My 5 Favorite Safe & Eco Friendly Gifts for Toddlers

As we constantly try to protect our children’s health, reducing their exposure to dangerous chemicals cannot be limited to food and skin care products.

Thousands of toddler toys contain scary chemicals (BPA, phthalates, lead, cadmium, PVC and even arsenic) that can cause cancer, ADHD, autism, endocrine disruptions and other serious health issues.

Finding natural, safe and eco-friendly gifts for toddlers is especially important because toddlers are far more susceptible than adults to the ravages of these toxins:

• Their skin absorbs toxins more easily
  They engage in much more hand-mouth activity.

(My 4-year-old still licks toy parts for fun, don’t ask me why)

Every year, just before Christmas, I dive in and start researching the best gifts for toddlers which are all natural, safe and eco-friendly.

Add to that our passionate desire to stay away from blinking light, loud noise-making and battery-requiring toys – this is a very challenging mission.

This year I want to share my findings with you and hopefully save you a lot of time (and stress).

Here are my 5 favorite safe toddler gifts, guaranteed to light the little ones’ imagination and creativity, rather than encouraging passivity:

5 Safe, Eco-Friendly Gifts for Toddlers

1. Grimm’s Extra Large Wooden 12-Piece Rainbow Stacker

Grimm’s extra large wooden rainbow stacker is a beautiful natural toy, hand-made in Germany.

The toy is cut from a single solid piece of linden wood.

The largest part is giant, and there are so many ways this toy can stimulate the cute recipients’ imagination.

It’s a stacker, it’s a puzzle and the pieces can be used as tunnels, bridges, fences, beds and much more (you’ll need a child’s imagination to for that…).

My son received this toy from my mother for his third birthday and loved it. He and his older brother play with it everyday making caves, towers, mountains, fortresses and what not.

It is amazingly well made; it might be the only toy that survived their rough playing.

Ages – from 18 months to adults (I would actually really want one of these).

Size – it measures 14.4″ long, 7.1″ high and 2.9″ deep.

Safety: Made from natural wood, painted with certified non-toxic, child safe water based stains.

Accessories: Grimm’s accessories for this toy go very well with it, consider Rainbow Friends Peg Dolls, Small Dwarf Dolls, Giant Marbles, Lavender Dolls and more.

Amazon rating – 3.8 out of 5

Price – it’s a bit on the expensive side, but it’s a great, safe and eco-friendly gift for both toddler boys and girls that will keep for years.

Check Amazon’s Price Today

2. Hape – Pound & Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophon

The Hape Pound & Tap Bench is the #1 best seller in hammering and pounding toys on Amazon, and for great reasons:

Any toddler, boy or girl, will love the sound of the wooden balls pounding down on the xylophone, or just sliding out the xylophone to play on its own.

The younger toddlers will love playing with the balls (chasing them around the floor, fitting them in the holes), while the older ones will enjoy all the elements, from pounding the balls to playing music to using the xylophone as a ramp for small cars.

It will develop their creativity, motor skills and music appreciation, and most importantly – It’s a lot of fun.

Ages – 12 months – 3 years.

Safety – the Hape is made from solid wood construction and child-safe pain finish,

Size – 9.4 x 5.9 x 5.3 inches ; 3 pounds.

Amazon rating – 4.3 out of 5

Price – check Amazon’s price today HERE.

3. Haba My First Orchard

 The Haba My First Orchard is probably the best of cooperative board games for 2 year olds, and one of the few they’ll understand.

This naturally-made (in Germany) learning game is especially designed for the youngest of players, made with large pieces (and a large die) designed for cute small hands and a sturdy basket.

Players roll the die and collect the fruit, hoping to harvest it all before the pesky raven reaches the orchard.

If the raven is rolled on the die, the raven moves one step closer to the orchard.

This fun young toddler game will foster social skills, develop color recognition skills, organization and counting by ones.

I love the fact that it’s a teamwork game (players vs. raven) rather than having one winner, but toddlers can enjoy it as a pretend play set of solid, wooden fruit.

The Haba My First Orchard is definitely a winner in toddler board games, and won’t lose appeal after a few days.

Ages – 2 and up (1-4 players)

Size – 8.7 x 8.7 x 2.7 inches ; 1.8 pounds

Safety – all Haba Toys are made with Beech wood with nontoxic water based stain.

Amazon rating – 4.8 out of 5 (102 reviews) – this is a very rare high rating.

Price – check today’s price on Amazon

4. Hape – Walk Along Puppy

This little wooden dog is perfect. Toddlers will over taking this adorable pup for a walk, and its rubber rimmed wheels easily roll, are quiet and will protect your floor inside.

The wood is smooth and the string is long enough to pull standing up.

This solid-built dog does not only go for a walk, he wiggles, wobbles and wags his tail. He even sits up and begs with some help.

The Hape puppy will encourage coordination skills, active play and balance, and you won’t have to worry about cleaning up after him.

Ages – 1 – 3 years.

Size – 8.7 x 3.6 x 6.4 inches ; 10.6 ounces

Safety – natural wood (from sustainable forests) and water based non-toxic paint.