Slum Baby
May 23, 2008 – 12:55 am
Baby tastes vary as they grow up. I realize that their needs for mental stimulation get tougher and tougher as they grow. You know what elese? Their television show choices also vary.
Let me describe a typical AJ day. He wakes up, goes around the house, going through most ‘toy’ boxes and collects his favorite toys from those boxes. he spends time mulling over one, considers it deeply (his head tilted to one side in intense concentrations) and deems it unworthy for playtime so he puts it back (or leaves it on the floor, depends if I’m looking). With an armful of toys he waddles over to his favorite empty box and shoots all his toys inside. He then climbs inside the box and stays there for a good 2 hours just playing.
I don’t know where he got the habit to stay in a confined place to play. I call it “slumming”. Maybe he sees kids doing it on the streets during the rare times we walk around the more congested area of our city.
Today, however, he rejected every toy he held with a barely concealed ‘tsk’. It thrilled me that he wants other toys to play with but the frugal mom inside me is worried. There are some toys that we just bought, and they became favorites for a day or two, then set aside now.
Must do retail therapy for AJ, I tell myself, while opening a browser window to Buy.com’s weekly sale. Then I opened another browser and looked for parental support at Minti. After all, maybe this is just a phase. Maybe the hundreds of toys we bought for him before will still be loved after a while.
Tags: baby discipline, baby tricks, slumming
6 Responses to “Slum Baby”
Wow! I wish my youngest would confine herself somewhere for a couple of hours! Sounds like heaven on earth.
By Petula Wright on May 27, 2008
Oh my Aj is just adorable. What a great picture.
Please thank AJ for putting a big smile on my face.:-)
By Shinade on May 27, 2008
Good thing your little one only stays in the box. Mine cannot stay in one place even for a few minutes.
By MetropolisMom on May 28, 2008
@petula
I couldn’t believe it either. it’s like he’s having his personal space right there! I think it’s just a phase though.
@shinade
thanks!
the slum baby pic?
I’ll soon publish some real SLUM baby pics where in he sccops out his stash of play clay and puts them all over his body before going in the box.
@metropolismom
Yeah! When he starts arranging his box, I feel like popping open some champagne! It means 2 hours of blogging for me before I have to shout “no” again (when he tries to climb the tv)
By Woobie on May 29, 2008
That is so cute! I wish my baby would do that, but the only thing that entertains her is taking everything off the coffee table!
If you want his toys to seem new without breaking the bank you can set up a toy rotation. Separate them out into three boxes, hide two of them away and then every ten days or so bring out a new box and put the other ones away. They seem more interested in the toys when there are fewer and then they are super excited to see the “new” toys come out!
By Rose on May 30, 2008
That advice is GOLDEN. Thanks. I’ll try it with the toys he hasn’t seen^^ He is a clever one though, sometimes he observes us to see where we go to get stuff (usually in boxes) and goes there to discover what we’re up to.
I’ll try that ASAP! Thanks again!
By Woobie on May 30, 2008