Toys That Are Definitely Not Toys
My house literally looks like Toys R Us. When you walk in, you are immediately in what used to be my living room, but is now Sayle-central. Toys. Are. Everywhere! You would think with as many toys as he has, he wouldn’t find appliances, plants, and electronics as amusing as he does, but apparently a dishwasher has nothing on Elmo. The following random objects/appliances/household items are Sayle’s favorites. Read about Sayle’s friend Isaac’s favorite non-toys here.
Household Plants-There is nothing like plucking leaves or stems from a plant and then shoving them in your mouth! Not only are plants tasty, Sayle also enjoys digging in the potted dirt, especially when it’s spread across my hardwood floors. If you have wood chips in your pot for decoration, it is simply an added bonus! Fake plants or real plants, if it’s green, has dirt, and is inside, it’s a playground!
Bookshelves -are for climbing. Books must be removed for climbing purposes.
The Staircase-is there to catch hurled books, toys, and other various items within reach. If Sayle is upstairs in the man-room, there will be flying toys. If the toy clears the baby gate it is a GOAL and if mommy or daddy almost breaks their neck while going down the strairs on the item, points are doubled.
The Toilet-If you haven’t heard by now, Sayle prefers to play in slightly nasty water. The dogs’ water bowl is his favorite as it is the most accessible, but make no mistake, he is not above taking a few splashes in the toilet if given the chance. He is quite crafty with the toilet, even learning how to open and close the lid.
The Treadmill-Don’t panic, I have removed all the chords so Sayle doesn’t have an accident. I believe he thinks the treadmill is his stage, kind of like I thought the hearth in front of my fireplace growing up was my stage. He usually does a little dance while standing on it
Remote Controls/Electronics-We have the downstairs electronics hooked up in a cabinet, but if the cabinet door is left open-look out! Sayle has reprogrammed two of our televisions with just a touch of ten buttons! Since our upstairs entertainment center isn’t in a cabinet, we have taken the England flag and draped it across the DVD player, Playstation, Stereo, etc. to divert little fingers from reprogramming our electronics. I thought this was a better alternative than putting a baby-gate around the electronics. Sayle also loves hiding remote controls so we are constantly on the hunt for one. I hope this eventually motivates my husband to have just ONE remote for everything, rather than having thirty remotes that I can’t figure out how to work.
Dishwasher-If I’m loading/unloading the dishes, Sayle comes running. He likes to climb on the door like it’s a draw bridge and then he takes a seat by my silverware. I have visions of him snapping the door off its hinges or grabbing a knife, hence my new mommy skill of loading/unloading the dishwasher in less than 60 seconds.
Trash-This is not a child problem, this is an parental problem. We are a bit slack in taking out the trash in my house. We will let the trash pile almost to the top of the can before removing it. When trash sits at the top, it becomes very easy for little hands to reach in and grab trash out of the trashcan. Empty milk jugs, wrappers, boxes-whatever! If it’s in the trash, it must be a good time!
What household items does your child try to make in to toys?
Ditto on remotes. They know how to turn on the TV and we never even have it on around them. I have also learned the “unload the dishwasher” at warp speed.
Trash is a problem as they tend to put anything in there (like tell them to put a toy away, it probably will be in the trash can later) We’ve “hopefully” finally found a trash can that they can’t get into.
Julie-be thankful they are putting stuff in rather than taking it out. Sayle managed to pull an egg carton out of the trash this morning that had broken shells in it. That was fun picking the shells up in the kitchen.
What trash can are you using??? I need to invest in a new one as well after that little incident.