I started looking up some of the online stores that sell Waldorf toys a few days back. There are some great ideas that would be simple enough for us to make ourselves.

My husband is a cabinet maker and would be more than capable of doing some of the projects on these sites. Things like building castles, lace-up cheese, teethers etc.

I can sew and would be able to make dolls, dress up clothes, play scarves etc. I have even been fortunate enough to find instructions for making Bambolettas. They are so beautiful but quite pricy (which is fair considering the price of the materials (wool batting etc.) and the time required to make them.

The upside to making my own, besides saving money and personal pride in my work, is that I can make it out of cotton instead of wool and make it vegan-friendly while still staying true to the doll.

Anyways, I am having so much fun making toys and planning for the next ones. I can’t wait to make it to the wood shop soon and buy some more wood trinkets for my next project!

Who knew that making my own toys could be so much fun for me and for the kids? Not to mention how much healthier these toys are for their bodies and minds.

I apologize for being so long without writing. I had a baby on November 30th and haven’t really found the time to sit down since then.

Lately I have been thinking more and more about the fact that my kids have way too much plastic in the house. And I have made it clear to my family that if they buy plastic toys for our new little one I am not giving them to her. It makes me sick that people give their infants plastic teethers and let t hem drink  warm formula from plastic baby bottles.

I watched a documentary by CBC called “The Disapearing Male.” It explored the horomone disrupting capabilities of  the chemicals in the toys we give to our children. Not to mention the crap we spray on our countertops or the stain resistant finishes on our clothes and furniture.

The result has been a lowering male birth rate and an increase in male reproductive problems. Things like low sperm count, testicles that get stuck in the body (raised testes) etc.

So I have been talking to my husband about downsizing the kid’s toys. He feels somewhat bad because most of that toxic plastic were gifts from well-meaning people. But he has agreed to let me get rid of anything that doesn’t have an educational value since he thinks they have way too many toys anyways.

We are going to replace them with cotton and wood.

I asked my mom to buy toys made from natural fibres. So she spent extra time looking for a doll for Anna. It said on the box that it was safe for asthmatic kids. So she assumed it was made from safe stuff. It’s made in China (Boo!) and has a soft plastic face (read Phalates) and a polyester body (read synthetic fibre). Why is it so hard for people to get the wood and cotton thing???

Anyways, not that I have been much better. So far I have bought just a few things for Anna. A fleece (made from recycled pop bottles (read plastic)) sleeper, a fleece blankie and some cotton socks. It is hard to break bad habits but I am trying very hard to stick to natural fibres and wood toys. Not only as these healthier but they are also better for brain development. Generic toys (which are common in wood toys) encourage children to use their imagination. We are learning more about Waldorf learning these days and finding that we like the theory of  it.

Sure, wood blocks may harbour bacteria better but we aren’t scared of dirt. Just hormone disrupting toxins! 

We are also replacing their sippy cups and plastic food storage containers with stainless steel ones. We are trying to make the change all over the house. Most people are well aware that even if you live in downtown Toronto that the indoor air pollution is worse than outside. The reason is because of plastics and foams and cleaners and all that other crap in our homes that leeches toxins into the air. I spend most of my days inside and I want that environment to be as healthy as possible.