When I was pregnant I spent an embarrassing amount of time reading through endless baby product reviews to find the best, most educational, highest rated, eco-friendly, organic toddler activities, you get the picture. I’m not saying I don’t still want my kid to have the best and safest things to play with but let’s be honest, things are no longer in your control once they start moving! They learn to hold their head up, roll over, sit up, crawl, walk and then completely ignore your attempts to fill their day with mindful activities. I think the fact that their attention span runs for about 1-3 minutes probably fuels this madness. So instead of playing with all of my meticulously chosen A+ rated toys, she has found her own toddler activities. Mamas, I bring you …
Coloring in an empty shoe box – for whatever reason, my daughter thinks this is the best thing ever, and what’s really awesome, is that it usually keeps her from coloring on the floor, table, chair, dog, and everything else she’s NOT supposed to color on! Added bonus – you can just shut the lid and easily stow it away once their short attention span moves them onto their next destination, which means no loose crayons laying around!
Shoes – okay, before you go all germaphobe on me, hear me out. This kid loves shoes more than I love wine and let’s just say that’s more than a little. She cannot be near shoes without trying to put them on or trying to put them on me, her dad, grandma, even her stuffed animals. Any size or style of shoe is fair game. It’s an all out shoe obsession. To combat the obvious grossness of shoes, we just have her wash her hands. a lot. Which brings me to…