Playing with your child on the cheap

Have you been to the toy store lately? There are SO many toys now. I swear when we were kids there were not as many toys and for sure, our household didn't have that much. After the holidays, my kids had so much and I couldn't believe it. To be honest, I don't remember a lot of my childhood toys. I am sure my parents and relatives provided tons of things to play with but actual manufactured items....I had dolls and stuffed animals. I even asked my mother about it and she couldn't remember any of my specific toys either. However, my mom and I can clearly remember my brothers' toys including He-Man stuff (we had the Castle Greyskull and this really smelly skunk-man) as well as a bunch of Star Wars toys. Perhaps I was the forgotten third child or it was assumed I wanted to play with my brothers' things, or perhaps I played with other things such as soup cans, boxes, pots and pans, and books.

My kids have lots of toys. A lot of things that require a lot of batteries (batteries make a good baby shower gift!). My son has dozens of trucks and trains and cars. My daughter has so many Barbies (30 at one point) and little craft kits (beads all over!). Even the baby has a lot--but his favorite toy for awhile was a washcloth. And even though our two-year-old really loves his train set...the kids love the simple things such as paint, blocks, empty boxes, dancing, playing outside, cooking, coloring, and reading. So I have vowed to do a major downsize of your toy stash this spring.

To that end, I thought I would share some of our favorite activities and toys that are fun and inexpensive.

1. Cheesy Sticks
This is a favorite that I picked up from a developmental therapist.
Take an empty and clean parmasan cheese container and 10 or so popsicle sticks. Allow your child to put the sticks into the top of the cheese container. Start with the lid off. Then progress to the large opening side...then the three small hole side. This will work on the child's fine motor skills or hand and finger skills as well as hand-eye coordination.
By using colored sticks or writing letters, pictures, or numbers on them--the child can sort them ('find all the blue sticks'), make a pattern ('let's do a pig stick then a sheep stick'), or count them as he puts them in.

2. Bouncy Ball
Who doesn't like to play ball. Go out and invest in an exercise ball or pilates ball. Make sure to get one that best fits your size. This is a great thing for everyone in the family. My husband prefers to bounce on the ball than rocking in a rocker when dealing with a fussy baby. It is also great to restore your core muscles after the baby (just sit with your baby and make circles with your hips). I love to exercise with it...but that's a different post.
*Sit on the floor with the ball in between your legs.
1. Lay your baby on top of the ball on his belly. Gently bounce the ball. (this will strengthen the baby's upper body and its fun!)
2. Roll the ball slightly so that the baby almost is standing on the floor, you holding his hands over the top of the ball, and then roll him back to the top (like #1).
3. Sit the baby on the top of the ball. Hold either her torso or top of the thighs. Gently bounce the ball (this is help strengthen your baby's core so that she can sit by herself).
4. Have the baby sit in your lap. Pat the ball with your hand. Help your baby pat the ball. Take turns patting the ball. (this will encourage turn-taking and imitation).
5. Sit with your baby close to a wall--a few feet. Roll the ball with your baby toward the wall (it will bounce back). (this is help your child learn to predict).

3. Paint
Most kids love painting.
You can make paint out of lots of things:
Jello (with just enough water to make a thick paint)
Pudding (with just enough milk...)
Powdered tempera paint (you can make it as thick or thin as you want)
Dish or hand soap with food coloring
Yogurt with food coloring

Try painting outside or in the bath tub for easy clean up.
Paint on old wrapping paper, paper bags, construction paper, the sidewalk, bath tub.

4. Box town
We always have boxes around. Let your kids do whatever they want with them. Or help them (for younger kids, you can do it and surprise them one day). Make them into cars, trains, planes, houses, mail box, refrigerator....the possibilities are endless.
I usually limit the lifetime of our box creations to 1 week--that's about how long I can stand to have a big box in the living room or bedroom.

5. Kitchen Fun
By now you realize we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. And hopefully by now you have reorganized your kitchen so that it is safe for the kiddos.
1. Pull out the pots and pan and wooden spoons and make a drum set for the kids.
2. Have them organize the pantry for you--soup in one spot, pasta in another.
3. Have them help make a grocery list--have them check the pantry, what's missing, count what you have.
4. We have lots of fun magnets and magnetic toys on the frig and dishwasher.
5. Kids can stack boxes or can to make a castle out of cans.

Some good resources...
Entertaining and Educating Your Preschool Child by Robyn Gee and Susan Meredith (a great book for 0-5 year olds (one section for 0-2 1/2 years; one for 2 1/2-5 years) including what to use in your house to foster development).

Parenting Magazine--they have a section each month on ideas to use recycleables (e.g. toilet paper rolls, milk jugs, paper napkins).