Once in a while, someone gives my kid a gift that makes me cringe. I’m instantly wondering how long we’re going to have to keep it and what covert operation I’m going to have to pull off to sneak it out of the house. My biggest pet peeves are things that are super gender-specific, electronics and things that come with a million-trillion pieces (except on the extremely rare occasions when the awesomeness of the toy outweighs one of those traits).
While we don’t have a strict no-technology rule in our house (we watch TV and movies, although at a minimum), we prefer to keep electronics out of everyday play items for our daughter so that she can spend her time being creative with her toys. The truth is that she much prefers it this way. A toy that can do many things is much more fun than a toy that only does one thing (i.e., go beep-beep-boop and drive Mama crazy). So I really have come to appreciate it when people give her gifts that don’t pigeonhole her and that also let her explore her creativity. I also love it when I don’t have to stand over her, supervising her every move.
We recently celebrated Christmas and my daughter’s birthday (two weeks later — yes, shoot me). It was major toy overload, as expected, but we made it out alive and luckily picked up some pretty different and creative stuff.
Here are some of my daughter’s favorite new (mom-approved) toys!
Sarah Bregel 