. The best part is I like games; I do not like playing with little cars or Batman figures.

For some healthy toy shop options visit the National Green Pages.

You can also enter to win some green toys right here at Tree Hugging Family.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family