Toddler Tricks - 22

Ways to Trick your Baby:

Problem:  You bought a few toys for your children.  You lovingly picked them from the shelf and looked forward to the absolute bliss that would surely encompass their little faces the moment they saw them.  You bring home the presents, crackle open the bag, remove them from their cardboard encasements.  And your children hate them.  I don't know about you, but presents in this house are almost always a letdown.  As if the babies were better off before.

Solution: Give it time.  Don't expect them to be gracious, or thankful, or even happy when they first see a new toy.  They have to figure out what it means, first, and how it plays into their regularly scheduled imaginative playtime.  If you help them see how they can use the toy, or make as if the toy is ridiculously fun even for adults, they may come around sooner.  Either way, before you know it, you'll have some happy kids thrilled with their new toys.

Ways your Baby Can Trick You:

Problem:  If any of your dozens of toys are broken, or their batteries are dead, or they're just simply too annoying for you to handle at any particular moment, that is the moment your children will choose to play with them and become distraught that they don't work, or that mommy or daddy is taking them away.

Solution:  If you start young enough with being honest with your children about fixing toys and eventually giving them back, you can sneak a few in here.  Whether the toy actually needs fixing or not (and most times it really does), at this point, my babies readily accept when I have to take it away as long as I tell them that the toy needs to be fixed, and they can have it back when it's all better.  This has been a lifesaver on multiple occasions.  Of course, my office now looks like a popped balloon graveyard, as I fix each balloon by blowing up another one out of sight.  I'm not sure how much longer that trick will last.