Before baby G arrived, I always figured we were the world's most boring household for kids to visit. Sure, we could muster up a stuffed animal or two, but most visiting tots had to make due with the toys they brought. Otherwise, they had to be content testing out our doorknobs or having staring matches with the dog.
Now that baby G is here, we are much more kid-friendly. There are bins of toys to rummage through and mats to play on and plenty of kiddie lit to read. But while baby G enjoys all of these things, some of the most entertaining items in the house were things we had all along. Who knew?
But before I tell you what they are, let me lead with a disclaimer: Obviously, all children have to be supervised when playing with anything so that they don't hurt themselves (or anyone or anything else). The most harmless-looking magazine can be a paper dagger in the wrong hands, after all!
Now that that's out of the way, here are five household items baby G can't get enough of:
- Laundry. If you think that age nine months is too early to get your child excited about chores, think again. Pulling out the laundry basket turned out to be a really fun way to entertain baby while getting some housework done—an almost unthinkable combination. At first, baby G contented himself by pulling out the items one by one (socks and washcloths are still favorites). Then as he got older and bolder, he was able to empty the basket at lightening speed (progressing to challenging items like our jeans and bath towels). The basket itself serves as fort, walker, and toy-collection bin. (Look out! He also tried to use it as a step stool once.) Of course, baby G soon figured out it was also fun to unfold the laundry. But for the most part, I can work around the sabotage by putting the piles up higher (like on the back of the couch). So, it's still a lot of fun for both of us!
- Greeting cards. Since birth, I've been an incorrigible pack rat, which means I've got enough old birthday cards and holiday greetings in the garage to start a museum. So, I was just delighted when baby G took an instant liking to the Valentine sent from his clever aunt. She knew that he would be mesmerized by the hologram on the front. We're talking 10-minute stretches of total concentration while he turned it over and over in his hands. Luckily, that fascination transferred to the two-dimensional variety as well, and we now keep his birthday and holiday cards in a stack for him to look through now and then. Of course, we keep the very special ones out of reach, as there are occasional casualties, and we also have to look out for paper cuts and any ingesting of corners or torn pieces. But for the most part, baby G is very careful with them. He's also a huge fan of the musical/talking ones. He loves puzzling over opening and closing them to make the sound start and stop. Those especially require supervision, of course, as the wee speaker system is loaded with tiny parts that could easily find their way into baby's mouth.
- Plastic bins. This should have been a no-brainer for me, as many of us grew up rummaging through our parents' Tupperware cupboards. But I didn't realize how much fun babies can have taking toys out of a bin and putting them right back in again. This activity has not only given me hope that baby G somehow got the tidy gene that I don't carry, but it has also encouraged him to be even more mobile. To fill a bin to the brim, he will go to great lengths, including a crawl across the room to find just the right toy. Then he'll pick up the toy and either stand up and take a few steps toward the bin, or he'll do this rather strenuous-looking knee-walk to get where he wants to go. It's pretty fun to watch!
- Magazines. Like many households, we get a stream of magazines and catalogs in the daily mail. Back issues are a great way to give baby G something to look at. Sometimes when he's sitting at the breakfast table with his dad, they'll both be flipping through their own magazines. It's adorable! Anyway, the photos in magazines like Parents or Real Simple seem to catch his eye, and he's a huge fan of the detachable magazine subscription cards. For the most part, he's very careful turning pages, and sometimes I'll hand him a magazine when he's in the playpen so he can be entertained while I'm catching up on e-mail on the adjacent couch. Of course, there is the occasional rip fest, at which point, I generally take the magazine away and replace it with a board book or something that doesn't have edible pieces. In addition to the safety concerns, I'm not excited about him learning to rip up pages, as I fear for our books and other important papers. But, a magazine packs easily for visits to friends' houses, and baby won't miss it if you accidentally leave it behind.
- The dog's collar. This was an accidental discovery. One day, the dog was sleeping on the couch next to the collar that I must have removed but forgot to put away (see pack rat reference above). When baby G came up to the couch to visit the dog (always an adventure for both parties), he noticed the collar, picked it up, and began jingling it like a baby rattle. He had a huge grin on his face the whole time. So funny! He also held it up to the dog and giggled like crazy when she sniffed at it. This had the added benefit of keeping him distracted from the dog's very pullable ears. But, when he gets too exuberant and the metal license on the collar becomes a blur to the naked eye, I worry for his teeth and those of anyone within a three-foot radius. So, this is definitely something we only let him play with once in a while and with hawk-eyed supervision. Still, it's pretty hilarious to watch him crack up over it like it is the best and funniest discovery on the planet.
These were some fun discoveries for us, but surely there are plenty of everyday delights we've overlooked. Any suggestions?
