Parents Young at Art Magnetic Drawing Pad March 29, 2009

Drawing. You’d think it’s a pretty low-tech activity, right? But take a walk down the toy aisle and you’ll see drawing pads with lights, sounds, music, and all kinds of other electronic bells and whistles. Huh? I just don’t get it. Do kids need an incentive to be creative? Do they get bored while drawing? I’m beginning to think it’s all an evil conspiracy to sell batteries.

Of course the lowest tech way to draw is to use paper and crayons, markers, or paint. All very fun but with a young toddler it can also be very messy and involves a lot of “no, sweetie, that’s not for eating”. Sometimes a haggard parent needs a no-mess, non-edible drawing alternative. So I bought this magnetic drawing pad for my 16-month old. He draws with the stylus and stampers, although his favorite part so far is erasing everything with the ladybug, preferably while I am drawing. It’s also fun for me, which is good since he is at the “you must play with me all the time, woman” stage.  My only complaint is that the  stampers are impossible for him to get out without pre-loosening, but he’s still pretty young for this toy (intended for 18 months and up).  It’s totally non-electronic and widely available in stores – I got mine at Target.

The fast food cup March 2, 2009

I was cleaning out our uppermost kitchen cabinets the other day when to my horror I found three, yes three, of these gigantic plastic cups from Carl’s Jr. My first thought was, holy mother of god, did we really used to drink that much soda?!? My second thought was, hey these would make great toys! And they totally did. My son has a blast nesting them inside each other, wearing them as hats, loading them up with toys, and “singing” into them (they make a nice echo). Occasionally I find him happily toddling around the house with his arm in one, not sure what that is about. He’s happy and I feel moderately better about our sordid high fructose corn syrup-consuming past.

Eli the Elephant by Lamaze March 2, 2009

Eli was one of the first toys our son really became  interested in.  At a few months old, he could easily grasp the rings and soon enjoyed playing with all the other parts  – the squiggly tail, the crinkly ears, the rattly ball,  the ribbons on the trunk, and so on.  We also have Eli’s cousin, Jacque the Peacock , who for some reason is not nearly as compelling as Eli. He attaches easily to a stroller or infant carseat handle and even at 15 months, Eli still lives attached to my son’s  stroller to ward off the fussies on shopping trips.  It’s a very stimulating and entertaining toy with no electronics. It’s even machine washable (gentle, cold, in a lingerie bag) despite instructions to the contrary . I’ve seen Eli and friends at Babies R Us, so he is easy to find and bring home.