Toys form the most cherished memory for any child. It not only represents the child's personality but also contributes in the child's learning and development. With time, toys have acquired more than one function. They are now considered as a crucial component of teaching and learning methods for younger children. Not just homes, but even play schools and in fact schools at primary level and beyond, also employ toys to help children learn new things in an effective way. Though there are a variety of toys available in the market, wooden toys still have had it's own special place. Wooden toys and other 'learn with play' materials have been popular since very early times. Unlike the techno electronic toys, the toys that are made of wood have a very traditional feel. Moreover they are comparatively safer, as the material used is so much closer to nature.

They owe their origin to the pre civilization period. It has been proven that even during ancient times, man created toys out of materials like twigs, mud, and wood pieces. The methodology and the variety are pretty advanced now for wooden toys, but the basics are definitely very traditional. Wooden blocks used as toys for babies and toddlers are the best example. Almost every house has at least one set of wooden blocks. They are used in various ways to teach children motor skills, pre mathematical concepts like shapes, sizes and numbers too. Even the Montessori method of pre school teaching uses wooden toys extensively, as they are much safer, easy to maintain and have a long life.

Apart from wooden painted blocks, dolls and miniatures made out of wood are also quite an interesting option as toys for children. The wooden dolls are mainly of two varieties - hand made and machine made. Hand made dolls are crafted out of wood and given different shapes of miniatures including animals, birds and dolls etc. Hand made wooden dolls are mostly colored again manually and those who love more natural and earthy type of toys would appreciate this variety more. In fact the pre historic excavations have shown that even in those times man was capable of crafting wooden toys like miniatures, dolls and even vehicles with small details like rotating wheels etc. The machine made wooden toys are certainly more sophisticated to look at and the intricate details can be achieved in an easier way than in the hand made toys. Earlier on, it was carts that were common wooden toy vehicles now of course it has given way to more sophisticated looking cars.

It's an interesting observation though that the wooden toys have found it's own dedicated buyers. A lot of children love to buy wooden toys as collectibles more than mere play and discard toys. The wooden vehicles without wheels are now available in the market as the representation of 'Flintstones' vehicles. These toys are gain more popular as collectibles with children mostly of age between 3 - 6 years. Other wooden toys available are wooden puzzles, scrabbles and drawing boards etc.