20 August 2011

Mama Loves: Trash



Manic Mother


Okay... maybe I don't love all trash.  Cigarette butts, tin cans, and litter top my most hated trash lists.

But I love some good trash.  Some toddler entertaining trash.  I mean it's free, it keeps them entertained, can be thrown out or recycled with no guilt, and the variety is endless.  It also gets bonus points for not making annoying battery operated noises.

As I type, Aeralind is running around with an empty plastic basil bottle.  Bronwyn has a spent contact solution bottle.  Both girls are endlessly fascinated with opening and closing their screw on lids.  Occasionally, they switch pieces of trash for more fun.

Right after "sisser" dumped water all over Bronwyn

Their bathtub is filled to the brim with trash.  I'm not a big fan of the bath squirt toys since they grow mold inside and there's no way to clean them.  But give the girls a half dozen empty yogurt containers, a cottage cheese container, empty children's Tylenol bottles, and a plastic cup from the zoo and they'll entertain themselves in the tub for half an hour.  Water is poured from one container to the next or dumped out on "sisser" or splashed on the floor (I promise the guest bathroom is the cleanest floor in the house!).

So before you recycle something plastic... evaluate it for toy purposes.  You might be surprised how entertaining your little ones think it is :)

3 comments:

Jessica said...

We LOVE trash too!

Empty spice bottles, yogurt containers, vitamin bottles, cardboard cereal boxes, empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls are all played with...such good, free fun!

Twinside Out said...

Such a great idea! We are always on the lookout for toys sans annoying battery-operated noises. It never occurred to me to see what was sitting around in the kitchen - it may be time to have a trash-into-treasure hunt!

Julia said...

I need to do a better job of this! We always have empty water bottles in the car,because the girls love them so much.

I've also been thinking about saving some things for a play kitchen that we will, most likely, get the girls for Christmas. I also need to learn how to make some felt food :)