More parents pulling the plug on nurseries

Some modern parents are trying to lower the volume on tech toys and children's environment, creating havens filled with sturdy push-pull toys and handmade dolls.

Amanda Heravi of Larchmont, N.Y., says her toddler, Jake, and his new sister, Lilia, should drive the play experience.

"Wooden puzzles, trains, blocks - whatever sounds Jake thinks should accompany the toy, I love to hear," she says. "Then I can tell that he's really using his imagination."

Many of the designers and retailers responding to this trend are parents.

When Atlanta couple Jim and Erica Lancaster had their first child 14 years ago, "our house began to fill with plastic and electronic toys which neither suited us nor the environment we wanted for our kids," Jim Lancaster says.

Erica Lancaster, who had worked on The Nature Co.'s toy development team, envisioned a collection that updated familiar classics: Jack Rabbit Creations was born. Their jack-in-the-boxes feature characters such as Fifi the poodle and Spots the bunny and there are knitted toys, fleecy jingle balls and old-fashioned tin lunchboxes.

Melissa and Doug Bernstein have built a toy empire in Wilton, Conn., around such ideas. Parents stock up on "Melissa and Doug" peg pounders, sorters, blocks and puppets toys that could have been found in a child's room half a century ago.

"We're experiencing dramatic age compression - children aren't children for as many years anymore," Melissa Bernstein says. "Five-year-olds are receiving iPods as gifts, and 3-year-olds are playing video games. Imagination and the ability to innovate come when the brain can engage in open-ended creativity."

In this intense, strife-ridden world, she says, many parents are eager to provide their children with "real, simple, enriching play."

Lisa Lowe of Long Beach, Calif., puts out the SugarBooger collection, which includes closet dividers in themes such as Nursery Rhyme and Campground, complete with sticker sets to help organize. She also offers the Yummy Kitchen, Gingham melamine tray sets and a beechwood kitty rattle.

Some technology suits parents fine.

Heather Hamda and Linda Suh of Cloud B studio in California developed a collection of plush toys, some with nightlights, to soothe restless babies.

Rain, whale song and other gentle sounds emanate from the soft bodies of giraffes, dolphins and sheep; the sounds can be set on a timer. Turtles and ladybugs project a starry sky on the ceiling, and a Labrador retriever smells like soothing lavender. The line has been popular among Hollywood celebrities.

Nora Neiterman, a New York textile artist, who creates juvenile designs for retailers such as Target, likes her children's rooms "to be an extension of our overall home decor." Her color palette runs to white, soft green and accents of vegetable colors.

Toys R Us has launched a line of nursery décor, Little Boutique, that includes vintage-style switchplates, frames, wall art and storage. It also has a simple yet chic leafy tree decal.

"We connect with the past when we share it with our children," says Deanna Campbell, who runs myretrobaby.com, offering toys and decor that evoke bygone decades. "In a fast-paced world, that's calming."