Friday 13 March 2015

Simple things, creative play.








I don't know about you, but in my house there are SO many toys. Like millions! They are slowly taking over the place. I am constantly looking at storage solutions to try and tame the toys. These are always failed attempts, as the toys expand out of the new storage systems and start to take over again. Throw a birthday and Christmas into the mix and we have a full on take over. It's like Toys story eat your heart out!

The thing about these toys are that the my kids don't seem to actually play with them. They get pulled out of their boxes, scattered all over the floor and discarded. I feel an inner frustration build up in me as I see the creative side of play seems to be lost. Then I get cross with myself by being sucked into the commercialism. 

This being my rant I wanted to share how if you're like me, many parents put pressure on themselves to buy more and more toys. I was humbled the other day when my two year old went into my junk cupboard (cupboard full of stuff I don't know what to do with) and pulled it all out. Initially I was like, 'oh more to tidy up!' but then I realised she was happily playing with the things. She had four paper cups, a handful of straws, some dried pasta, an empty Smarties box, muffin cases and a plastic storage box. Her play entailed, filling the muffin cases with the pasta, transferring it to the paper cups. Lining the cups up in the storage box and taking them out again. Putting the straws in the cups and generally sorting. This kept her entertained for at least 20 minutes and it was her own creative play. It was so lovely to see, simple, honest, cheap, non commercial play. Her imagination and dexterity skills could be let loose. 

For parents out their who have to same frustrations as me with the toy overload, give this a try. Give them some random items from your kitchen. Paper plates, cups, dried pasta, raisins, even cheerios, some pegs, a pan and a wooden spoon etc and set it up for them. See what happens. Its simple, and they love it. 

Happy child, creative play and enjoy a cuppa while they do it. 

xxxx

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