Ahşap Oyuncakların Çocuk Gelişiminde Yeri ve Ahşap Oyuncaklar için Tasarım Önerileri
Özet
This thesis explores wood, which has functioned in many different ways
throughout the history of humanity, in terms of its eligibility for children’s toys, and
findings are assessed with reference to wooden toys’ value in child development.
In this context, child development is examined according to the theories and
opinions about child development stages and the concepts of play and toys, which
are the most valuable elements of childhood in preschool period. Industrial and
technological developments bring about changes in ecology and conditions of
living, which increase human beings’ contact with artificial substances and
chemicals. Heightened susceptibility to health problems thus caused lead human
beings to search for what exists in nature, naturally. The present study regards
wood in this context and discusses its properties as a natural and healthy
substance. Information about the current standards for the safety of toys and
findings of online research on producing companies’ websites regarding the use of
wood in children’s toys is given. In the light of the literature on the significance of
toys in child development, insights concerning wooden toys’ importance thereof
are related, taking developmental areas into account. By treating wooden toys as
a supporting factor for a healthy child development—as wooden toys are made of
a natural, sustainable and eco-friendly substance—a guide to design wooden toys
which aims to work as a basis for wooden toys produced with an agenda of
adopting and popularizing the use of wood for children’s toys is prepared.
