Play & Learning

Some may walk into my house and think my son is deprived. He has an exersaucer and a few small toys given to me by my sister (which ever ones weren't pink, god for bid) All of his toys that I have out for him to play with fit in one canvas box. In fact, a friend was over the other day and was playing with him and informed me there were a bunch of toys missing their batteries. No, they never had batteries.

So here is my toy and play philosophy....

I become overstimulated by noise, lights, and STUFF when I am around many children's toys. If I, at the age of 29 get overstimulated, what happens to a little person who has only been on the earth for 7 months? This is not to say that none of our toys make noises. He has an exersaucer he sits in when I take a shower, though he seems more entertained by the mirror than the lights. However, this is to say that I don't believe in overwhelming a small child with stimulation. I notice when Jack, a normally very yappy and interactive child, is around tons of noisy toys he either gets cranky or very introverted. Neither of these are who I want my child to be.

Now for the down side...my son requires a lot, A LOT of human interaction. He can sit and play quietly on his own with toys for a little while, but he much prefers my funny faces and silly dancing to his toys. I think play should be imaginative, active and certainly not passive. I cannot just put Jack in something or hand him a toy and walk away and get things done. Most people may see this as a downside. I don't, I made this social beast, and I am just fine dealing with the "consequences".

Here is our play area:

Not much as compared to most homes that I have seen. This is it! He has a jumperoo I got used outside for when we BBQ so we can eat hands free. He has other toys in his closet and bookcase in his room that I pull out and alternate with the ones in the canvas box out here....but that is all that he has at his disposal, and he is quite the happy camper.


*Like I always say, and will probably constantly note in this blog, I do not think that moms who do things differently are bad people or bad moms. I think they are different, their families are different, their kids are different. They do what they do and I do what I do, I am perfectly fine with that.