Toys toys everywhere…
…and not a thing to play with. Hmmm… doesn’t really have the same ring as “Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink” but you know what I mean.
So what do you think Baby Bug’s favorite toy is?
a. her pink stuffed bunny
b. the stuffed space gun that beeps when you push it’s fuzzy trigger button
c. an old remote control
d. mommy’s laptop
If you answered “d”, you are correct. Baby Bug always wants to play with my laptop. She’s figured out that the silver toy that lights up and clicks is really really fun. Mommy is always playing with it, so it must be. Sometimes I put her in my lap and I try to type with her balancing between my arms. Before I know it, my sentences are in cap lock and there are giant spaces and numbers where there shouldn’t be. Two seconds after that, she’s pulled herself up on my desk and is trying to climb right up on top of the keyboard and into the screen. She is fascinated by it.
I can’t totally blame her. I’m fascinated by it too. I think I went wrong when I showed her that it can play movies of puppies and babies laughing. She must think it’s the magic box. The problem is, it’s magic to me too.
All day long I think about all the things I could make on my computer if I could just find a minute. This feeling reminds me of my old boss. He was really good at making funny voices. Out of nowhere he’d start talking with a lisp or ask for something sounding like Chubacca. He always had us rolling with laughter. One day I asked him where he came up with all these voices.
“It’s like there’s a rave going on in my head,” he said. “All these crazy characters are jumping around and every once in a while one of them jumps to the top. That’s the voice that comes out.”
I always think of that description. I think there’s a rave of creativity going on in my head. There are all kinds of designs and characters to illustrate that are just dying to get out but I have to keep a lid on them and pay attention to the baby because if I don’t, she will pull plugs out of the wall and suck on them. But I didn’t really come here to complain about that. Because very soon I am going to hire a babysitter and I will get four hours a week to do whatever I please with my laptop. Woo hoo! (Watch me do nothing but stare at it and miss Baby Bug.)
What I came here to blog about was how funny it is that I can dump almost every single toy out of her toy box (it seemed like a fun idea at the time) and Baby Bug will not want to play with a single one of them. Even the sheer quantity didn’t amuse her.
How did she get so many toys anyway? She’s not even one year old yet. It’s not like I’ve gone out and bought very many. I’m constantly thinking I need to get her new toys because the old toys are so boring but I don’t because I have no idea where to put them. I even discourage relatives from buying her toys. What a mean mom I am. Maybe I should start a storage system so that old toys can be stowed away for another day and become new again.
Or… I could just give her my laptop.
19 Comments
aunt kathy
Yes, definitely rotate the toys. Also, do you have an old computer she can have? I have one here if you want to come and get it! Actually, you can probably pick one up at the Sally Ann for $5.
Gramma
Too many toys equals confusion. Too many toys quenches imagination. Too many toys thwarts creativity. A few toys will encourage inspection and investigation. Early on a child will show signs of interest. Fan that flame. One of my children, from her playpen on the lawn, poked at caterpillars and beetles crawling in the grass. She went on to major in microbiology at Davis. Of course there was one boss, who encouraged her siblings in what to do. She still tells her gang what to do and makes sure they do. Another rescued flies and mosquitos and even moths gently and released them outside. He is now an RN in neonatal ICU. One child lined up her doll children in a row and taught them to read in sing. She has her degree from Cal State Hayward and is a certified teacher for K-12. Still another would sit for hours threading small macaroni sized beads when she was barely two, went on to College of Alameda for training in drafting, sewing and tailoring. At the present time she has her own dressmaking and alteration business. The next one was a “put away” specialist and cleared nonsence off tables and counters and put away. She now manages a busy household and taxi service for four children. They were all “into” books and loved to be read and to read themselves, if only turning pages. Look for signs. In the meantime, put away all but a few. Then later exchange them. Because you are her full time companion, of course she wants to do what you do, with you, when you do it.
lin
I”ve asked the same question my son is two today and i had to give away toys because he had way to many!! I have no idea how he has these many we’ve probably bought a handle full of toys. My son (2) know how to do almost everything on the computer he has his own account and he just turns it on goes under his picture then to the internet and under his favorites. He is way to computer smart you never relieze all they really see and understand. I guessing baby bug will be a computer whizz too and no toy will be as fun as the one mommy plays with.
andrea from the fishbowl
I also vote for toy rotation. It was wildly sucessful in our house. We used few of those very large Rubbermaid storage containers (with lids) and thee toys are divided into them.
Man, it was like CHRISTMAS every time we brought up a new one. It made all of those toys new again.
BeachMama
We rotate here all the time… the old saying about give a kid a toy and he plays with the cardboard box rings very true in our house. Less in sight is usually better than more, have fun, you must be just getting really excited about a babysitter coming to help out!
BeachMama
Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to say I love the new masthead!
And please stop showing off your feet in sandals ;)
Heather
One thing is for sure, your laptop would be the most expensive toy she has. The object of the game is to keep the baby happy but you’ve got to stop somewhere.
josephine
Gramma, you forgot the part about how the neonatal nurse used to flush his sister’s dolly heads down the toilet….
Jennifer
We have so many toys over here. Containing and organizing them could be a full time job. I haven’t come up with a system I’m completely happy with, but have some ideas floating around. I don’t blame Baby Bug for liking that computer so much, they’re fun! haha. I use mine in front of the baby but I’ve never shown her anything entertaining on it. A couple of books and things like price tags to clothing are a real hit lately :P
Elizabeth
I rotate my toys to different parts of the house and i works pretty well.
jP
Too many toys are too stimutating and she doesn’t know where to begin. Kind of like my garage!!!
I vote for her own keyboard. They make a lot of new computer like things now geared for toddlers. I left Becky alone with compter when she was 3 and she changed the wallpaper. I’m not sure I know how to do that. j
Wendy
The computer is the favorite toy in our house, too. I have to fight my 3-year-old for computer time. I’ve found a fun website for the little ones if you decide to let her have a little fun with the keyboard… http://www.kneebouncers.com/kneebouncers.html
I’ve heard good things about toy rotation, too. Just haven’t found the energy to sort through ALL THOSE TOYS!!!
jd
We solved the laptop problem by buying a used keyboard at goodwill and cutting off the cord. Cost about a buck. The kids set it up along on a stack of blocks as their desk, and work away. Yes, we’re training the next generation of office drones, but we’re saving a fortune in laptop repairs.
Basically, anything grown up that a kid likes and can destroy, go to Goodwill and buy a 2 dollar version.
Phone, wallet, purse. Then, when they go after yours, swap in theirs and let them go crazy.
Gramma
Only one “Ginnette” doll head went down the toilet. But it was the one that went to the doll I had made clothes for, for his sister’s birthday to be given at her party on THAT DAY.
I’m ready to bang my head against the wall. Aunt Kathy has promised to put together a little booklet of family recipes. I just finished typing special tips and recipes for Chicken Piccata, Chicken Paprikash, Party Meatballs, French Dip Sandwiches and meant to move the curser back to correct spelling on Piccata when I hit that little “X” on the top right of the screen. Everything whooshed away. I think I’ll leave the keyboard and have another cup of coffee.
BTW a paper grocery bag and a kitten are great fun!
Our gang used to wait impatiently for me to empty groceries from the then used boxes (instead of bags) so they could make a train running from the kitchen through dining room to living room. The engine-man got to wear a hat, the caboose tacked on a red flag. Lustily they sang “Little Red Caboose” loud and clear.
Texas T-bone
That is nothing. Wait until she’s almost 4 and has more toys than you do.
Computers are magic boxes. It’s a novelty to watch the same old movie (again) that my son’t seen 10 million times if it’s on either our desktop computer or the laptop.
Anny
Can you find a used keyboard that you can let her play with while you play on your laptop? After disinfecting it, of course.
Kedge
I’ve got a keyboard graveyard! Help yourself (while I hold Baby Bug, of course)
Ari (Baking and Books)
My mom has a picture of my brother and I, about 5 and 8 years old, where we pretty much took all our toys and flung them across our bedroom. You couldnt even see the floor.
mar
Another vote for toy rotation – once a month, change them around -it will be just like Christmas morning! Also change them between rooms – switch the ones in her room with the ones in the living room, the ones in the stroller or car, etc. And keep aside one or two that are just for special times – restaurants, long waits at DMV, etc. I kept twistable crayons and small sketch books for my “traveling bag of goodies” and the kids loved going out and waiting somewhere because they knew they would get to play with their favorite coloring toy!
I also find that if the toys are not put away, they are less likely to play with them. At night, when I straightened up, I always lined up toys on the bay window sill, or on top of bookcases, etc. I guess part of the fun of playing is taking the stuff out!