I have spent the last 6 months attempting to entertain Kaelyn for her wakeful hours. She doesn't like to nap for very long at a time so this means MOST of the day we are playing. Or eating. And she eats fast, so we mostly play! Here are some things I have found helpful in entertaining her. And let me just say, toys are overrated. We haven't spent much money on them because my sister has two kids and we got a bunch from them and have gotten others as gifts. Otherwise, random household items seem to be the most fun.
-The ever present plastic bag. Now, I know is says right ON plastic bags that they aren't a toy and are not to be played with by children. But they're SO much fun! And it's not like I hand Kaelyn a bag, sit her in a chair and leave the room or anything. Actually, I play with the bag more than she does, she just enjoys watching. I throw the bag up in the air and we watch it float back down at which point I hit it back up again. It's a little like playing volleyball with yourself only slower. And a lot less fun, however a lot MORE entertaining for a baby, apparently. If I let the bag come completely down and hit Kaelyn in the face, boy that REALLY gets her going. Once we've thrown it up in the air a few times I let it hit her face then grab it and rustle it against her belly real fast and noisily. It can be quite entertaining for her for a good 10 minutes!
-Tissue paper from the millions of baby bags we received with gifts. Again, I know you're not really supposed to play with paper, but if you saw the look of joy and heard the loud screams of delight from Kaelyn, you'd play with it too! This is another item that I play with and she watches. After she eats some cereal or veggies or something at meal time I clean her face off (which she does not appreciate) then get out the tissue paper. Simply rustling it high up in the air above her gets a huge scream and giggles. Only the first rustle gets a big reaction. The rest of the time she smiles and enjoys it but she is no longer delightfully surprised. Also shaking it right in her face gets a big grin along with a lot of blinking and some nose wrinkling, which is quite cute!
-The household cereal box. We visited my parents a few weeks ago and my mom brought out a cereal box. Apparently it's like gold to a baby because that cereal box has been pounded on and opened and closed and pounded on and pushed and pounded on...you get the picture. It's not something Kaelyn laughs about but she's quite serious about pounding on it and making sure it's as flat as possible. Though I think I helped with that the other day when I sat on it, oops. I have to start eating more cereal so I can get her a new box one of these days!
-The ever present wipe box. Oh yes, the plastic tub that the wipes go on has to be her all time favorite toy. We take it with us whenever we travel. For obvious reasons, but more so just to play with it. The fact that it has a little door on the top that opens amazes her. She just pushes it back down and watches it pop back up over and over again. When she tires of that she simply turns the box over and pounds on the bottom. It's her wipe box, her drum, her practical toy!
-Magazines, mostly mine. Sometimes when Kaelyn seems to be playing well on her own I get out a magazine and sit and read while she plays. She doesn't like it when I leave the room so I have to sit close, but at least I get to read a few articles from time to time...until she notices. She'll work her way over my leg and around the corner just to get to that magazine. The magazine I THINK I have out of sight and out of reach! Rip! There goes the page I was reading. Hey! I wasn't done with that yet! I gave Kaelyn her own magazine, some junk mail ordering catalog we get all the time. She thoroughly enjoys that, however, whatever I'M looking at always seems more entertaining, of course. I spend many afternoons picking up shreds of paper from the floor after a magazine ripping session. Maybe she's just trying to help in the recycling process. At least she doesn't put it in her mouth, she just rips and drops, rips and drops. Fun for the whole family. :)
So if you feel like you've played with every toy in the house today...twice, as I feel many many days, get out some of the random household items. It's a nice change of pace. Hugely entertaining, and very cheap! Most days I can't believe we're surrounded with all these neat toys and all she wants is the plastic bag I brought home from the store.
-The ever present plastic bag. Now, I know is says right ON plastic bags that they aren't a toy and are not to be played with by children. But they're SO much fun! And it's not like I hand Kaelyn a bag, sit her in a chair and leave the room or anything. Actually, I play with the bag more than she does, she just enjoys watching. I throw the bag up in the air and we watch it float back down at which point I hit it back up again. It's a little like playing volleyball with yourself only slower. And a lot less fun, however a lot MORE entertaining for a baby, apparently. If I let the bag come completely down and hit Kaelyn in the face, boy that REALLY gets her going. Once we've thrown it up in the air a few times I let it hit her face then grab it and rustle it against her belly real fast and noisily. It can be quite entertaining for her for a good 10 minutes!
-Tissue paper from the millions of baby bags we received with gifts. Again, I know you're not really supposed to play with paper, but if you saw the look of joy and heard the loud screams of delight from Kaelyn, you'd play with it too! This is another item that I play with and she watches. After she eats some cereal or veggies or something at meal time I clean her face off (which she does not appreciate) then get out the tissue paper. Simply rustling it high up in the air above her gets a huge scream and giggles. Only the first rustle gets a big reaction. The rest of the time she smiles and enjoys it but she is no longer delightfully surprised. Also shaking it right in her face gets a big grin along with a lot of blinking and some nose wrinkling, which is quite cute!
-The household cereal box. We visited my parents a few weeks ago and my mom brought out a cereal box. Apparently it's like gold to a baby because that cereal box has been pounded on and opened and closed and pounded on and pushed and pounded on...you get the picture. It's not something Kaelyn laughs about but she's quite serious about pounding on it and making sure it's as flat as possible. Though I think I helped with that the other day when I sat on it, oops. I have to start eating more cereal so I can get her a new box one of these days!
-The ever present wipe box. Oh yes, the plastic tub that the wipes go on has to be her all time favorite toy. We take it with us whenever we travel. For obvious reasons, but more so just to play with it. The fact that it has a little door on the top that opens amazes her. She just pushes it back down and watches it pop back up over and over again. When she tires of that she simply turns the box over and pounds on the bottom. It's her wipe box, her drum, her practical toy!
-Magazines, mostly mine. Sometimes when Kaelyn seems to be playing well on her own I get out a magazine and sit and read while she plays. She doesn't like it when I leave the room so I have to sit close, but at least I get to read a few articles from time to time...until she notices. She'll work her way over my leg and around the corner just to get to that magazine. The magazine I THINK I have out of sight and out of reach! Rip! There goes the page I was reading. Hey! I wasn't done with that yet! I gave Kaelyn her own magazine, some junk mail ordering catalog we get all the time. She thoroughly enjoys that, however, whatever I'M looking at always seems more entertaining, of course. I spend many afternoons picking up shreds of paper from the floor after a magazine ripping session. Maybe she's just trying to help in the recycling process. At least she doesn't put it in her mouth, she just rips and drops, rips and drops. Fun for the whole family. :)
So if you feel like you've played with every toy in the house today...twice, as I feel many many days, get out some of the random household items. It's a nice change of pace. Hugely entertaining, and very cheap! Most days I can't believe we're surrounded with all these neat toys and all she wants is the plastic bag I brought home from the store.
No comments:
Post a Comment