Play kitchens are known to help provide your child with a productive and enjoyable childhood. Role play empowers toddlers to explore the world around them, and play kitchens are the perfect setting for this.
When it’s time for your toddler to get a play kitchen, it’s important to consider which type you should buy. Wooden or plastic? There are advantages and disadvantages to both of them, but overall, which one is more suitable for you and your little one?
This article will be discussing the pros and cons of both types of play kitchen, and will help you to decide which will make your toddler’s childhood more pleasant.
Wooden Play kitchens
Wooden play kitchens are made primarily of wood. Usually, wooden play kitchens are made from sustainable timber that is biodegradable, a point that will be expanded on soon. They are durable and long-lasting and often of higher quality, though more expensive than plastic ones. Similar to plastic play kitchens, wooden ones also carry accessories such as toy phones and mini fridges. Some of the wooden play kitchens on our website even have pretend water and ice dispensers, all for your child to enjoy.
Pros of wooden play kitchens
1. They’re more durable
While plastic play kitchens are easily breakable, wooden ones are known to last much longer. They’re heavier, which does mean they’re harder to move around, but it also means that they are stronger and less likely to get broken.
High quality wooden play kitchens, such as those on the Small Smart website, are particularly strong, and are most definitely more sturdy than plastic play kitchens.
2. They’re more aesthetically pleasing
Wooden play kitchens often come in more calm, neutral colours that will almost always suit your home’s unique colour palette. There are some truly beautiful wooden play kitchens in grey colour out there, just waiting to be bought.
Who knows, once you’ve bought a wooden play kitchen, you may notice that it looks even better than your real one!
3. They’re safer
Most wooden play kitchens are finished with a non - toxic, child friendly paint that’s smooth and safe. However, plastic play kitchens can contain certain additives which are non - biodegradable and can be harmful for your child.
Contrasting with the sharp edges of a plastic play kitchen, wooden ones, such as the ones on the Small Smart website have refined, flat ones that are much safer, greatly reducing the risk of injury, and increasing the chance of comfort.
4. They’re more sustainable
Wooden play kitchens, unsurprisingly, are made of wood. While this makes them more expensive than their plastic counterparts, the use of wood is very beneficial for the planet. This is because wood is a renewable source of materials, and can always be replenished.
Also, the manufacturing of this wood leaves less of a carbon footprint than the manufacturing of plastic play kitchens, thus releasing less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and reducing global warming.
Finally, wood is biodegradable, which means it will naturally decompose over time, and will not be bad for the environment, if thrown away.
It’s even recyclable, so after you don’t need your wooden play kitchen anymore, you can just turn it into something new!
Cons of wooden play kitchens:
- They’re more expensive.
- They’re harder to move around, as they are heavier.
- They come with less accessories, and those are less realistic than the ones in plastic play kitchens.
- Wooden play kitchens are harder to take care of, as they are vulnerable to damage from children spilling water on them.
Plastic Play Kitchens
Plastic play kitchens are primarily made from plastic materials. Often they have realistic ovens, microwaves or even kettles that light up or make noises, and come with accessories like pots, pans, and utensils. Also, they are usually very brightly coloured, so can be very attractive to toddlers and young children.
Pros of plastic play kitchens
1. They’re more affordable
Plastic play kitchens are much less expensive than wooden ones. This is due to the cheaper material they’re made from.
Plastic play kitchens have a price range of around £30 - £70, while wooden ones have a price range of £70 - £150. So, if you’re struggling financially, and just want to have one short - term, a plastic play kitchen suits you.
2. They’re easier to move around
Because of their cheaper quality and the use of less durable materials, plastic play kitchens are often lightweight, and easy to move around. So, if you think your play kitchen looks particularly conspicuous in a certain location, you can easily alter it.
3. They have more accessories
Plastic play kitchens offer a range of accessories, such as pots, pans, kettles, bottles, mugs, for your child to play with. Plastic play kitchens give toddlers many more options when it comes to accessories.
Cons of plastic play kitchens:
- Children can grow out of them quickly, due to their accessories that are primarily aimed at very young toddlers.
- Some of them have materials that have toxins in them.
- The plastic material they’re made from is non - biodegradable, meaning they can’t be recycled and so are bad for the planet.
- When they’re not made to high quality, they can be very badly made, and have sharp edges which could injure your child.
Conclusion and verdict
So, time for the final decision! Which one is better? Plastic or Wooden?
Well, it all depends on the situation you’re in:
If you’re a bit tight financially, and you just want a suitable play kitchen that will last your child a few months, then a plastic play kitchen is for you.
However, if you want a play kitchen that makes memories, and lasts your child their entire childhood and more, then you should definitely get a wooden play kitchen. They’re higher quality, and though they’re more expensive than their plastic counterparts, they’re definitely worth it!
In other words, plastic play kitchens are more beneficial for short-term enjoyment, while wooden play kitchens are longer-lasting and can be doted on for years.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can plastic kitchens break easily?
Plastic play kitchens are likely to snap or break if played with too much. They are more prone to breaking than wooden play kitchens.
2. Do wooden kitchens require assembly?
Yes, wooden kitchens need assembly. While plastic play kitchens also require assembly, wooden play kitchens take much longer to assemble.
3. Which is more suitable for group play?
Large wooden play kitchens are usually more suitable for group play, due to their larger size, durability, and accessibility, though a small group can still have fun with a large plastic play kitchen.
4. Which is safer for toddlers?
Wooden play kitchens tend to have fewer small parts than plastic play kitchens do, but look out for chips or splinters on your wooden kitchen if you get one.
