ChildTrek Blog

Review by Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

Here’s the basic issue: Kids like drums. Parents grow not to.  At first, it sounds like such a neat thing to give. Kids and drums. They just go together. But, most are just loud, loud, loud - eventually wearing parental nerves. So what to do? Deny your child the need to merrily pound! Wear earplugs! Seriously though, there are better alternatives, or at least drums that are much easier on the ear than others.

Take, for example, the Plan Toys Wooden Drum. The wooden drum is masterfully cut along the top to produce various notes. The rubberhead drumstick against the wood produces softened and pleasing tones much like dampened bell sounds. It is made of recycled, chemical-free rubberwood and colored with non-toxic water-based dyes. This simple wood toy is one of my personal favorites.

When I show the Plan Toys Drum to parents at the store, most cringe and say something like, “Oh, no. Not a drum!” Then I play along the base. Eyebrows rise and skepticism falls away. The overwhelming majority say something along the line of wow-that-really-does-sound-very-good. Most turn around and buy it. I’ve seen parents play with the drum as if they’ve slipped back to their own childhood.

I know it’s just a toy. But some toys send you back to childhood. This drum is like that. It gives you (err…your child) permission to just be a kid. Yeah, go ahead and pound, pound, pound!

Check out selection of other great wooden toys by Plan Toys.

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

Really Cool Cars
ChildTrek is proud to carry heirloom-quality construction vehicles by Automoblox. Designed by world-class industrial designer Patrick Callelo, Automoblox cars fuse the durability and character of classic wooden cars with the sophistication of modern design. Check out the 2008 X9X Sports Utility. It is the perfext mix of style and utility. Take a look at value packed Automoblox Minis. They are scaled-down versions of the C9 Sports Car, S9 Sedan and T9. Both the full-sized and mini vehicles are designed with interchangeable parts for customized, three-dimensional play.

Create Custom Vehicles
The Automoblox line of interchangeable car parts truly inspires building and playing out of the box. The removable connectors, interchangeable roofs, and changeable wheels, tires and body blocks among the different Automoblox cars allow for plenty of exciting custom designs. The patented removable connectors offer a level of complexity to the play experience. Each car comes with a 17 digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) just like real cars. It identifies the year and model of your car.

Green and Safe Vehicles
Each body block is made of sustainable beech wood and finished with clear, non-toxic lacquer for durability. The colorful and aggressive tires are made of rubber. The dynamically styled roof and stylish wheels are made of polycarbonate to make them virtually indestructible. Automoblox cars are designed and engineered in the United States. They are assembled in China under stringent quality and safety controls. They meet or exceed both North American (ASTM) and European (EN-71) safety standards.

Check out our growing selection today at ChildTrek.com.