In today’s society it is impossible to keep up with the next latest and greatest toy. The market is saturated with toys that supposedly improve our children’s learning development, motor skills, and reasoning. Every inch of available space in your home is filled with noisy, musical, blinking, shaking, bouncy, and brightly flashing toys. And which toy does your baby prefer? Out of all the toys, some likely very expensive, your baby prefers a mixing spoon and a pot to bang it on.
Before you buy your next expensive toy, look around your home for fun, entertaining things for your baby to play with. You might be surprised just how many there are.
-Kitchen Items- Pots, spoons, cups, are great fun for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Babies enjoy sucking on, throwing, and banging on cups and spoons. As they develop into toddlers they begin to use kitchen items for musical instruments, for sorting shapes, and stacking. By the time they reach preschool age they love to play kitchen with the pots and pans. Pots and pans are a sure all for young children no matter the age.
Step2
-Tags- Every notice when you give a baby a stuffed animal the first thing they do is suck on and play with is the little “care instruction” tag. Give a baby one of your brightly colored t-shirts. The will love looking at it, snuggling with it, and sucking on the tag!
Step3
-Hats- A pile of an assortment of hats in the living room is sure to bring great fun. Babies love to feel the different textures and see all the different colors. They will put them in their mouth, though, so the pile should not include your best hats. For toddlers and preschoolers hats are the ultimate dress-up. They will have such fun imaging themselves as firefighters, policeman, baseball players, mommies, and daddies
Step4
-Laundry Baskets- Laundry baskets are not just for laundry, didn’t you know? Laundry baskets double as; cars, rocket ships, airplanes, and fire trucks. My children from a very young age loved playing in the laundry baskets. Long after the laundry was done and put away they were still race car drivers riding in the laundry baskets. They also came in really handy when my children were learning to walk. They would push the baskets along the carpet and use them for stability.
Tips & Warnings
A parent’s love is not measured in the amount of toys their child has but rather the time spent with them. An attentive parent is what helps a child to develop mentally, not a flashy noisy toy.
How to Entertain a Baby with Household Items
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