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Baby toy alternatives (part 2)
Cutting back the influx of toys is an ongoing issue for my wife and me. Last summer, I wrote about everyday items that could serve as toys for your little one. While my daughter grows, she’s now two years old, and her taste in toys changes daily I figured I would update the list that I posted last summer.
Paint brush and water: Man, does she love to “paint” the sidewalk or fence with a paintbrush and small bucket of water. She can easily spend a half an hour painting and when she is done there is absolutely no mess to clean up. My mom clued me in on this one.
Laundry time: She loves to help with sorting laundry. So much so that we sometimes give her clothes on non-laundry days to sort through. Match up all the socks!
Magazines: When she no longer wants to look through any of her books, which is rare, we hand her a magazine. She flips through the magazine while looking at all of the interesting pictures and photos.
Household chores: She is really showing interest in everyday household chores. Isn’t this the reason to have a kid in the first place? (I’m kidding of course.) As I mentioned above, she loves to help with laundry, but she also helps with taking out garbage, emptying the dishwasher, watering plants, and wiping up her spills. These are not really “toys,” but my wife and I find it important to have her help out around the home. She’s even starting to clean up her toys without even being asked.
Computer time: She watches us use the computer quite a bit so naturally she shows an interest. Her favorite site is Elmo’s Keyboard-O-Rama.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Reader’s Digest tips to tame kids’ clutter
Reader’s Digest is a fun periodical. Recently, I was happy to come across this article as I was checking out their site. The “6 Ways to Tame Kids’ Clutter” isn’t groundbreaking content, much of it is common sense, but it is still helpful advice. I’ve always found reading common sense solutions in writing makes them click.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Swimming in children’s clutter
I have a hard time conveying my disdain for the inevitable accumulation of more stuff for my two year old. We are about to celebrate her second birthday and the grandparents are the nemesis against my anti-accumulation project. My wife and I tried to head off the unnecessary gifts by suggesting to the grandparents that they simply invest in a pass to the Children’s Museum here in Pittsburgh. This objective was achieved, but the grandparents were not satisfied with such a modest purchase.
Apparently, my mother in-law has a box of stuff that is awaiting my daughter when they return from their winter retreat in Florida. I’m not sure what is included in the box, but I’m fairly certain we will be finding a home for all of these gifts at grandma’s house. That is our short-term solution: Clutter the grandparent’s house with the gifts that they feel compelled to purchase. I don’t feel great about it, but we decided that this is the best solution at the moment. We appreciate that they want to buy our daughter gifts, we know that a lot of children don’t have this opportunity, we just wish that every gift they give didn’t have to be a toy. The gift giving guide that we compiled for the holiday season can also be applied for birthdays, but getting the grandparents to comply has not been successful.
The accumulation of more children’s clutter is a constant struggle, and it seems that Merlin Mann is right in the middle of an all out war against baby clutter, too. Good luck, sir. It is a tough thing to get under control with so many others (grandparents) working against you.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Creative storage for kid’s clutter
Apartment Therapy’s ohdeedoh site recently held a contest in conjunction with Cookie Magazine where readers sent in pictures of their creative solutions for storing toys, clothing, and entryway items. It was called, Now You See, Now You Don’t! The contest finalists were recently announced, and their ideas were fantastic. I thought some of our readers would like to check out some of the great ideas that were showcased in this contest.
As a parent of a nearly two-year-old daughter, storage for toys is a constant struggle. It is always helpful to see what other people are doing to conquer the toy sprawl. I hope you enjoy these creative solutions for storage.
(Photo via ohdeedoh)
Popularity: 11% [?]
Crib clutter warning
A newborn baby adds so many items to your home. If you are a first time parent, you often don’t know what you really need. That being said, you should never clutter your infant’s crib with toys, pillows, or multiple blankets.
According to a warning to parents by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, having too much clutter in the crib of a baby, whether it be with too many pillows, blankets, etc. can put babies at risk of harm, and even death.
The agency stated that between 2002 and 2004, there were 241 child deaths, with 40% of them involving cribs. In all of the deaths, the kids were under the age of 5.
The deaths from cribs revolved around pillows, blankets, etc. taking up too much space.
We received about 10 different blankets for my daughter when she was born. Needless to say, we really didn’t use many of them. We also didn’t pack her crib full of toys and pillows either. I’m thinking this stuff is commonly known, but you never know. Keep the child’s crib free of clutter and your little one will be that much safer.
(via dbTechno)
Popularity: 28% [?]
Online toy rental in the spirit of Netflix
Reader Lorena sent us a link to a wonderful article about Baby Plays, an internet-based toy rental company for U.S. residents. From the article:
“Baby Plays … allows parents to receive four or six toys in the mail every month, assembled and ready for playtime. Call it Netflix for the toddler set.”
There is a flat fee based on the number of rentals ($29, $32, and $36 packages), and all of the toys are guaranteed to be lead-free. According to the article, “the toys are sanitized with Clorox wipes and loaded with fresh batteries before being shrink wrapped and boxed for shipment.” Additionally, all toys come with a postage-paid box for returning the toy when your child tires of playing with it.
Toy rental sounds like a terrific idea for keeping play room clutter under control, especially if you don’t have a toy lending library like the one discussed in today’s earlier post. This service also seems like a perfect gift a grandparent could give a grandchild.
Popularity: 41% [?]
Conquer kid clutter
Having a 20-month old is a bit like taking care of a drunk friend. They don’t really know what they are doing, but they are having fun while they do it. My daughter is getting into the “terrible twos” a bit early, so hopefully they’ll end early.
One thing that seems to get worse as she gets older is the toy accumulation. I’ve mentioned this problem in some prior posts and I must say that my wife and I continue to struggle with it. I’m always on the lookout for new ways of curbing clutter that is kid specific. So, I was pleased to read this article in the Detroit News that had a long list of kid specific clutter tips. Tips such as:
- Divide and conquer:
Big toy boxes make it too easy for toys to get jumbled together. Better: a bin for Legos, another for action figures, another for dollhouse furniture, etc. - Toss the flimsy crayon boxes:
Same goes for the marker and colored-pencil boxes. Instead, put drawing tools into lidded boxes or bins. And don’t bother saving every free crayon you’ve collected from restaurant visits. Teachers say most kids just grab the top two or three anyway. - Craft supplies:
Keep a vinyl tablecloth with the art supplies. It’ll be on hand to protect the table or rug (skip disposable ones: not sturdy enough).
These tips aren’t earth shattering, but they are helpful. The accumulation of toys is the hardest thing to get under control, in my opinion. Forces beyond our control are at work. These forces, mostly Grandma and Grandpa, are unrelenting. Be vigilant in your removal of old and unused toys, and your toy clutter will stay manageable.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Check out Zwaggle
We’ve written about sites like Freecycle and Craigslist on ways to get rid of things you no longer use or want. Zwaggle is a very interesting concept in that it is specifically for baby products. Do you need a stroller? Are you looking to get rid of that changing table? You may want to check out Zwaggle.
From Zwaggle’s site:
Zwaggle was created with our own families in mind. We value neighborhood and conservation, and envision an online community that reflects a strong sense of social responsibility while helping families manage their resources. We believe in promoting a sense of sharing, trust, and respect for one another, our resources, and our environment.
Zwaggle is shaped by our community members. We strive to provide services and forums that are relevant, educational, and easy to use. We encourage all members to participate in a way that demonstrates our shared ideals of cooperation and collaboration in making our global community - online and off - a better place.
Thanks to Amy, one of our readers, for pointing us to this service.
(Via Lifehacker)
Popularity: 14% [?]
Don’t let bath toys consume your bathroom
I recently visited a home that had two children under the age of four. When I used their bathroom, I was overwhelmed by the crazy amount of bath toys. With bath toys, just like regular toys, you need to get rid of the old when new ones are acquired.
My wife and I have yet to purchase a bath toy for our daughter, but if you have a child you know how toys go. We have a small plastic tote not unlike the one you may have had back in your college days. The plastic tote holds all of my daughter’s bath supplies. Her soap, shampoo, and toys all fit into it. If we acquire a new toy there isn’t much room to work with, so we get rid of something old and keep the baby bath gear down to a minimum.
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Baby’s preferences are unpredictable
When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, she went to our friend’s house who had recently adopted a newborn. Their daughter was very young at that point and they recommended a cradle swing that they dubbed, “a life saver.” It was the only thing that would soothe their child to get her to sleep.
We did some shopping around online and the model that was recommended had very high ratings and glowing customer reviews. My mother-in-law eventually purchased the swing for our daughter, but she never liked the swing at all. We figured maybe she would grow to like it, but the screaming never stopped and the swing eventually found its place in the basement never to be used again.
Its not like you can take your newborn around shopping for a device that they will eventually be comfortable in, but you can shop around on Craigslist, Freecycle, or any number of secondhand stores for larger devices like a swing. If your newborn doesn’t take to it, get rid of it by using that same service.
This way, you save money and you get rid of an item that your child clearly doesn’t like. It is almost as if you are renting the item in hopes of your child taking to it.
Popularity: 24% [?]
