Why Choose Highly-Detailed and Anatomically Correct Animal Toys?

“They don’t look like dino chicken nuggets!      - Jacob

Which shelf would kids run towards?

As caregivers of children, we can all probably recall a time when we have excitedly put out a new toy or material that appeals to us, only to find that the children have no interest in it whatsoever.

Imagine that your child excitedly walks into a playroom with shelves of  monochromatic wooden toys and those stocked with richly detailed figurines.  From my experience as a parent and educator, the wooden toys will largely be ignored and kids will gravitate towards the realistic, colorful, and textured toy figurines. 

Wooden figures do have a certain aesthetic appeal and can provide a calm sensory experience, but the often clunky appearance and lack of detail can detract from potential learning and connection to real animals. My son declared that some wooden animal figures were shaped like dino chicken nuggets.

While there is a time and place for wooden toys, I consistently go with more realistic figurines. When deciding on toys for my own kids or a classroom, the biggest factor is always appeal. If it won't be appealing to a child’s mind, it simply won’t be used. The magic happens when children are naturally drawn to an object, leading to endless possibilities for play and learning.

High-quality Safari Ltd. figures have been a time-tested choice for many parents and educators for overall appeal, durability, learning potential, and more. 

Kids flock to realistic animal figurines, and as one enthusiastic fan was overheard saying, “Safari Ltd. toys don’t suck!”

My kids and students have always particularly enjoyed the intricate detailing and scientific accuracy of Safari Ltd. animal figures. 

As a parent and educator, there are so many reasons why I go for highly-detailed and scientifically accurate animal figurines for play and educational purposes. 

1. Inspiring Curiosity and Learning

When we provide children with accurate animal figurines, we are encouraging curiosity and inspiring learning about different animal species. With realistic animal toys, children will more readily make connections between their toy animals and the real world. They'll have fun learning about physical characteristics, behavior, and habitats of animals through play. 

2. Fostering Imaginative Play

Realistic and accurate animal figurines spark imaginations. Kids will be inspired to create their own stories and pretend play scenarios. They will eagerly use their animal toys to act out different adventures and create their imaginative mini worlds for their toy critters to inhabit.

3. Promoting Language Development & Building Vocabulary

The intricate detailing and scientific accuracy of Safari Ltd. animal figures leads to enhanced and more specific vocabulary. With highly-detailed figures, kids can be introduced to anatomical parts of the animal (wings, feathers, claws, beak, mane, teeth, tail, etc). The toys can be easily matched to photos or real animals, leading to rich conversations around similarities and differences. With finer details to notice and note, more profound observations can be made, more possibilities for comparing and contrasting can occur, and endless sorting opportunities are available. Realistic figures also lend themselves to obvious connections to book and movie characters, provide boundless inspiration for storytelling and play adventures, plus much more!

4.  Brain Building and Encouraging Little Hands

Playing and manipulating small animal figurines can help develop fine motor skills while also improving hand-eye coordination and dexterity.  The intricate features on Safari Ltd. figures encourages even much more!

Kids will get a multi-sensory input experience from the exquisite textures of the figures (fur, feather, and scale detailing), varying weight of the different sized animals, and visual stimulation from beautiful colors and fine details. Time and time again, children excitedly seek out these toys because they are pleasing and stimulating to their minds and little hands.

5. Teaching Empathy and Respect for Animals

By playing with animal toys that actually look like real animals, children will begin to develop empathy and respect for a variety of creatures. They will learn to appreciate the diversity of life on Earth. We seek to learn about what we love; by introducing all types of animals (including "scary" ones like sharks or spiders) under playful situations, littles will form positive associations, empathy, and budding understanding. This kind of connection to real life animals is much more difficult to achieve with a more abstract wooden toy.

6. Improve Scientific Understanding

Realistic animal figurines can help children practice scientific concepts such as classification, adaptation, and ecosystem dynamics. Children can learn about the different roles that animals play in their ecosystems and how they interact with each other, as well as how different body parts are adapted and used for survival in the wild.

Overall, highly-detailed and scientifically accurate animal figurines are super appealing to kids and can provide a fun and engaging way for children to learn about animals and the natural world around them. They can foster curiosity, creativity, empathy, development, language skills, and scientific understanding. Kids of all ages gravitate toward realistic animal toys, and time after time, will seek them out for play. Many people continue collecting beautiful figures well into adulthood!

Not all plastic toys are created equal!  

Safari Ltd. figurines are safe and non-toxic. They are well-loved, timeless toys that are durable, and with proper storage, are perfect for passing along to future generations. 

To learn more about our products check out our FAQs or learn about our process. Interested in finding anatomically correct animal toys today? Check out a few categories below to help you get started: 

• Incredible Creatures® Realistic Animal Figurines
• Wild Safari® Prehistoric Animal Toys & Figurines
• Wild Wildlife
• Wings of the World Birds
• Sea Animal Toys & Figurines

About The Writer 

Anji Audley has been an early childhood educator with experience in grades Pre-K through First. She has tutored kids of all ages and is a mom of two active and creative boys. Anji is a strong advocate for child-led, play-based learning. She loves creating playful activities that are infused with STEAM and nature elements to inspire discovery and creativity. Taking toys outside is one of her top parenting hacks!