No matter how many toys you have around, kids seem to have more fun playing with your bowls and spoons and other household items. Why not turn those items into actual toys for them to play with?
I found a great list on
Kiwi Families of many different toys you could make using things you probably already have around the house. My favorite idea from the list of more than a dozen crafty suggestions:
Cut a cup sized hole, half way along a postage tube and find 2 or 3 brightly coloured rubber balls. When baby drops the ball through the hole it disappears, but when they pick up the tube to find it, the ball rolls out one end. Babies from 9 months on will be fascinated by how this works.
The article also has safety tips for what things are appropriate for children and what precautions you should take when you make your own toys.
- Trisha