I have a question for all you parents (or really anyone who has good ideas).
With KK nearing 3 and JJ nearing mobility, I'm trying to figure out how to let KK play with age-appropriate toys, without endangering JJ. I'm sure constant supervision would solve the problem, but the truth is, there are many short periods during the day when one or both kids plays on their own.
I'm not sure if I should limit KK to toys that are safe also for JJ (but unfortunately boring for her), or find a way to limit JJ's exposure to the toys with small parts. KK is pretty responsible in terms of obeying if I tell her that JJ can't play with something. She's also pretty good about cleaning up after herself, but doesn't have the advantage of height to be able to notice a missing piece off to the side. And we all know how good babies are at finding and picking up the tiniest item on the floor.
What do/did you do?
This has been a challenge in our home. I had to wait a long time before poor Nathanael could play with lego! Do you have a baby gate? If KK could play with something that you would deem unsafe for JJ in her room and have a baby gate up so JJ can't get in there while she is playing, that might work? Then you could hear her when she is done and wants out instead of closing the door. Unfortunately that is all I could do with Nathanael, he would play in his room with the door closed (he did share a room at that time too). Mostly I just kept toys that both could play with safely. As they good older there will be times too when KK can play with something while JJ is napping. Not much help I'm afraid!!
ReplyDeleteGet older, not good older. I can't think, didn't get much sleep and am counting down the last half hour until I get to go home (and rush off to soccer). I should really proofread my comments before I post them and not after! My kids are 9, 6 and 4, can I still blame it on mommy brain? Does it ever go away?
ReplyDeleteAn idea is to cut a door in half...like to her bedroom. You know the ones like in tree houses. So you can still watch her, she can get out and the munchkin can't get in to play with the little pieces.
ReplyDeleteOr a baby gate that she can get over.
That's all I got...sorry not much help!
Hmmmm...good ideas so far. I never thought about using a baby gate. We don't own one because we don't have any stairs, but I'm starting to think this might be a good time to get one!
ReplyDeleteKeep the great ideas coming!
When raising my children, my daughter the oldest I had several sets of toys. One bag/box of toys was all development toys for the younger that had been used and passed down, one when both the children were playing together and the other was the special box that came out when the youngest was sleeping. Having something special for the older child indicates that growing up is something special and helps with some of the 'jealousy' towards the younger child receiving so much attention. This stage will begin to change quite rapidly as your little girl becomes more aware of her motor and mental skills.
ReplyDeleteMilton Bradley makes a couple of good games for 3 yr olds: Memory Game and Candyland. It won't be all that long before your little girl will take to reading on her own - so constantly exposing her to good books will create a natural love to explore and encourage her imagination.
Our two boys always want to play with the same thing, even if it's only an empty egg carton. sigh....
ReplyDeleteanyway...toys that are definitely Joel's, that he doesn't want to share, have to stay in his room. since he always wants to be with mommy, and i'm not going to be in his room, this has proved to be a great way to introduce the concept of sharing!! there are also toys that we 'suggest' live in his room. these are Joel's toys that would be inappropriate for his younger brother. he seems to have grasped this concept quite well, and doesn't see it as the mixed message it really is. if something has migrated into the wrong room i hear joel say (loudly!!) "you can't have that, it's not safe" or "no, that's a big boy toy" - something along those lines anyway.
once joel had dropped his nap there's been plenty of time to play with these kind of toys. the other thing we've done is get him to play with them on the kitchen table while his brother's doing something on the floor.
we've used gates for a long time, even though we live on one level. we used to block off the study area with it's computers and papers and stuff. then we got a second one to keep joel in his room once he'd graduated from his crib but wanted to sleep with the door open. now we also have one we put over the front door so we can get a through-breeze when it's hot. heck, i even used them on the bathroom door to keep the kids within reach/sight while i had a super-fast shower.
gotta love craigslist :)