Wooden Toys: Care for Them and Love Them for Years

When you think about toys that last a long time, wood really does feel like the perfect match. It's hard to break, and even as time passes and it develops character, it doesn't truly deteriorate. Don't you think wood is a material that keeps offering that comforting warmth, no matter the era? Toys often get touched by grubby little hands, but wooden toys, if properly cared for, can be used across generations.

This time, we'll share maintenance methods for loving your wooden toys for years to come.

Wooden toys come in different types—different kinds of wood, and different kinds of finishing. Basically, the care method is the same no matter what wood is used, but you do need to be careful depending on the paint or finishing applied.

【Unfinished】
Unfinished means the bare wood grain is left as is. Depending on the type of wood, these toys can gradually darken in color from the oils on children's hands and from sun exposure as they're played with. Unfinished toys might be where you can feel the texture and warmth of wood the most.

【Painted/Finished】
These glossy, shining toys use very safe and reassuring paints extracted from plants and natural minerals. The red comes from madder herb, the yellow from turmeric, and the green from a combination of indigo and turmeric. The shine isn't from varnish—it comes from craftsmen carefully polishing the surface using pine needles.
Because of this, you can use them with peace of mind even for children, but toys finished this way need careful maintenance so that the beautiful colors don't wear away.

One good point about wooden toys, both in terms of hygiene and maintenance, is that they don't attract dust easily. Plastic collects dust through static electricity, but wood rarely generates static electricity in the first place.

For small babies in particular, toys can become unhygienic from being licked or mouthed. If a toy is left wet, it can become a source of mold, and in severe cases, this can even lead to cracking.

Please make it a habit to wipe toys dry with a soft cloth after playtime is over, before putting them away.

Toys with a lot of grooves and bumps tend to accumulate dust and grime in the crevices. Use a cotton swab dipped in oil to trace along and remove it.

＜Caution＞
・Please do not use antibacterial wipes or baby wipes that contain alcohol, as they may cause the paint to peel. Always use a dry cloth, or a cloth wrung out firmly after being wet.

・Wooden products don't hold up well to prolonged soaking in water, so boiling for sterilization is strictly off-limits.

Using Sandpaper (for unfinished toys)

With solid wood toys, sweat and grime from hands can gradually cause dark discoloration. This is simply the natural aging of wood, and can be seen as adding character, but if it bothers you, go ahead and use sandpaper on it.

After sanding, be sure to brush off all the dust, wipe with a firmly wrung-out towel, and let it dry thoroughly before putting it away.

Also, since these are wooden products, dryness can sometimes cause small splinters or rough patches, but sanding with sandpaper often resolves this too.

※For colored, painted items, please avoid sanding, as it will strip away the paint.

※We recommend using fine-grit sandpaper.

Bring Moisture Back to Dry Wood

When the wood surface dries out, it becomes prone to cracks, splits, and rough patches, so use beeswax or olive oil to care for the wood grain. Take an appropriate amount on a soft cloth and spread it thinly and evenly. Afterward, let it dry thoroughly in a place away from direct sunlight.

As shown in the image, this brings out a shine and deepens the color of the wood. If you're concerned about this, please try it first on an inconspicuous area. In particular, please be aware that painted items may change in color tone.

BEESWAX

BEESWAX

Wood senses the humidity of its surrounding environment, breathing by absorbing and releasing moisture, so how you store it greatly affects how well its condition is maintained.

If you expect a toy to be put away without being played with for a long period, be sure to remove any dirt, let it dry fully, and then place it in a box or paper bag. It's best to store it somewhere away from direct sunlight, free of trapped humidity, and with good air circulation.

One more thing to be careful about: if you're storing multiple toys together in the same box or bag, rather than in individual toy boxes, be sure to place items like rubber balls or vinyl dolls in their own separate bags so they don't come into contact with other toys. If left in contact for a long time, they can stick together or transfer color onto one another.

The time children spend being children is very short. A toy they were playing with just three months ago often gets set aside as they grow, sooner than you'd expect.

Of course, some toys are bought knowing they're consumable items, and it's not realistic to keep every single toy forever.
But there are toys you want to be treasured—and if they can be kept with care, perhaps another child will get to use them someday. Perhaps, once your child has grown up, you'll be able to look back on them together and share memories.

It seems to me that the toys with the potential to become that kind of keepsake are often the ones made of sturdy materials that, if handled properly, age beautifully over time.
And what really matters, I think, is how we treat things, regardless of the material. Saying things like, "This is precious, so let's put it away properly once we're done playing," or setting aside time now and then to care for a toy together with your child. Come to think of it, a child's toys may well be the very first thing through which they learn to "take good care of things." If, through toys, adults can share that same sense of care, that's a truly wonderful thing.

▼See the full lineup of wooden toys here