Dear reader,
I don’t know about you, but we’ve had one heck of a week with our brand new toddlers! Between growth spurts and *more* ear infections, we’ve had some crabby babies on our hands. Luckily, babies love a good “game.” Mommy interactions, playing with toys we don’t always play with, and simple skills challenges all put babies in better moods. Or at least distract them from the pain and frustration.
It’s pretty easy, actually. Put a bunch of toys in a container and practice putting the toys in and pulling them out! Babies and young toddlers are fascinated with the concept of where a toy goes when it “disappears” out of their sight, and are excitedly learning the concept of object permanence, so there’s not much prep involved to keep a toddler entertained. First, let them empty the container. Then fill it! Then, maybe a little of both! The think that I love about toddlers is that as long as you’re playing with them, there’s no way to lose!
But honestly, to be real, it’s just nice to have something easy to do to keep toddlers entertained and busy for a few minutes. Next to looking after the terrorizing of everything else in the house, picking up the balls after they’ve lost interest in the “game” is easy. I was worried as to whether I lost my sanity when I bought 1000 ball pit balls from Amazon. But so far (and by only bringing out a few at a time), they’ve been a fun distraction. By all means, though, I realize that most of the world doesn’t have ball pit balls at their disposal, nor am I advocating going out and buying 1000 of them, though if you do, I won’t think you’re crazy. Please, just know, this activity works with any toys and any container. And please, lemme know if you try it!
