Open-ended

Let's get back to basics: fewer, better toys. Sturdy, long-lasting kids' toys that are open-ended enough to be enjoyed in a variety of different ways, over years and years and years. These toys foster imagination and allow kids to make up their own scripts instead of coming with previously-existin...moreg ideas of what Dora should look like or what Nemo should say. They won't play annoying tunes that jangle adult brains. They won't tell girls to be focused on their fingernails, they won't tell boys to be warmongering anti-domestics. They won't suck money out of your wallet for batteries, and they won't put those same batteries into landfills.

Haba is one of my favorite companies for this - I love their colorful wooden fruits and veggies as well as their many, many other beautiful and kid-appropriate toys. They give kids the basics - simple shapes, unit blocks - and trust the kids to know what to do with them.