Meine deutschen Schwiegereltern besuchten und brachten diese für unser 11 Monate altes Baby, das alles in den Mund steckt, um zu spielen.
Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich überreagiere, aber ich habe nicht das Gefühl, dass dies altersgemäß für mein Baby ist. Ich bin super besorgt, dass er alle Staubbits schluckt, wenn er es in den Mund steckt.
Mein Mann findet es in Ordnung und sagte, dass alle deutschen Babys mit solchen Dingen gespielt haben.
Bitte sag mir, ob ich die verrückte Mutter bin ???
https://i.redd.it/7ytbjud8glue1.jpeg
Von sunrise-8888
27 Kommentare
Just pieces of wood. As long as they are not mouldy or so I wouldn’t worry to much about it, just the size perhaps (missing a banana for reference).
Then again bringing that as a “present” seems weird to me.
Safe as long as supervised. It’s not healthy to keep babies in a sterile environment, they need to experience the real world… just make sure the pieces are too big to swallow!
I’m German and I’ve never seen stuff like this before. I think I’d be concerned about the bark.
Well it’s not a German thing, so idk why they brought it. Maybe for teething? They look washed, I think it’s okay, unless they’re too small bc of chocking
Never seen or heard of a baby playing with just pieces of wood.
The bark can and will at some point break off and land in a babys mouth.
Some pieces also seem a bit small. Get some proper wooden toys
Yea its save for your Baby thats birch wood
Birch wood is not poisonous, so that’s not an issue. Would I have been excited to see my kid chew on generic pieces of wood? I don’t think so. Better than having the child taste test cat litter in a playground, sure. You do what you feel right, it’s your child. Not the parents in law.
How large are these pieces? The box is not a good measurement. If it’s the size we have from IKEA, they’d be absolutely safe and the bark also doesn’t look like it’s going to split off easily.
However, it’s super odd. We’re German and nobody gifted our child pieces of wood and I wouldn’t know anyone who did.
Is your baby a parrot or something?
They look dry and have smooth ends and no grades. Also it’s birch, so not toxic at all.
Seems to be some sort of building blocks.
If you don’t feel good with it, maybe just wait another 1-2 months.
> I’m super concerned that he is swallowing all the dust bits whenever he puts it in his mouth.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing: babies habitually eat dirt almost as if they’re programmed to, and the current theory seems to be that it gives their immune systems a proper work-out. It certainly seems to be the case that as we have striven to make our environments antiseptically clean to protect our children, the number of children with allergies and other problems with the immune system seems to be on the rise. (Whether there’s anything in that I can’t say.)
As long as those bits of wood are reasonably clean, and they look reasonably clean, the risk of harm is probably close to zero, and certainly not much greater than if we were talking about store-bought plastic blocks. Obviously you have to use some common sense: a child putting a handful of soil in its mouth is likely to be fine, but a child eating handfuls of dog poop is quite likely to get very seriously ill. There is a sliding scale rather than a definite cut-off point.
All that said, if you are worried, talk to a paediatrician or even your GP: they’re way more qualified than I’ll ever be.
This looks like birch wood. This is non-toxic. If the pieces are larger than the mouth itself, it is harmless. It just shouldn’t fit in the mouth. or in the nose 😅
It’s not a German thing, never seen or heard about this. But dust is not dangerous. Babies and toddlers lick the floor if you let them and unless there’s some dangerous chemicals spilled, they’re fine. The size is hard tell from the photo, but generally speaking: Don’t let babies and toddlers alone with stuff they can swallow.
I see kids even younger than 1, put everything in their mouth in the play ground. Most parents wont stop them unless Play ground is not clean.
This wood seems to be clean. Better than any plastic your kid might explore.
I am old and German and never saw/heard of this before for babies.
Normal wood without a bark, yes, if it is smooth and sanded and can’t splinter, like light wooden building blocks.
Normal wood sticks to play with if they are toddlers is also fine.
But they have to be taught to not put it in their mouths.
As a father of two, now grown-ups, I can say: I would have let them play as a baby with it, while my wife wouldn’t let them play:) I know that doesn’t resolve your question, but just saying, at some point it’s just a gut feeling. And usually, a mom gets it right 🙂
I would be concerned about the baby hurting its gums on splinters and rough edges
Ah this brings back memories. Christmas 89, I open the present and scream filled with joy „Birkenklötzchen! Sogar noch mit Rinde!“.
It was the tastiest Christmas I ever had.
It’s fine. Just remove the very small pieces because of choking hazard, and watch while they play with it.
Canadian here, those are called beaver chips. A natural product, great for beavers and babies.
I don’t know any German baby that’s ever played with these and I’m starting to question the intelligence of your husband.
As a german: I have no idea what your husband is talking about. I have never heard of that and I actually got curios and asked some friends from other regions and noone had ever heard of something like that. Maybe it’s a thing in his family, but not a general German thing at all.
Personally, I wouldn’t risk it tbh.
Bro it’s 2025.
Any bits from that are much less harmful than the bits of microscopic plastic from other toys I’d say.
I would first test out how easily the bark or small pieces in general come off and how high their potential to become a choking hazard is.
Most comments seem to just focus on whether the wood is toxic or not, but babies and toddlers choke on things all the time – it’s the reason so many small toys are rated age 3 and up.
It’s fine. Better than a plastic toy. Not harmful in anyway not even the dust or dirt. Slight chocking hazard maybe
I used to be a German baby and I am quite sure I never played with pieces of wood like these.