When Nicole Bradley's son, Marshall, turned 1 year old, he received a wooden Noah's Ark as a gift from one of his grandmothers.

The toy was beautiful, and it stood apart from the "sea of plastic toys" already being used by her son, said Bradley, who lives in Holladay.

"Aesthetically, it was pleasing to look at," she said. "It made me think how I could incorporate more toys like that into his playroom."

Now, two years later and pregnant with her second child, Bradley has a collection of toys for her son she believes are high-quality and conducive to learning. She also has a blog, www.thetoysnob.blogspot.com, to help other moms find "beautiful" toys for their young children.

Bradley is one of a growing number of parents across the nation who are concerned about the quality of children's toys, both from an educational and quality standpoint and from the perspective of being safe for children and the environment. It's a trend highlighted by last year's wave of toy recalls but also driven by a desire to be more eco-friendly and allow children the freedom to develop their imagination through play.

Research shows young children learn through play they initiate themselves; by making the "beep, beep" noise of a car or creating their own scenarios to act out with dolls, said Cheryl Wright, chair of the University of Utah department of family and consumer studies. While she believes electronic toys can be great tools for learning, and are appropriate for teenagers and school-age children to use, it is her opinion young children should have simple playthings that allow room for creativity.

Some examples include wooden building blocks, art materials and noninteractive cloth dolls. The goal is for the child to act upon a toy, not the toy to require the child to act, Wright said.

"If you give children outlets to play, it helps them build skills and build confidence through creative ways of learning," Wright said.

But analysts predict some of the top-selling toys for young children this Christmas will be electronic. The Web site, www.timetoplaymag.com, recently uploaded a list of the "most wanted" toys this holiday, which included the new "Elmo Live!" doll, an electronic puppy named "Biscuit" and a new interactive reading system by LeapFrog.

In total, parents are estimated to spend about $470 billion this holiday season buying toys, according to the National Retail Federation. That's a 2.2 percent increase over last year's spending, but significantly lower than the 10-year average of 4.4 percent.