Many parents believe that children’s toys are subject to strict legal regulations. But that’s only partly the case. There are merely minimum requirements that have to be met, which by no means guarantee that every toy is automatically a quality product. Inferior toys may break quickly and, on top of that, pose safety risks for your child. We recommend paying attention to health and safety aspects when buying toys right from birth.
It doesn’t necessarily have to mean a life completely without plastic, but toys made from local wood offer many advantages. Even as children get older, we should always bear in mind that by setting a good example through responsible consumer behaviour, we can also influence our children’s later buying habits. This blog article is about why buying as cheaply as possible often turns out to be more expensive in the end, and what you should look out for in terms of quality when buying toys.
Buying high-quality or cheap toys? A question of trust
Children are able to build up trust and an emotional bond with a toy. If it’s an inferior product, however, that trust can quickly be shattered. That’s why it’s important that you, as a parent, make sure to choose the quality product over the cheap toy. This is often worthwhile, even if the “Made in Germany” toy may be somewhat more expensive. A good example of this is our hörbert: over time, your child can develop a genuine, emotional bond with it. They will trust that hörbert always works and is by their side as a loyal companion through thick and thin. What’s more, hörbert is also convincing when it comes to environmental responsibility and is a perfect fit for you if you’ve decided on a life as free of plastic as possible, since it is made from wood, a high-quality and renewable raw material.
But leaving hörbert aside for a moment – how can you tell when buying a toy whether it’s a safe, high-quality product? We recommend testing the toy with almost all of your senses. If you already spot flaws when looking at it and touching it, or notice an unpleasant smell, that naturally doesn’t inspire confidence. On the contrary: it rather suggests that the manufacturer didn’t take the necessary care during production.
How children sense quality
Children too are already able to sense quality. That doesn’t mean they can’t also enjoy a cheap plastic toy with light and sound effects. Usually, though, this enjoyment only lasts a few weeks or months. At the latest, once the first components break, they lose interest in the toy. It’s different with a high-quality product, and especially with wooden toys: these already feel valuable even to small children’s hands, so they’re happily picked up and played with. For children, however, good quality shows not only in the materials used, but also in another fact: high-quality products can be repaired, whereas cheap plastic toys usually have to be thrown away straight away. When children see that a toy can be repaired, they learn something for life: on the one hand, they grasp that it’s important to treat their toys with care, because otherwise they break and need a repair that costs time, work and money. On the other hand, later as adults they’ll also be more inclined to repair faulty products such as household appliances instead of simply disposing of them. In today’s throwaway society, that’s definitely a desirable trait.
Sustainability in children’s toys: what does that mean?
If parents want to choose sustainable, high-quality toys and thereby set a good example through responsible consumer behaviour, there are a few things they should look out for. Good toys have to be durable and sturdy. Ideally, not just one child will enjoy them for a long time, but other children too, such as younger siblings or cousins. A sustainable, high-quality toy can therefore be passed on over several generations. Beyond that, the toy should invite children to do and discover things themselves, rather than only being able to watch passively. Then the toys stay interesting for much longer. hörbert, for example, grows with the child, because it can be loaded again and again with whatever content the child currently loves. If you want to make your toy purchases sustainable, you can also deliberately opt for second-hand toys. But steer clear of very old toys made of soft plastic, as these may still contain harmful plasticisers. Of course, cheap toys aren’t always necessarily bad, and a high price doesn’t automatically mean that a toy was made from tested, low-pollutant materials. Usually, though, it is indeed the case that cheap toys are more likely to be contaminated with harmful substances and dangerous for children than high-quality, somewhat more expensive products – especially when those products are also manufactured domestically. Before buying, always check whether toys give off a conspicuous or unpleasant smell, or whether small parts can be detached. Products with sharp edges, corners or moulding seams are also unsuitable for children. Steer clear of toys with poorly finished seams or flaking paint. If fibres or parts of the filling can be pulled out of soft toys, the same applies for safety’s sake: hands off! All of these are signs of poor quality. They indicate that the toy isn’t particularly durable and may even be dangerous for your child.
How parents strengthen their role-model function through responsible consumer behaviour
Children take their lead very much from their closest caregivers and mirror their behaviour. So please, as parents, make use of your role-model function through responsible consumer behaviour. Show your children from the outset that it’s better to buy a high-quality product once – even if at first glance it’s more expensive – ideally one that’s “Made in Germany” and accordingly has a long lifespan, instead of constantly buying cheap things that soon end up in the bin or lead to high follow-up costs. Don’t spoil your children with countless plastic toys; instead, for the sake of their own future, give them quality products made from high-grade, harmless materials on special occasions. The likelihood of your child imitating this behaviour later on is very high. When making their own purchasing decisions later, your child will likewise weigh up whether the purchase really has to happen right now, or whether it wouldn’t be better to save up a little longer in order to buy the better product. In this way, you’re already making a valuable contribution to the environment today, because it can only benefit if your children later buy fewer but higher-quality products.
Conclusion: don’t economise in the wrong place when it comes to children’s toys
All in all, we find that parents can use their role-model function through responsible consumer behaviour to pass on the right values for the future to their children. With high-quality products that are “Made in Germany”, you’re making the better choice compared to cheap toys made of colourful plastic. They’re safer, more durable, and allow your child to build an emotional bond of trust with them. That’s why we advise you never to economise in the wrong place when buying toys. The motto here is: “Buy cheap, buy twice.” In the end, a supposedly inexpensive toy can turn out to be rather costly if you have to throw it away shortly after buying it and then end up buying the more expensive, high-quality product as a replacement anyway. So it’s better to opt for the quality product right from the start – one that guarantees a long lifespan.