Toxins are everywhere, and unfortunately, many are deemed safe here in the United States; this is why I have composed a list of gifts suitable for different age ranges to allow parents and gift-givers the opportunity to give the children they love a safe gift any time of the year.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2010, 251,700 toy-related injuries were treated in hospital emergency rooms around the United States. Of those, 72 percent were people younger than 15 years old. A few years beforehand, toymakers recalled over 19 million toys across the globe due to safety concerns like toxic paint and tiny magnets (1). Those statistics resulted in December becoming Safe Toys And Gifts Month since it's usually filled with gift-giving due to the holiday season, the month of December is dedicated to encouraging gift-givers to consider if the toys they want to convey suit the age and particular skills and abilities of the recipient of said gift, especially for infants and children under age three (2).
Suitable For Babies Under 2-Years-Old
SoundSpa Lullaby (order here)
Choose from six sounds and lullabies, three images on the included disc to project onto the wall or ceiling, and set the projector that's perfect for travel for 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes to help conserve energy.
Suitable for all ages
Organic Cotton Blanket (order here)
100% organic, GOTS-certified, breathable cotton reversible blankets with polyester fill for extra warmth that are perfect for snuggling up for cuddle time or tummy time with your little bee.
Suitable for all ages
My First Complete Learning Library (order here)
A library of 20 books to introduce a wide range of learning topics and develop basic concepts for little scholars. Well-researched pictures and accurate word labels encourage faster vocabulary development.
Suitable for ages 0-3 years
Organic Cotton Onesie (order here)
100% organic, GOTS-certified, loose-fitting onesies allow for plenty of wiggle room from playtime to bedtime, plus breathable cotton with hand-painted watercolor prints and yarn dye stripe designs.
Suitable for newborns to 9 months
Natural Earth Paint (order here)
100% non-toxic Natural Earth Paint kit creates a creamy, tempera-like, water-based paint when mixed with water from the earth. Or add more water to create watercolors! The rich, vibrant colors can also be used by all ages!
Suitable for ages 2 months & up
Some toxins found in traditional paints include xylene, ethyl acetate, methylene chloride, glycol, formaldehyde, benzene, phenol, quaternary ammonium compounds, carbamates,
and many more.
Learn more regarding the toxins found in traditional paint here.
Wooden Stacking Rings (order here)
Wooden stacking rings are designed for babies to encourage the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, a sense of order, and object permanence but are often made from plastic, which may be toxic.
Suitable for ages 2 months & up
Wooden Baby Gym (order here)
Encourages early motor skills while giving infants something to hold and manipulate. The natural color perfectly coordinates with most of the nursery. The baby gym frame is made of unfinished beech that's sanded and chemical-free.
Suitable for ages 3 months & up
Baltic Amber Gift Set (order here)
Directly from Baltic sea country Lithuania - the heart of amber origin. Made with a plastic screw clasp, every bead is knotted separately to prevent scattering. Lab tested by the International Amber Association.
Suitable for ages 4 months & up
Baltic Amber is often an active ingredient in Chinese medicines because succinic acid, one of its components and has many health benefits, such as:
Anti-inflammatory
Immune boosting
Antioxidant-rich
Calming and soothing
Learn more about Baltic Amber here.
Wooden Baby Walkers Educational Toy (order here)
This baby push walker toy can strengthen the core muscles and arms during the baby's exercise and also help to improve and help the baby's standing. Toddlers can play with building blocks at the same time.
Suitable for ages 10 months & up
Organic Wood Rattle Set (order here)
Classic all-wooden rattle baby toys with 4 all-wood rings, stained in rainbow watercolor colors and coated in our handmade beeswax and jojoba oil wood finish; it is durable, eco-friendly, and non-toxic.
Suitable for ages 13 months & up
Wooden Shape Sorter (order here)
Put 12 different shapes in the correct 12 holes and put them out to exercise the child's observation and practical ability to promote hand-eye coordination so they can learn to sort and match.
Suitable for ages 18 months & up
Wooden Tool Kit (order here)
This tool kit, designed especially for kids, comes with all parts and accessories they want, a hammer, wrench, pliers, ruler, saw screwdriver, nuts, bolts, etc. Coated with vibrant colors and cute patterns.
Suitable for ages 24 months & up
Suitable For Ages 3 Years & Up
Wooden Tool Bench Workshop (order here)
This wooden workbench includes a hammer, saw, screwdriver, wrench, vise, screws, nuts, bolts, gears, links, and more creative parts for building. Kids can work together for hours.
Suitable for ages 3 & up
Montessori Wooden Fishing Game (order here)
A learning toy that comes with two magnetic fishing poles, wooden magnetic fish, a clamp, and a pair of chopsticks for clipping colorful beads. Great for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination skills.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Makeup Gift Set with Unicorn Mirror (order here)
This little girl makeup gift set is made from safe and effective ingredients that are perfect for play makeup. Use this makeup as a great girl’s night sleepover staple or to be just like mommy.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Wooden Pizza Play Food Set (order here)
Six wooden pizza slices and more than 30 toppings for pretend play fun with a brightly colored tray, a pizza cutter, a spatula, and a wooden box for storage, and the pizza makes “slicing” noises when cut.
Suitable for ages 3-5 years
Shape, Model, and Mold Clay Set (order here)
This colorful collection of play clay and wooden tools includes 5 wooden stamping cubes, 3 rolling pins, 4 tubs of modeling dough with vibrant colors (red, yellow, blue, and green), and a patterned wheel press.
Suitable for ages 3-6 years
Wooden Musical Instruments Set (order here)
Instrument sets inspire a child's sense of sight, hearing, and touch. It will be helpful to cultivate the kids' sensitivity to music and the percept of rhythm, improve their creativity and develop the kids' interests.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Wooden Rural Farm Train Set (order here)
The Farm Train Set’s winding track is interchangeable and compatible with all other KidKraft trains and most major train brands. That means it’s the perfect starter set for budding train enthusiasts.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Pretend Play Kitchen (order here)
Your child can get an authentic experience with fun features like a towel rack and ice machine and realistic sounds like the "click" of the oven knobs as they pretend to bake and cook in a stylishly designed kitchen.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
This is great for both boys and girls. Remember, our young men will one day be fathers and husbands, don't allow your ego to tell you that this toy is just for girls. Allow our future generations of husbands and fathers the same accessibility to learn how to cook.
Wooden Play Cookware Set (order here)
Made of non-painted natural beech and sapeli, safe to use for toddlers. Compared to previous plastic sets, the wood set would be more durable and likely to be the toy that can accompany kids all through their childhood.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Wooden Play Food (order here)
Play food made from organic, renewable rubberwood and colored with water-based dyes. The wooden play fruits come apart and stick together with a buckle; a "crunch" sound while cutting the food brings a realistic feel.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Domino Racing Building Block Set (order here)
Build your desired domino race track with over 100 pieces of colorful wooden blocks. Designed to engage kids in their early STEM development while encouraging children’s spatial thinking abilities and color recognition.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Princess Tent (order here)
Inspired by castles in a fairy tale and made from high-quality polyester taffeta, this beautiful and remarkable princess house can help your little princess dreams come true. Ideal for both indoor and outdoor sites.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Heatable Aromatherapy Plush Pal (order here)
Soft and cuddly aromatherapy stuffed animal for comfort, stress relief, anxiety, and sensory play with a therapy pack filled with natural clay beads and dried lavender provides soothing warmth and comfort.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that has been around for thousands of years and is used in many ancient cultures like China, India, Egypt, and more. Aromatherapy uses natural plant extracts, also known as essential oils, to promote health and well-being while improving the body, mind, and spirit.
There are hundreds of different types of essential oils, both pure and blended, and they can be used alone or in combination with other essential oils to provide even more health benefits.
Essential oils have been studied for quite some time, and there is plenty of science to back up the known benefits of aromatherapy, such as:
Pain management
Improves sleep quality
Reduces stress, agitation, and anxiety
Soothes sore joints
Treats headaches and migraines
Alleviates side effects of chemotherapy
Eases discomforts of labor
Fights bacteria, viruses, or fungus
Improves digestion
Boosts immunity
Learn more regarding the benefits of aromatherapy here.
Wooden Learning Puzzles (order here)
Various puzzles are not only for fun to play with but also for developing a child’s intelligence, imagination, and creativity, as well as hands-on skills. Features four different puzzles, including an alphabet, number, animal, and food puzzles.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Each puzzle is 11.8 x 8.9 inches with knobs on each puzzle piece that are specially designed for your little kids and exactly the perfect size fitted to toddlers' hands. With these sturdy pegs, the wooden puzzles are suitable for them to be easily grabbed and avoid swallowing.
Handmade Bath Bombs with Toys (order here)
Bath bombs for kids are the perfect bath toy because they turn your bathtub into fizzy, vibrant colors, and each bath bomb contains a surprise toy, but most bath bombs have food coloring and toxins in them.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Research has associated food coloring with many medical conditions. This is such a severe problem that Yellow 6 and Red 40 have been outlawed in the U.K. yet remain legal here in the United States. Although the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has already banned many food colorings due to the health risks I am about to speak of, they still refused to ban many others while also refusing to add information to food labels regarding their potential harm of them. Artificial food coloring provides no health benefits, so it’s best to avoid them. Some potential risks associated with food coloring are:
May be linked to cancer
May influence children’s behavior
May trigger hyperactivity (ADHD)
May cause allergic reactions
Learn more regarding The Truth About Food Coloring here.
Unpainted Nesting Dolls (order here)
The matryoshka, or Russian nesting doll, one of the world's most famous objects, was initially invented as a children's toy but is usually coated with a toxic overlay such as paint, so it's best to buy your own paint.
Suitable for ages 3 years & up
Wooden Building Blocks (order here)
Playing promotes self-confidence, social and cognitive skills, resilience, and more. These crucial skills are used as building blocks to help encourage success and personal fulfillment into adulthood.
Suitable for ages 3-8 years
Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game (order here)
Educational fun for the whole family! The perfect mix of adventure and learning, Wildcraft! takes kids on an exciting quest through several ecosystems – while learning all about 25 edible and medicinal plants.
Suitable for ages 4 years & up
Educational fun for the whole family! The perfect mix of adventure and learning, Wildcraft! takes kids on an exciting quest through several ecosystems – while learning all about 25 edible and medicinal plants, where they grow, and how to use them! With waterfalls to slide down, logs to cross, and deer trails to wander down, Wildcraft! home games have the fun interactive elements that kids love. And before you know it, your little ones will be identifying plants right in your backyard!
Fort Building STEM Kit (order here)
Build and imagine endless possibilities. Create play tent structures, forts for kids, play tunnels, and more with this construction fort set that includes 53 connecting rods and 28 multilink spheres.
Suitable for ages 4 years & up
Wooden Tic Tac Toe Board Game (order here)
This uniquely designed board game offers a convenient place to store the noughts and crosses, keeping them safe and in one place. Slide the wooden top off and place the pieces inside for safe storage.
Suitable for ages 7 years & up
Astronomical Refracting Telescope (order here)
A fully coated optics glass lens with high transmission coatings creates stunning images and protects your eyes—the perfect telescope for astronomers to explore stars and the moon with a remote and adjustable tripod.
Suitable for ages 7 years & up
Earth Science Kit (order here)
This science lab allows kids to conduct multiple experiments with more than 15 experiment activities, including dueling water tornadoes, building an erupting volcano, growing a crystal, two geologic dig kits, and more.
Suitable for ages 8 years & up
Mega Fossil Dig Kit (order here)
These genuine fossils are millions of years old! Dig for dinosaurs, sharks, brachiopods, mosasaurs, ammonites, and more. This dig kit provides hours of educational fun and helps to inspire a lifelong love of learning!
Suitable for ages 8 years & up
What are your go-to toxin-free toy recommendations?
