Why Wooden Toys Still Win With Children

Screens are everywhere, which is exactly why simple wooden toys hold such appeal. They invite imagination rather than instructions, and they tend to look rather lovely in a child's room too.

Designing toys that make children laugh

Good toy design starts with a sense of fun. One designer behind a well loved wooden rocking moose describes letting playful ideas sit and develop before working out the details, because children respond honestly to what they enjoy. That instinct shapes toys that are not just objects to look at but things to climb on, rock on and return to again and again. In a small bedroom or shared playroom, a single well designed piece like this can anchor hours of imaginative, unplugged play without taking over the space.

Toys that teach without feeling like lessons

Wooden toys often do double duty, looking decorative on a shelf while quietly building a child's skills. One designer behind a colourful wooden toy range explains how stacking blocks introduce colours and shapes, a toy hammer helps develop motor skills, and a wagon that doubles as a walker supports a toddler's first steps towards balance and confidence. These are the kind of toys that earn their place in a compact room because they work on several levels at once, growing with a child rather than being outgrown within weeks.

FLISAT doll’s house/wall shelf, 58x59x22 cmDUKTIG doll's bed with bedlinen set, pine/multicolour, 52x36 cmDUKTIG toy cash register, 19x18 cmLILLABO 4-piece vehicle set, sports car/school bus recycling truck/police car/multicolourLILLABO garage with car and helicopter, multicolour, 35x42 cmUNDERHÅLLA 40-piece wooden building block set, multicolour

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Building worlds with trains, cars and cranes

Few toys spark storytelling quite like a train set with a working crane and a fleet of little vehicles to push along a rug. IKEA's LILLABO range includes a basic train set, vehicle sets in different sizes, a garage with a car and helicopter, and a battery operated locomotive, all designed to be mixed and expanded over time. A LILLABO rug can mark out roads and junctions on a bedroom floor, turning an ordinary corner into a small transport network. In flats and maisonettes where floor space is limited, this kind of set makes the most of whatever room there is.

LILLABO rug, green, 75x133 cmLILLABO 20-piece basic train set, multicolourLILLABO 3-piece vehicle set, fire truck sports car/tow truck multicolourLILLABO battery-operated locomotiveLILLABO 3-piece vehicle set, excavator police car/race car multicolour, 11x7 cmLILLABO 3-piece train set

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Classic wooden toys bring a calm, screen free kind of fun to any child's room, and Maltashopper brings a well chosen selection of them to homes right across Malta and Gozo.

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