Toddler Tricks - 37

Ways to Trick your Baby:

Problem: You've busted your butt, packed a bag and gotten everyone out of the house to go to some fun and magical place. You've got food, drinks, a change of clothes and underwear, emergency diapers. You've thought of everything. Only not. The place is not quite as you expected, or you had to make a stop somewhere else first, or whatever the case may be. Regardless, you needed toys, and you didn't bring any.

Solution: Remember, to a kid, anything can be a toy. In the grocery line, your keys, or that bag of grapes you're going to buy anyway. At the beach, an empty water bottle and ziplock bag can work as a shovel and pail.  In my case, yesterday, all the little kids had water toys - buckets, watering cans, little plastic cars - my babies had nothing. Silly me for thinking a huge splash pad would be enough entertainment on its own.  Anyway, they borrowed some toys from a friend until the friend had to leave, then I had to think quickly.  I guess I didn't really need that coffee anyway, and the cup makes an excellent bucket. Given the right imagination, the cap is a makeshift watering can.

Ways your Baby Tricks You:

Problem: Now there's sand in the grooves of your coffee cup and mud slicked over the top.

Solution: Consider your environment when picking out makeshift toys. Coffee cups work well for water, but for sand and dirt, try to use disposable items like plastic cups, paper bowls, etc. Use items you can find at your location, too. Feathers (if they don't squick you out), shells, grass blades, leaves, acorns...all of these can be made into toys. Thank goodness for the toddler imagination.

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