Glossary of Terms Used by Peanut Gallery

An explanation of many of the terms we have used when describing our childrens toys within the website. We hope you find them useful.

Rubberwood – a replenishable wood that is grown in plantations, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to wood felling in natural forests. Rubberwood trees were traditionally grown for latex, but have a limited lifespan in which latex is produced. Prior to wooden toys for children being made from rubberwood, when the trees no longer produced latex, they were burned and turned into charcoal. This contributed little economic value and no environmental value.

Hand-crafted – childrens toys that have been carefully constructed by people and not machinery.

Educational Toys – childrens toys that encourage the development of literacy, numeracy, and motor skills.

Traditional Toys – toys that have been entertaining children for generations. Parents and grandparents remember playing with the same style of toy when they were children. Dolls houses and rocking horses are good examples of these types of childrens toys.

Non-toxic – does not produce poison and is not poisonous, harmful or destructive.

Non-porous – water or moisture cannot be easily absorbed. Wooden toys for babies need to be non-porous.

Sensory development – the use of touch, taste, sight, smell and sound to absorb information and attach meaning.

Cause and effect – a good example of this is when a baby shakes a wooden rattle and it makes a noise. When they stop shaking the wooden toy, it stops making a noise. When the baby shakes it again, the rattle makes a noise again. The baby learns that they can “cause” the “effect” by shaking the toy.

Motor skill development - falls into 2 categories. Gross Motor Skills, such as crawling, walking, running and jumping or Fine Motor Skills, such as grasping a toy between the thumb and forefinger or placing a wooden shape through the correct space in a shape sorter.

Online Toy Shop – a retailer of childrens toys that sells their products via a website.

Baby Toys – wooden, educational and traditional toys for children aged from birth to 18 months. Some examples are: rattles, musical mobiles, soft toys, soft books and pram toys.

Toddler Toys - wooden, educational and traditional toys for children aged from 18 months to 3 years. Some examples are: wooden blocks, wooden chopping sets, stacking boxes, dolls, cars and rocking horses.

Preschooler Toys - wooden, educational and traditional toys for children aged from 3 years to 4 years. Some examples are: wooden dolls houses, dolls house accessories, musical instruments, wooden puzzles and tea sets.

Soft Toys – childrens toys made from material such as cotton, wool and velour. Soft toys make good friends for young children and are lovely to cuddle.