Why buy Grimms? It’s one question I am asked over and over. And I get it. Until I was an owner, I was skeptical too. Buying anything is about personal choice. We all weigh up budget, with the needs and wants of our families. The decisions my husband I have made are for our family alone, but I know so many of you want to know WHY we invest in these products, so here goes.
Why I choose to buy Grimms products
1) They look good.
Let’s get this one out of the way first. I have been a parent for 15 years. That is 15 YEARS of looking at toys almost ALL DAY LONG. As I’m a teacher, my days away from home are spent surrounded by learning resources. My eyes just don’t get a break. So I’m going to say it: the first reason I was drawn to Grimms toys was that they looked good. And I am in no way ashamed to say that. After days spent endlessly cleaning, rarely eating when I’m actually hungry, and giving up the sleep I so desperately crave, I feel that I should at least be able to walk into my living room and be pleased with what I see. These toys are more beautiful in real life, hence the mild obsession. Not ashamed.
2) Children are happy to play with them.
Looking good isn’t enough. Hands up all the parents who have bought toys that have been played with only a couple of times? Yep, my hand is certainly up. Annoyingly so. I remember finding out that once a child has achieved mastery of an item, they stop using it. Did that make everything click into place for you too? That’s right, once it’s no longer a challenge, it’s no longer of interest. Grimms toys belong to that glorious category of toys titled ‘open ended.’ Which in general terms means children can do anything they like with them. So as there is no finish line or end to mastery, they continue to play.
3) There are no directions or have-to-s.
Many children get sick of rules and directions. Can you blame them? Everywhere they go people are telling them what to do, so more directions can be a bit suffocating. These toys allow them to go where their own imagination leads. Parents, just stay quiet and let them. Nothing kills interest in a toy sooner than parental interruption, telling a child how they ‘should’ be playing with a toy. [Note: there is a group of children that can’t cope without direction or instruction. They are calmed by things being done ‘right.’ For these children, laminate the little card that comes with the item, and print out a few ideas from Pinterest or Instagram for them to copy. For children who have never played with open ended toys before, this is also of great help to start with.]
3) They go with almost anything.
As they are open ended toys, they can be used with pretty much anything! As long as grown ups allow it. Wooden toys don’t always have to be played with just wooden toys. Let children bring in leaves and sticks from outside, or match box cars, marbles, Duplo, Lego, puzzle piece numbers, teddies, or anything else they want from the toy box, to use with Grimms pieces. Avoid setting limits on fun and play (apart from asking children to keep it kind). There is no need to throw everything out to build a Grimms collection, or start buying open ended toys.
4) The energizing colour, or natural calm.
The natural Grimms products are such a visually calming influence for me, whereas the colour tends to get me energized. I change up our toy shelf to suit the mood we need. We are affected by our visual environment. There is something about the order and look of Grimms toys that make them good to be around. The order on our toy shelf somehow inspires me to take control and organize other areas of my home. Weird. But it just does, which came as a big surprise. My ex-military hubby loves the order of these toys. He likes that at the end of the day the toys are not a big jumble, but are organized in a neat way, as that helps to keep him less stressed in a home with 6 kids.
5) Packing up is easy, and we all don’t mind it a bit.
BIG SURPRISE. I didn’t expect this to ever be the case with anything in our house. NO ONE ever wanted to help me clean up. Never ever. There was a lot of crankiness (me) and ignoring (children), until we bought Grimms, Grapat and Gluckskafer. Since then, there have been arguments about who gets to pack Grimms items up. There have been TEARS! And certainly rolled eyes at my haphazard packing up of the Leonardo sticks (certain children have stepped in to redo it the “right”way). I can almost guarantee that at the end of the day our living room is tidy once more. This is something we all love.
Grimms products are natural, sustainable, non toxic, have no sharp bits, can be used for all ages, help to develop good spatial awareness, and both gross and fine motor muscles. They are also a great sensory tool, as they have a weight that is good for sensory kids, and a texture that is unexplainable and lovely. Each piece is unique and touched by human hands, which makes me smile. I’m more than happy that one day, not so very long ago, we decided to Invite Grimms products into our home, and I expect that these gorgeous pieces will form a part of play in our family for generations to come.
Jen.x
Why I choose to buy Grimms products
1) They look good.
Let’s get this one out of the way first. I have been a parent for 15 years. That is 15 YEARS of looking at toys almost ALL DAY LONG. As I’m a teacher, my days away from home are spent surrounded by learning resources. My eyes just don’t get a break. So I’m going to say it: the first reason I was drawn to Grimms toys was that they looked good. And I am in no way ashamed to say that. After days spent endlessly cleaning, rarely eating when I’m actually hungry, and giving up the sleep I so desperately crave, I feel that I should at least be able to walk into my living room and be pleased with what I see. These toys are more beautiful in real life, hence the mild obsession. Not ashamed.
2) Children are happy to play with them.
Looking good isn’t enough. Hands up all the parents who have bought toys that have been played with only a couple of times? Yep, my hand is certainly up. Annoyingly so. I remember finding out that once a child has achieved mastery of an item, they stop using it. Did that make everything click into place for you too? That’s right, once it’s no longer a challenge, it’s no longer of interest. Grimms toys belong to that glorious category of toys titled ‘open ended.’ Which in general terms means children can do anything they like with them. So as there is no finish line or end to mastery, they continue to play.
3) There are no directions or have-to-s.
Many children get sick of rules and directions. Can you blame them? Everywhere they go people are telling them what to do, so more directions can be a bit suffocating. These toys allow them to go where their own imagination leads. Parents, just stay quiet and let them. Nothing kills interest in a toy sooner than parental interruption, telling a child how they ‘should’ be playing with a toy. [Note: there is a group of children that can’t cope without direction or instruction. They are calmed by things being done ‘right.’ For these children, laminate the little card that comes with the item, and print out a few ideas from Pinterest or Instagram for them to copy. For children who have never played with open ended toys before, this is also of great help to start with.]
3) They go with almost anything.
As they are open ended toys, they can be used with pretty much anything! As long as grown ups allow it. Wooden toys don’t always have to be played with just wooden toys. Let children bring in leaves and sticks from outside, or match box cars, marbles, Duplo, Lego, puzzle piece numbers, teddies, or anything else they want from the toy box, to use with Grimms pieces. Avoid setting limits on fun and play (apart from asking children to keep it kind). There is no need to throw everything out to build a Grimms collection, or start buying open ended toys.
4) The energizing colour, or natural calm.
The natural Grimms products are such a visually calming influence for me, whereas the colour tends to get me energized. I change up our toy shelf to suit the mood we need. We are affected by our visual environment. There is something about the order and look of Grimms toys that make them good to be around. The order on our toy shelf somehow inspires me to take control and organize other areas of my home. Weird. But it just does, which came as a big surprise. My ex-military hubby loves the order of these toys. He likes that at the end of the day the toys are not a big jumble, but are organized in a neat way, as that helps to keep him less stressed in a home with 6 kids.
5) Packing up is easy, and we all don’t mind it a bit.
BIG SURPRISE. I didn’t expect this to ever be the case with anything in our house. NO ONE ever wanted to help me clean up. Never ever. There was a lot of crankiness (me) and ignoring (children), until we bought Grimms, Grapat and Gluckskafer. Since then, there have been arguments about who gets to pack Grimms items up. There have been TEARS! And certainly rolled eyes at my haphazard packing up of the Leonardo sticks (certain children have stepped in to redo it the “right”way). I can almost guarantee that at the end of the day our living room is tidy once more. This is something we all love.
Grimms products are natural, sustainable, non toxic, have no sharp bits, can be used for all ages, help to develop good spatial awareness, and both gross and fine motor muscles. They are also a great sensory tool, as they have a weight that is good for sensory kids, and a texture that is unexplainable and lovely. Each piece is unique and touched by human hands, which makes me smile. I’m more than happy that one day, not so very long ago, we decided to Invite Grimms products into our home, and I expect that these gorgeous pieces will form a part of play in our family for generations to come.
Jen.x
Wonderful activity.
https://toybiz.com.au
Best Toys Online Stores Australia on
Los felicito por su trabajo!!! Realmente son piezas de arte. Quiero consultar dónde puedo conseguirlos!! Tienen algún representante en Argentina?? Ustedes hacen envíos internacionales?
Leonardo Tejedor on
New Grandma, let’s go shopping 😀
Kay wilson on
I love these products! My company is looking for environmentally friendly teacher resources to sell direct to teachers. Would you be interested?
Rachel pearce on