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

ChildTrek carries a large selection of the multi-award winning Plan Toys at competitive prices. They are green, smart, and safe.

As a former teacher, I am impressed by the educational themes and thoughtfulness with which Plan Toys are designed to promote open-ended play, creative role playing, as well as stimulate intellectual and emotional development. These are truly amazing natural toys.

In upcoming blogs, I will review individual Plan Toys like the Solid Wooden Drum, Xylophone, Activity Clock, Shape & Sort it Out, Geometric Sorting Board, and others to explore benefits of specific toys. For now, let me begin by sharing adapted statements made by Plan Toys.

Plan Toys are Green
All Plan Toys are made with clean, natural rubberwood recycled from rubber trees that would otherwise be cut and burned. This process emits carbon emissions, creating carbon gasses that contribute to global warming. Plan Toys breaks this cycle by making high-quality toys with this beautiful hardwood. If that were not enough, Plan Toys takes the time to stabilize the wood using a chemical-free kiln-drying process instead of chemical preservatives.

Plan Toys is also one of the few toy companies that have gained environmental certifications. Here are examples:

1) Environmental Management (ISO 14001), which reflects the Plan Toys’ company’s commitment to environmental awareness and activities.

2) OHSAS 18001, which certifies Plan Toys as a company that provides a safe and healthy working environment.

3) Social Accountability Management (SA 8000), which recognizes the Plan Toys company’s policy to provide full and equal opportunity to all of its workers.

Plan Toys are Safe
Plan Toys assembles toys using a proprietary non-formaldehyde glue instead of traditional toxic wood glue. The glue emits no formaldehyde fumes and is rated E-Zero.

Plan Toys uses water-based dyes to color its toys. The colors are environmentally-friendly and non-toxic to children.

Plan Toys produces all of its toys in its own factory, which ensures complete control of materials and workmanship.

Plan Toys also has achieved the following safety certifications:

1) Quality Management (ISO 9001) for world-class product quality and service standards.

2) Toy Safety Standards (ASTM & EN71, — otherwise known as North American & European Safety Standards, respectively) for EXCEEDING international toy safety standards.

Plan Toys are Smart
Plan Toys makes toys with strong educational themes. From building blocks, to shape sorters, to games, puzzles and pounding toys, Plan Toys offers age-appropriate challenges for intellectual and physical development. Plan Toys offers open-ended play, creating a setting for hours of role-playing, creative play and emotional development. Plan Toys promotes the importance of play in a child’s development by combining design, age-appropriate challenges, and open-ended play to empower children, encourage social interaction, and reward discovery.

Check out our selection of Plan Toys.