Toddlers love to mouth, teeth, and fiddle with pretty much anything and everything in their vicinity. These mischievous teething toys bundles of joy make our hearts flutter with their adorable antics, and I can’t help but want to make their playtime as fun and safe as possible.
Teething toys are essential to soothe babies’ gums when their teeth start growing. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with harmful plastic products made of toxic chemicals and hard surfaces that often do irreversible damage to your baby’s health.
My mission is not to scare you with detailed descriptions of health hazards but instead provide you with some wonderful recommendations your toddler will absolutely love! These teething toys are non-toxic and incredibly fun!
Wooden Rattle Teether
What’s better than one baby toy? 2 baby toys packed in one! Babies love the jingle of bells and the rattling sound. You will absolutely not have to fear your toddler ever getting bored of this toy. Plus, this versatile toy is made of safe natural beech wood and sealed with organic coconut oil and beeswax.
Banana Teething Toothbrush
This mini brightly colored banana is a sure-shot winner. Your babies wont be able to hide their amusement using this banana teether as it not only functions as a toy but also doubles as a toothbrush. Use this to train your baby to grasp a toothbrush’s sensation even before growing teeth! We personally love this design, and 100% recommend it!
Elephant Organic Teething Comforter
Babies love snuggling up all cozy with their comforters (only second to their parent’s warm embrace), and we must admit. This toy is absolutely brilliant, combining two comforting objects to guarantee a happy, content, and comfortable experience for your toddler. Plus, don’t you just adore this cute design?
Kale Teether
I think all of us parents can agree that we most definitely don’t want our toddlers to grow up to be picky eaters! This kale teether will familiarise your baby with those oh-so-icky green vegetables while providing relief with its extra soft material. Honestly, food-shaped teethers are so fun and colorful that we can’t help but recommend them all!
Star-Shaped Suction Cup Teether
Now can we just take a moment to admire this adorable and fun star shape that will most definitely assist in imaginative developmental play. Not only that, but it is also textured with suction cups that soothe gums better, and it comes with a hole to attach a pacifier clip which you can easily attach to your baby’s clothes! We are sure this will become your baby’s favorite toy instantly!
Wooden Ring Teether
Finally, we have this wonderfully crafted wooden ring teether! This is the perfect toy to let your toddler fiddle with and teeth as it provides them with lots of sensory-driven entertainment. This teether is made of food-grade silicone and untreated, solid wood and is perfect for developing motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
What Makes Your Baby’s Toy Toxic?
You need to keep a few pointers in mind while shopping for your toddler’s playthings. It is crucial not to expose them to harmful materials in these early developmental stages, wherein they are especially vulnerable.
- Avoid Toys That Contain Phthalates and BPA
A lot of times, companies don’t even mention the fact that they use phthalates. Instead, they guise it under the label of ‘parfum’ and ‘fragrance.’ Keep a look out for these labels as phthalates bind scents to plastics to make them more pliable.
- Paints, stains, and varnishes can be highly toxic to your babies.
Wooden toys may seem non-toxic, but they are often coated with toxic paints and varnishes to make them look more appealing. These paints contain lead and arsenic, which are most definitely harmful to your toddlers. Ensure that the wooden toys are instead painted with plant and water-based pigments.
- Also, avoid cadmium and latex.
Cadmium is known to cause developmental issues but, fortunately, it is almost exclusively found in metal coatings on poor-quality toys. As long as you avoid them, your baby will be fine.
Latex is a common allergen and could be contaminated with nitrosamines which can then lead to rashes. So, do keep latex toys away from your babies.
- Look for toys made of rubber, organic cotton, untreated wood, and food-grade, medical-grade silicone.
As long as you remember these points, your toddler toys shopping list is good to go! It is of utmost importance to safeguard their health while also providing them with optimum fun and joy, and these recommendations will most certainly help you out!