Global warming, microplastics in food, climate change... enough reasons to go for the most sustainable, green materials we can find. But why should we give them to our children? What would they do with it?
There is a very convincing reason. Read on.
Children learn through play- I learnt that through a recent conversation with a very knowledgeble friend with vast experience in making educational material for children. 'For a child... playing is an important function!' are his words.
And how does a child learn? By feeling and using the objects of play. And by giving this new material to a child, we are giving him or her the feel of a new material, its hollow- cylinder shape, the texture of its fibres and its yellow-brown colour. And with this experience are we not conveying the endless possiblities for this new material that only a child can dream up?
What a thought! If we with a basic introduction to this wonder of God's world can come up with bamboo toys, what will our children dream up! I can't wait to see!
Indeed, our generations have played with plastic toys, and we have applied it to manifold uses compared to earlier generations (witness the transition from glass bottles to plastic containers in many industries such as food, cosmetics, pigments, etc.)!
Don't you think it is time to suggest better materials to our children. Wood, bamboo, coconut shells, clay, leather and other natural materials are waiting to be felt, waiting to be explored, waiting to be experimented with, waiting for new designers and makers to use them.
So the reason to put our toys into your children's hands is more than a one-time transaction that helps a cause; it is an investment into a child's education about a very sustainable material.
Comments