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WON! The ultimate UAE summer saviour for parents – cult-favourite, the Wobbel board, from Parents United UAE and Harri & Eve
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WON! The ultimate UAE summer saviour for parents – cult-favourite, the Wobbel board, from Parents United UAE and Harri & Eve

by Tabitha BardaJuly 1, 2022

Staying in the UAE for summer? The Wobbel is your child’s perfect companion. Described by Vogue magazine as “the balance board with a cult following”, these sought-after products are crafted from high-quality wood and make the ideal open-ended-play toy for children (and adults) of all ages.

And we are delighted to be able to give one of these lusted-after products away to one lucky UAE family, on behalf of our community group Parents United UAE  – powered by SchoolsCompared and WhichSchoolAdvisor – and our friends at Dubai-based online family concept store, Harri & Eve.

Why children need open-ended play

With its origins in Waldorf schools, these versatile boards are loved by educationalists for their childhood development benefits, as well as by stylish parents and social-media mums, who adore their sleek Scandinavian design.

The benefits of open-ended play for children are manifold. Lysiane Ruf, Academic Director, Future International Nursery explains:

“During his celebrated TedTalk, British author and educationalist Sir Ken Robinson famously argued that we don’t grow into creativity; it is present in early childhood and we are educated out of it… the best way to preserve it is to offer children ample opportunities for open-ended play, with no fixed answer, no fear of doing it wrong, and freedom to experiment with the simplest materials.”

“Open-ended play helps to spark and feed this essential creativity in children and helps them to make sense of their world and even resolve issues and questions that may arise in their environment. Children can get lost for hours in open play.”

GEMS_INARTICLE  

“And this is the challenge: open play with open-ended resources requires undisturbed time.”

“We have noticed that children, especially when used to commercial toys or screen activities, will not engage straight away with open-ended resources and simple materials. They take time to observe before being drawn into action. So an essential parameter that we need to take into account is to create uninterrupted time for children to be able to creatively engage with open-ended resources.”

The Wobbel is one of the most revolutionary examples of an open-ended resource.

Although it looks simple, its function is profoundly multi-faceted, and it works as a bridge between old and young; adults will often use the Wobbel as anything from an armrest, to a tray, to a laptop mount.

Not only has it inspired its own form of Yoga – Wobbelyoga – which helps builds children’s strength and conditioning – but it also functions as a revealing blank canvas, which reflects the personality of the child who plays with it.

It can be used as a balance board, but it is also a reading nook, a pirate ship, a bridge for toy trains, a bed for dolls, a slide and a tunnel for a soldier to crawl through. The possibilities are endless.

Made of European beech wood, which is bent into a sleek curve under high pressure, the boards are strong (they can hold between 100-200kg), look aesthetically pleasing for all the Instagram and Pinterest mums out there, and its natural, wood material makes it more sustainable than any plastic alternatives.

Lysiane Ruf, Academic Director, Future International Nursery says:

“One of the advantages of wooden toys is that often there will be very little built-in details, which allow children’s ideas to freely guide the play. In terms of sensory play, wooden surfaces present many more varieties than plastic ones, and we have noticed that children are drawn to natural wood and love exploring the feel. Wooden toys will also be more durable than plastic ones.”

WIN A WOBBEL

Retailing at Dh665, community group Parents United UAE is giving away one Wobbel board from gorgeous family lifestyle online store Harri & Eve to one lucky UAE family this July!

ABOUT PARENTS UNITED UAE

Parents United UAE is a Facebook group powered by SchoolsCompared.com and our sister site WhichSchoolAdvisor.com. Its admins are parents and education experts in the UAE, and its mission is to bring people together by sharing knowledge about schools and education in the UAE. It’s the perfect group to head to not only if you’re looking for a school recommendation, but also if you have a question about any parenting or education topic – from SEN issues to child health, the best packed lunch boxes, bullying or even choosing where to live in Dubai.

ABOUT HARRI & EVE

Harri & Eve is a beautiful family concept online store, selling gorgeous baby and children’s toys and clothing, as well as stunning gifts for little ones. Established in 2021 and sister company to sustainable online store Eco Souk, Harri & Eve is a Dubai-based children’s and lifestyle brand dedicated to finding the magic in every day.

HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION:

Simply join our Facebook Group Parents United UAE and then tag a friend in the comments below the competition post, which is pinned to the top of the group.

PLEASE NOTE: You MUST be a parent based in the UAE to join the group and win this prize.

This competition has now closed.

The winner of the competition is…. Agathe Jameson. Many congratulations from all at SchoolsCompared.com to Ms Jameson who is looking forward to “wobbeling her way through Summer with her friends!”

© SchoolsCompared.com. 2022. All rights reserved.

About The Author
Tabitha Barda
Tabitha Barda is the Senior Editor of SchoolsCompared.com. Oxbridge educated and an award winning journalist in the UAE for more than a decade, Tabitha is one of the region's shining lights in all that is education in the emirates. A mum herself, she is passionate about helping parents - and finding the stories in education that deserve telling. She is responsible for the busy 24x7 News Desk, our Advisory Boards and Specialist Panels - and Parents United's WHICHPlaydates - a regular meeting place for UAE parents to discuss the issues that matter to them, make friends and network with others. You can often find Tabitha too on Parents United - our Facebook community board, discussing the latest schools and education issues with our parent community in the UAE - and beyond.

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