Thread: Wood for child chew toy - tree species to use/avoid?

Hmm, i have never heard of giving a teething child timber to chew on but hey i've never been a parent so my view should not discourage you, however i have a strong gut feel that you should not use Camphor Laurel.

What about Balsa?

Camphor laurel probably isn't the best timber to use for stuff that people are going to shove into their mouths - someone else will probably come out with why, but my understanding is that oils and volatiles associated with it tend to do bad things.

If you're after something cheap, just grab some clear pine - it's soft (which isn't generally good), but provided it's untreated, it's a pretty innocuous timber.

Unless I'm totally mistaken, many Aussie hardwoods aren't too bad, but trees related to grevilleas (think silky oak) are probably best avoided as they tend to cause allergic reactions in people or lead to sensitisation to other timbers. From memory, Blackwood is another one of those "sensitiser" types.

Of course, once you've picked the right timber, the finish is a whole other ball game....

I should probably clarify, when I say a soft wood isn't great, it's from a durability perspective. Until they have teeth, kids are really easy on toys. After that, it's like someone has gone round with a jewellers hammer and dented everything that was within reach.

Originally Posted by grapeseed

So baby is about to start teething and I'd really like to make a few chew toys out of untreated, unfinished timber.

I know in the USA they often suggest maple

What readily available timber species can I use from around here (North coast NSW)? Can I use just about anything or are there only a few species acceptable for children to chew on? Are there some species to avoid due to toxicity concerns??

I have plenty of camphor laurel I could hack a piece out of....anyone know of any concerns regarding children chewing on this, for example?

I think the responsible answer is to tell you to go to the pharmacy and buy some proper teething toys.

If it's wood and can be chewed, for sure they'll bite off a chunk and choke themselves.
and if they can't bite off a chunk, even just ingesting the oils and volatiles by sucking, will likely upset their tummy or worse (what ever you do don't use oleander)

a tip given me 30 years ago
keep the teething toys in the freezer

There are plenty of teething toys available in the US and Canada (and Europe) that are made from wood Choosing a Safe and All-Natural Teether for Your Baby

I presume that the hard woods which seem to be used typically are not prone to chipping/choking..

Any ideas what hard woods readily available in Australia would be safe to use?

Ah grapeseed, any of the conifers will be OK. Your kid is teething, right? They have not yet got a set of chompers to cut off chunks like a freakin' beaver.
They grind it off like shreddings. They will give it up. Then you throw the leavings away. End of story.
My D1 decided that the kitchen table legs (maple) did NOT taste like food, so she quit. My D2 worked on the maple chair legs a little longer but
gave them up for food, not much of an argument.

If anyone is really aggravated by my cellulosic comments, then roast a cow femur and give that to your kid. Bison, Elk, Moose, Deer = edible.

I recall a woodturning article in one of the Australian woodworking magazines in early 2003 where a baby's rattle was made out of celery top pine with some dried beans as the rattles. It had a burnished oil finish made using baby oil because it was classed as a food safe product.

Unfortunately I'm 400km away from my magazines so I can't dig it out for you, perhaps another forumite remembers it? It was one of the first magazines I bought when I originally emigrated over here which is why I'm able to narrow down the date pretty well.

Not sure who you may end up supplying the teethers to, but be wary as Australia has pretty tough product safety legislation. If you choose to accept the mission - any of the woods used for making items like paddle pop sticks (hoop pine etc) will be suitable. Be mindful of choking hazards and the potential for pieces to become detached in "normal use."

Here is a recent product safety recall https://www.productsafety.gov.au/rec...c-ring-stacker


https://www.productsafety.gov.au/sta...-months-of-age

I agree with Robson and just watching my grandson reach the stage of where everything he can get to goes into his mouth I think we are overthinking this one.
Grandson has teething toys but they get thrown away quick smart and he seems to chew on everything else instead.

Kids have been chewing on sticks and rocks since we came down from the trees. As long as the timber is solid and not something like oleander it's not going to be a problem.

One thing we constantly forget is all wood is naturally antibiotic so a piece of wood with baby slobber and food on it will have fewer bugs on it that any plastic or other type of teething toy that's been laying around for a few hours. Plastic toys are in fact one of the filthiest things around for germ transmission so time and chemicals have to be spent by child related institutions to keep them clean. You can't exactly put a child's entire toy set into a freezer let alone a those large child's activity centres. I'd suggest the germ thing represents a greater risk than a toddler being able to bite off a piece of wood and choke themselves.

I reckon something like olive or citrus wood would make good toys that kids could chew on

Excellent info! Thank you to every one who replied!!