I’ve admitted it before.
I have toys-with-teeny-tiny-parts-a-phobia.
Since our home lacks a mother who can remember to say, “Put that away before you . . . come-to-dinner/get-out-a-new-toy/start-doing-cartwheels-in-the-dining-room/whatever-else-you-can-think-of,” I just avoid these kinds of toys.
They always seem to end up scattered around the house, completely forgotten until the sole surviving piece gets found under a couch. And at that point, there is great sadness because all the other pieces have already been lost.
So, when my four year old was desperate to spend her dollar on something from the Junk Bins Dollar Spot at Target, I did my best to talk her out of the Disney Fairy Dominoes.
I had absolutely no faith that they would be played with more than once, and full confidence that they would hurt when stepped on.
But . . . I was wrong.
Even though they now reside in a cream cheese box, they are carefully put away after each game-time, and fairly regularly remembered.
And they’re fun. They feel like real dominoes, and the concept is exactly the same. So, my daughter is learning strategy, observation and the ever-so-challenging art of gracious-losing.
And I, the slob-mama, am learning to not force my own issues on my children, and to let them figure out for themselves if they can handle toys-with-teeny-tiny-parts.
At least not as much.
I’m linking this up over at The Finer Things in Life for Finer Things Friday.
Hooray! Good for you, Nony! That's so exciting. I've recently given up, and started throwing away strawberry shortcake clothes and my little pony pieces, partly because she doesn't actually play with them, just the characters, and partly because she will pick up the characters and not their accessories. I figure that by the time she's ready to use and take care of their things, she'll have had enough birthdays, Christmases, and daddy coming home from a business trip to amass plenty.
The scariest thing for me about my slobbishness is what I will pass on to my children and how their little lives are affected by my mania.
I am the same way! I just went through the boys and girls room ridding of all the tiny toys. I can't stand them. I do take into consideration if they really are caring for something. I will let them keep it. But when a puzzle gets scattered all over the house, its instantly in the garbage. 😛
I'm with you too. Little pieces of toy drives me crazy. I feel that I am probably more to blame than my children, as I don't feel like I've taught them properly, or have been consistent with making sure they are put away EVERY time. I've kinda given up and just try to stay away from those kinds of toys. Maybe one day I can trust them with those little itty bitty pieces, but for now, we'll stick with the big stuff.
toys and games with tiny parts are just annoying! i'm another mama that hates them.
OMG! That sort of toy was the bane of my existence when my daughter was young. I am one who kicks off her shoes the moment I walk in the front door, and I was ALWAYS finding those ‘Light-Brites’, Legos, etc. embedded in the carpet with my bare feet! Dang. That HURTS! (Not to mention that they are NOT ‘vacuum friendly’. Finally I told her that the very next time I hurt my foot on one of those pieces, they were OUT! I helped her collect them together, found boxes for each set, then she was on her own. They were gone within two weeks! She was ‘floored’ when I actually tossed them out. She complained to her father, and within a WEEK he had bought her new sets of each one! (He’s my EX for multiple reasons. This sort of thing was a MAJOR one!) However, after that, she DID keep them put away, or at least never played with them outside of her own bedroom. And, if she knew I was going to clean her room, she made sure they weren’t on the floor when I went in. NOW she’s a better housekeeper than I’VE EVER been! So, maybe that ‘early intervention’ worked a miracle? Anyway, it’s high time the toy manufactures come up with good systems to keep these things organised. And, they should include a message/warning on the packaging, directed to the child. Something like: “Warning. This toy includes hundreds of small pieces which could incur parental wrath if not collected and put away when you are done playing with it! We accept no responsibility for your parents throwing this toy in the garbage if this warning is not heeded.” Well, maybe different wording/language, geared towards full understanding by very young children. But, they can afford to pay someone to write these things. In fact, maybe a child could help them? I STILL have a scar on my instep from a lost Lego! Of course I now have wood flooring, so it wouldn’t be such an issue these days. But, back then we had high-pile plush carpeting throughout the house. EVERY room except the bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen. Nightmare times, for sure. And, that’s a big reason why I will NEVER again live in a home with carpeting.