If you grew up in the eighties or nineties, I’m sure you have a vivid memory of the loud sound plastic blocks make when they hit the solid wooden floor. For a long time toys have been designed using bright neon colors and require AAA-batteries that last a few days. All of this effort to distract your child for a short period of time. Justin and Kathleen Batalden Smith have created the best way to avoid the modern industry that is filled with disposable toys.

Smiling Tree Toys is a quiet fight against modern parenting where disposable means easy, quick and cheap. They believe that the earth doesn’t belong to you, it is lent out to you. They want you to be able to give your children a childhood that is memorable but will be sturdy enough to last generations.

A Forever Toy

Big-box retailers sell you a block that is just well, a cube. Smiling Tree offers a sensory experience when it comes to their Picture Alphabet Blocks and Crate Gift set.

Wood Blocks:

• It’s an experience for your little one, letting them become acquainted with different natural textures and colors.
• There are no artificial dyes or finishes that can be toxic
• The walnut color is a deep chocolate brown while the cherry gives a golden warm color that deepens in the sun overtime.
• They finish their toys with a mixture of organic jojoba oil and beeswax that is locally sourced.
• Your baby’s toys will not have that generic chemical smell; they will feature an earthy scent that is natural and stimulates your child.

Now, as a parent, you don’t have to be concerned about your baby putting their toys in their mouths because you feel confident that there are to toxic finishes that could do your baby any harm.

The toy crate is a simple wooden box that is perfectly designed to fit into the little hands of your child. This can be personalized with your baby’s name. It will grow with your child, going from a simple toy crate to a memory box in the later stages of life.

The Puzzle of Childhood

Every child wants something that they feel belongs to them alone.

The Spell Well Name Puzzle is the perfect choice. The letters have been carefully carved into light maple that sits neatly inside the bard walnut base. It’s a tactile experience for you baby. This is a way of giving your baby the chance to learn their own identity. The back of this puzzle feels like a time capsule, as it is neatly and carefully engraved with their birthdates or a silly nickname.

When you child grows up, they’re not going to remember the robot that flashed for 5 minutes before the batteries inevitably died. They will remember this sentimental Wooden Name Puzzle.

It’s a long-lasting memory, but also a great tool for development as it keeps your babies little mind engaged in a fun and educational way.

The Better Brain Touch

Plastic, flashy toys might distract your child for a little while, but they also lead to over stimulation. Tactile wooden toys allow you child to passively play for an active brain. This is because the toys don’t just get switched on and start flashing or moving about. Your child has to use their brain in order to engage with the toy.

There has been countless research conducted the proves that natural materials have a different effect on the brain that a plastic toy cannot compete with.

In 2021, The University of Helsinki did a study that used EEG to measure the brain activity of infants. The children that were playing with wooden objects had 23% more neutral brain activity in the brains processing cortex.

This increased activity was found to be linked to:

1. The diversity of weights that helps a baby develop strength and spacial awareness.
2. The wood that holds onto body heat, which researchers at Max Planck Institute have carried out, found helps children maintain focus.
3. The grip of the natural materials let babies practice precise finger movements which are beneficial for skills later on in life like writing and drawing.

By choosing these toys over the mainstream plastic toys you’re investing in the development of your baby’s nervous system and brain function.

Going Beyond the Toybox

You need to make the decision to stop spending your hard-earned money on things that are going to end up in a landfill, polluting the earth that your children will grow up on one day.

Toys are not just a mental distraction, they a burden on the environment that your children will inherit. Smiling Tree Toys is an option that is completely biodegradable and become a part of the natural cycle, instead of destroying it.

• There are no microplastics: You do not need to worry about your child ingesting any kind of plastic that would be detrimental to their health.
• Carbon Neutral: Justin and Kathleen created this brand not only for your child, but also to build a brand that centers on putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• No more landfills: Creating something that is seen as a forever toy, so that you don’t have to throw in into the trash in a few years’ time, meaning that your purchase today doesn’t become a probably for the earth in the next few months.

A Root in Business

Smiling Tree Toys is a brand that has set out on a mission. Every toy that they sell plants a tree through the Trees for the Future foundation. They’re not sourcing natural resources and doing nothing to replenish it. They’re actively giving more than they use.

So far, they’ve help plant thousands of trees which have helped people across the globe provide food for their families and give them an income.

Justin and Kathleen are parents themselves. They’ve made it their mission to not lose their integrity during the business growth project. They ensure that their small team has the same goals as they do, ensuring that the people who make the toys are just s happy as the kids that get to play with them.

We live in a world that is consumed by plastic and devices. Everything is fast paced and digital based. You should strive to be the change you wish to see in the world, by giving your child something that they can hold onto one day and eventually pass down to their own children.

Children’s play time should be meaningful. It should be honest and education. The kind of thing that helps them learn and develop the same way we did as children, without the distraction of a flashing screen.

As adults who need their technology for pretty much everything, we also forget that the best things in life aren’t always high-tech, it’s the things around us, the nature that we are surrounded by every second of the day. Toys bought from this company are not just another “thing” that you’ll throw away when your baby decides they don’t like playing with it anymore. They’re planting the seed for a future filled with more meaning.