Favorite Toys
January 12, 2009
When I started thinking about this post, I couldn't help but internally cringe when I think about HOW MANY toys my daughter has. Right now my living room looks very much like a two-year-old tornado has struck and destroyed a whole universe of toys. My husband and I are both work-at-home parents but we've both been overwhelmed with projects and have been too tired at the end of the day to pick up and put away her toys. So while I write this they are all spread out in front of me to pick from.
I try to keep my daughter's toys a mix of gender-neutral toys and non-gender-harmful toys. That means she has no Bratz or Barbie dolls, but she does have quite the collection of cars, stuffed animals, soft dolls, and that darned My Little Pony that I cannot find a good reason to deny her. But the toys that are our favorite might surprise you.
1. Her bike with a push handle for grown-ups. There are million versions of this bike; we have the plastic one, sadly, that makes a ton of noise. My daughter has yet to figure out the pedals, but she loves cruising on this thing around the neighborhood and with the handle we can keep her from going too fast or into the street. She loves it.
2. Her JamboKids Dolls. My daughter is not adopted (she's a product of IVF, though), but she loves the two JamboKids dolls she has, Niecey and Jazzie. (Full disclosure: we have these because I reviewed them for a web site.) These dolls are like Groovy Girls to some extent, but are better made, more proportional, and have much more expressive faces. Best of all they make wonderful gifts for any adopted kids you know--each doll comes with a book telling her particular adoption story.
3. Playdough. My daughter got the basic set for Christmas, and she loves not only playing with the dough itself but cutting it and shaping it with the tools. She particularly loves the plastic scissors and the knife. Which is kind of scary.
4. Paints. Nothing holds my daughter's attention like painting. We have both finger paints and watercolors, and she will sit quietly for up to an hour at a time covering sheet after sheet of paper (the destruction of the environment is bad, but it is well worth my peace of mind. Heh). She loves painting and it's wonderful to see her so focused on something.
5. Books. My daughter already has well over 50 books, which isn't a shock since both of her parents are writers. She'll read to herself sometimes, particularly her favorite books where she knows the story, and she's finally gotten to the age where she is willing to sit still and listen to a book (with more than one line per page) being read to her. I am very excited about this particular development because I love reading, and I love reading to her, and I want to make a daily habit of it. Several times a day, preferably.
What are some of your favorites?