Out with the toys!

Yesterday, I watched my daughter show intense interest in...

* a bit of fluff
* a remote control
* a pack of tissues
* a crumb
* a cardboard box
* a label
* my purse

May I ask, what is the point in all these toys?!?

We have stacks of them. She's 8 months old and has a basket full of toys already... big loud things with flashing lights that sing horrendous songs that go round and round in your head (come play with your animal friends, the fun and music never ends, play the piano and sing too, we'll have so much fun you'll see -AARRRRGH!!!), (breathe...) small wooden rattles, teething rings, soft toys with crunchy bits and bells and buttons and mirrors and googly eyes... and is she interested?

No.

It seemed that I would leave her with a toy yesterday and walk off and the whinging would begin (MA...MA!) said in a rather pathetic, dirge-like tone...


BUT...

Give her a boring piece of everyday equipment, like a Tupperware bowl, or a spatula, or a bath mat, and she will happily play FOR OVER HALF AN HOUR!

I am left pondering one question...

Who invented toys... and why?

I have to wonder, if all these flashy, crazy, noisy toys we give them overstimulate them to the point where they turn into toddlers who follow you round saying they're bored... when they have a tonne of toys that do all sorts of weird and wonderful things... Perhaps we need to recognise that a piece of fluff is, in fact, incredibly interesting to a baby who has never seen this tiny white thing that floats around and is fun to try and pick up. Perhaps we should give them toys more sparingly so that they appreciate them more. I don't know... I'm figuring this stuff out day by day...

However, there is one discovery we have made... the best game to play with your baby? Dave happened upon it last night purely by accident... simply shine a torch on the floor in front of them and watch them try to catch the light. Seriously hilarious! (Incidentally, it works with cats as well!)

Now THAT'S what I call good fun!