Thinking Outside the Box

I’ve been described as an “out of the box” thinker, but when it comes to toys for my Sully, I think “inside the box.” Literally.

I very quickly realized that babies enjoy an assortment of random items over toys a good portion of the time. My ten month old strongly prefers a sturdy piece of cardstock to a teether, a plastic bowl to a rattle, and a spatula to a spinning mobile. That in combination with our semi-minimalist lifestyle sparked a challenge to myself: buy as few toys as possible while keeping the baby entertained. Through the week, as we finish up a pack of wipes or a container of rice, I do a quick brainstorm, grabbing whatever else is near to create a new toy. 

My method for finding non-toy play items is simple: empty, child safe, and ready to be disposed of. It’s been fun figuring out ways to turn items I was about to toss into toys. As a bonus, once Sully is through playing with it, it goes in the garbage guilt free! There are no rules! If he likes it, we keep it for a while; if he doesn’t, it gets tossed. 

Here are a few of our favorites:

An Empty Box:  Just the box itself is fun, but as the day progresses, I’ll add more to it depending on what I find around the house or what I notice he’s liking at the moment. He loved the noise of aluminum foil, so I added an extra panel. A paper towel roll taped to the side makes a great chute for anything small, and hanging ribbon makes a great place to attach a favorite teether or block. Straws are his absolute favorite drum stick, so I taped a few down as a challenge. Lights made it a little more magical!

 

Oats: These are technically a food, but they aren’t made to be eaten in this way. If he does shove a fistfull in his mouth (which he does), I’m not worried about it. These can be dumped straight into a bucket, but as an extra layer of entertainment, I dyed our container several different colors and then combined them for a rainbow effect. I swap out the toys in the bin, and he enjoys running his hands through the oats, finding buried toys, and scooping them out onto the ground. Once he’s old enough to know not to put everything in his mouth, I may try rice, sand, beans, and other things as well. 

Drums: I’m not sure if it’s a baby thing or specific to my fella, but my ten month old LOVES to drum! This “toy” is the easiest because each item makes its own unique noise. A few of our favorites are a cylindrical oat container, reusable food storage container, bread pan, and a wipe bucket. 

Tambourines: Old bottles with rice or beans, a puff container with a block inside, a food storage tub with a small toy placed inside, or a Pringles can with a pen in it make great tambourines! I usually throw on a few pieces of sturdy tape on items that could make a mess or fly out. 

Water Bucket: On hot days, it can be miserable playing outside! To combat the heat and boredom, I’ll fill up a plastic shoebox bucket with water, throw in an ice pack, straw, cup, and bath toys, and he’ll splash forever! The ice pack isn’t completely necessary, but it helps keep the water and him cooler. As a bonus, I sometimes use this time to open cup train since he’s already wet from splashing. 

Muffin Tin: This is another multi-functional “toy.” Sometimes, our muffin tin serves as a drum, sometimes it serves as an activity. I just place blocks, felt pieces, measuring spoons, or whatever existing toy already fits in each slot, and he has fun picking them up and playing with them.

Since making this challenge for myself, I’ve taken a little lesson from my buddy: enjoy the simple things in life. We don’t always need the newest and fanciest toy to make us happy! My hope is, as he gets older, he’ll learn to tap into his imagination to make his own play toys out of ordinary home objects and that we can begin discussing reducing, reusing, and recycling early on. 

 

How will you think “inside the box” this week?