While searching for the best natural baby teething toys, I narrowed my choices to these materials:
- Wood
- Rubber
- Fabric
Ideally, the materials are also certified organic, since Baby Jae would be mouthing the items. Why natural and organic? To avoid leaching of potentially harmful chemicals into baby’s mouth. So, no plastic and no silicone teether for him too.
Finally, I found 3 teethers that met my criteria and would be sharing the reviews with you. The first is Little Alouette Wooden Teething Toys, available at myecobabe based in Singapore. Oh, these are absolutely natural beauties!
About Little Alouette Wooden Teething Toys
These are the main features of the teething toys:
- Material: Locally sourced hardwoods and, if not left unfinished, are finished only with certified organic flax seed oil
- Country of origin: Made by hand in the U.S.A. (Ohio)
There’s a wide range of designs, including rattles.
First Impressions
I was attracted to myecobabe because the owner, Sherlyn, sources unique eco-friendly baby clothes and accessories from around the globe. Little Alouette Wooden Teething Toys are exactly what I’ve been looking for. Sherlyn kindly agreed to send me some for a review, so I chose the gorgeous Safari Free Play Block Set
and a Puppy Bone Rattle
The package arrived in a 100% biodegradable bag and I later realised that Sherlyn has been using cloth diapers on her son. A very green Mummy indeed!
Anyway, ever since learning about the Montessori method, I’ve come to appreciate natural materials such as wood on a deeper level. The “feel” of such wooden toys is vastly different from plastic — more real, precious and closer to nature. Simple wooden toys for babies are a rarity nowadays.
I like that these are either left unfinished, or finished only with certified organic flax seed oil. They seem perfectly safe for mouthing, so now to the real test…
Our Detailed Review
Rating Guide: ★ Oh no! ★★ Poor ★★★ Fair ★★★★ Good ★★★★★ Excellent!
(a) Care & Maintenance: ★★★★★ The care instructions states, “Wipe with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Wipe dry all moisture immediately. Do not submerge in water.”
What? I’m not supposed wash the drool off them?!?
On further reading, I learnt that wood possesses antibacterial properties.
Tip from Little Alouette’s website: If your toy seems to dull and become a bit rough with drool and chomping- just take a fine grit sanding pad and bring it back to life. It is that simple. Also- you can use any organic flax seed oil to finish or yr own beeswax! Follow the directions {simple} on the care card and this toy will be around forever!
For several months, I’ve been wiping the teething toys with a slightly damp cloth occasionally. They remain clean and free of any drool smell. Nature is wonderful…
(b) Effectiveness: ★★★★ Baby Jae thoroughly tested the teething toys by munching, shaking and even throwing them. He must be the best reviewer for teethers on Earth.
The teething toys come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The giraffe, crocodile and bone rattle are long, so are easiest for him to grab with one hand. The chunkier blocks require 2 hands.
A closer look at my personal favourite — Gigi the giraffe:
Little Alouette also offers teething toys with a “hole” in it. These would be easy for small hands to grab.
Baby Jae has been teething for several months, and he self-soothes by biting everywhere he goes. These wooden teethers are hard enough to let him have a good bite. I put a few of them near the diaper changing table and pass one to him when changing diaper. I also leave a few inside the play yard for him to help himself.
The simple design of the teething block also means safety to me. No paint, no small parts, no liquid inside.
Each teether is rather heavy (compared to a plastic one), so whenever Baby Jae flings it towards me, I need to dodge!
(c) Quality: ★★★★★ The teething toys are very well-made, with smooth rounded edges. From all the biting and dropping, the teethers still look in pristine condition. Given that the wood used can be easily maintained for long-term use (as mentioned earlier), I’m quite confident about passing them down to other children.
(d) Overall Value: ★★★ The Safari Free Play Block Set retails at SGD59.90 while the Puppy Bone Rattle retails at SGD29.90. In the U.S., the suggested retail prices are USD28 and ~USD18. The 5-piece block set is certainly great value for money! For individual pieces, the price seems a bit high, yet should be a worthy investment because they’re meant to last for generations.
Even past the teething stage, baby would be able to use the toys for pretend play.
In contrast, I’ve thrown all of Vee’s previous silicone teethers away because they’re worn out after his use, and became mouldy upon storage. They weren’t cheap either, at about SGD12 per piece, similar to each in the Safari set.
Little Alouette is among my top choices of baby teething toys. They’re designed to be safe and last for generations — a worthy investment.
—
What we like about it:
- Simple and safe design
- 2-in-1: teether for baby, toy for older child
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Meant to last for generations
What can be improved:
- Offer more sets for savings
—
P.S. More teether reviews here: [Baby Teething #2] More reviews, including Sophie the Giraffe
—
Win Your Own — CLOSED
To thank supporters of Mummy’s Reviews™ Parents Club, this Giveaway is EXCLUSIVE to Parents Club members. TWO (2) lucky members will win one gorgeous Little Alouette Teething Toy (either Fish or Guitar) worth SGD29.90 each!
How to Participate
1. Join Mummy’s Reviews™ Parents Club here or below (existing members counted)
2. Fill in the online form HERE
Other Information
- This Giveaway is open to subscribers with a mailing address in Singapore.
- If you’re a winner, the colour / design of your prize depends on the stock available.
- It will run until 31 August 2012 (Friday) 2359hr (GMT +8).
- The usual Giveaway Terms apply.
Submit your entry now and good luck!
Winners Announcement
Thank you to all Mummies and Daddies who have participated in this Giveaway. The winners are …
Yi San who chose “Guitar”
Siew Hoon who chose “Guitar”
Congratulations to you! You’d receive an email on how to claim your prize.
—
Get Your Own (with Discount!)
To get your own Little Alouette Teething Toy and other eco-friendly children products, visit myecobabe.
- Special Treat: 15% discount on regular-priced items
- Discount Code: MUMMY15
- Validity Period: Until 31 October 2012
Conditions:
- The coupon code is not valid with any other discounts, promotions and/or offers unless otherwise stated
- The coupon cannot be exchanged for cash
Visit myecobabe’s Facebook page here.
Live outside Asia? You may also check the limited stocks at Amazon here: Little Alouette Wooden Teething Toys
—
Further readings:
- Research done on antibacterial properties of wood: Plastic and Wooden Cutting Boards
- Discussion at SafBaby: Is Silicone Safe?
—
Disclosure: I received 1 Safari Free Play Block Set and 1 Puppy Bone Rattle from myecobabe for review.
Mummy’s Reviews™ is a review site that receives compensation if readers make purchases from affiliate links (these are marked with an *). If we receive compensation from the companies whose products we review, this would be disclosed. These compensation help to maintain and grow Mummy’s Reviews™. We test each product thoroughly and give ratings according to our experience with it. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.