The role of wooden toys in child development and design suggestions for wooden toys

This thesis explores wood, which has functioned in many different ways throughout the history of humanity, in terms of its eligibility for children's toys, and findings are assessed with reference to wooden toys' value in child development. In this context, child development is examined according to the theories and opinions about child development stages and the concepts of play and toys, which are the most valuable elements of childhood in preschool period. Industrial and technological developments bring about changes in ecology and conditions of living, which increase human beings' contact with artificial substances and chemicals. Heightened susceptibility to health problems thus caused lead human beings to search for what exists in nature, naturally. The present study regards wood in this context and discusses its properties as a natural and healthy substance. Information about the current standards for the safety of toys and findings of online research on producing companies' websites regarding the use of wood in children's toys is given. In the light of the literature on the significance of toys in child development, insights concerning wooden toys' importance thereof are related, taking developmental areas into account. By treating wooden toys as a supporting factor for a healthy child development—as wooden toys are made of a natural, sustainable and eco-friendly substance—a guide to design wooden toys which aims to work as a basis for wooden toys produced with an agenda of adopting and popularizing the use of wood for children's toys is prepared.