Yesterday, we went to my mother-in-law’s house for a visit. Like clockwork, my kids kissed their grandma hello and literally ran to the sun room to play with the treasures in her toy box. They each dug through the small plastic tote and grabbed the same toys they play with during every visit. Kyan goes for the ancient Speak & Spell, which was once his father’s. Jaxon grabs the plastic toy cars and Pumbaa finger puppet, and little Devin snatches out the red Mickey Mouse dashboard with bright yellow steering wheel. This same ritual takes place every single time we go to my mother-in-law’s house, and they have their favorites at my mom’s, too.

It always makes me giggle how “into” these toys they are when, at home,  they have a huge playroom solely devoted to their monstrous collection of goodies. They have a mind-boggling array of gizmos, gadgets, games and books, yet they often tell me they’re bored. But…take them to grandma’s house…and even the simplest of toys are like a non-stop adventure.

It tickles me, because I was exactly the same way when I was growing up. My brother and I were born several years before our cousins started joining the family and all of my aunts and uncles were young adults, so there wasn’t much of a need for a toy box. Still, grandma had a couple of things tucked away in her hall closet, and I knew exactly where to find them. On the floor of her closet was an old metal cooking pot filled with hundreds, if not thousands of crayons. Behind it, she kept a small trunk filled with antique Barbies and G.I. Joes. The last two treasures were on the top shelf; a Spirograph set and the obnoxiously loud and totally awesome classic, Operation.

I can remember every detail of that closet and those toys, even though I haven’t opened that door in over 25 years. It didn’t matter that I had tons of toys at home or that I didn’t even like Barbie dolls when I was a kid. The fact of the matter was, they were grandma’s toys, which made them priceless wonders, especially knowing that my mom used to play with them. I remember them fondly and hope that my boys will always have special places in their hearts for their grandma’s toys, too.

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Yet, when they were smaller, I couldn’t help picking them up now and then. I picked up a giant fluffy platypus, countless bears and Easter bunnies. They sat in the corner of the toy room and were used most often as pillows during spontaneous naps and projectiles during spontaneous sibling fights.

My children are getting older and I think it is about time to put them away for good. The stuffed animals, that is – not my children. I don’t know if we are going to put them all into bags and move them to the attic or give them to the Salvation Army or Goodwill to pass on to another generation of children that may find enjoyment with them. It kind of reminds me of Toy Story 3, but I can’t help but be a little sad at the prospect.

We will likely do a mix of both. Place the ones that have sentimental value in the attic and the others will be sent off. I doubt my children will have much of a reaction except to revel in the sudden roominess of the toy room. We’ll keep good ole Optimus downstairs.

What’s going to be difficult is when I walk though a toy aisle and see something that I would have off-offhandedly picked up and remember that my kids don’t want them anymore. I’m sure if I find any more Transformer plush toys, I’ll get them. Optimus can’t fight a battle against the Decepticons alone.

It’s just another reminder that my kids are getting older and have left the young baby stage. I don’t think we will have any more children either, so it’s also a little weird to think there will be no more first steps, 3 a.m. feedings and debates on whether he smiled or just passed gas.

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Now you can share the classic toys and games you loved as a child with your children. Choose from a variety of board games, push toys, toy instruments, outdoor toys, learning toys and more.

You can also get a 15% discount off all orders. Plus, orders worth $75 or more are eligible to receive free ground shipping. Just make sure to use this Back to Basics Toys coupon when you check out. This offer expires July 31, 2011 and cannot be combined with other promotions.

Shop for toys and games at backtobasicstoys.com today and keep things simple and fun, just like they used to.

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Much tension surrounds the topic of breastfeeding in general. There are those who feel that breastfeeding is a personal matter between mother and baby, while others feel it’s the natural way to nurture babies and should be accepted as such. Both sides have been arguing for years, and there is little possibility of a truce being called in the foreseeable future.

And then along came baby.

The Breast Milk Baby has been available in Spain for a couple years under the name “Bebe Gloton,” but recently an English version has been released in the United States, and its welcome hasn’t exactly been all kittens and rainbows.

The Breast Milk Baby (starting at $89), makes gulping sounds and will cry if it isn’t burped after a feeding, but you won’t find a bottle in the box. Instead, there is a bib-like top for your daughter to wear. This flowery pink garment has a couple special features that have some parents more than a little unsettled. There are two larger green and pink flowers that are placed to fall over the child’s nipple area. Once in place, she can simulate breastfeeding her baby without lifting her shirt.

Is this a step in the right direction for breastfeeding and its passionate supporters, or a leap across a line of decency?

Some women are happy that this echos the voices of breastfeeding moms everywhere. Breastfeeding is normal, and the doll is spreading the message of normalization in our society. If children are raised to accept it as a natural practice, then maybe the debate won’t be so heated in years to come.

On the flipside, other women feel the doll is both outrageous and irresponsible. They believe that it puts little girls in a position to act with maturity beyond their years. Some are concerned that children won’t stop at over-the-shirt breastfeeding, but lift their tops in public, innocently exposing themselves in a world where sexual predators could be anywhere.

What do you think? Is the Breast Milk Baby going to play a role in making future generations of Americans accepting of the natural act of breastfeeding? Or is it too much too soon for little girls who don’t yet have a full understanding of breastfeeding and our culture’s views on breasts and sexuality?

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To solve this problem, I was given the absolute best tool that any parent or guardian can use to keep a child still, a toy. Yes, a toy was a powerful tool that kept me grounded and amused. To me, it had so many unique purposes that were fun and useful. I played with it nonstop. It was my partner in crime. It was my weapon. It was my lunch. It was everything. For the many parents and guardians of their young curious explorers, toys can be somewhat expensive, as it takes more than just one to keep a child occupied. Kmart has special offers on toys you may want to consider.

Shop at Kmart.com and use these Kmart coupons to save as you spend. You will be able to take $5 off when spending $50 on any toy available. If you want to save more, take $10 and $20 off purchases of $100 and $200 respectively. Choose from a large variety of toys and games for toddlers and kids of all ages. Kmart has Lego sets, dolls, action figures, board games, building sets, learning toys and so much more. If your child loves the outdoors too much, shop for swing sets, power wheels, bikes, scooters and trampolines. But hurry, this offer won’t last forever. All coupons expire April 2, 2011.

Before you know it, your child will be so occupied that you won’t have to worry and chase after them so much anymore. Just sit down, relax and watch the tools do their thing.

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I enjoy secondhand shopping. It’s a cheap thrill (pun totally intended) to find awesome clothes or cool toys and books for a huge savings. In fact, in my family, finding a super deal is brag-worthy.

Still, there are certain things that should be purchased from a store, still in it’s original packaging, most often for safety reasons.

1. Cribs: First, safety standards for cribs have changed several times in the last few years. You can’t just rely on the soda can trick anymore. Drop side cribs, for instance are a huge no-no now, because babies can get their heads and hands pinched or caught if the side comes down. Any crib’s safety can be compromised if it was used by a previous owner. Babies who use a crib through the early stages of toddlerhood can be pretty rough on their cribs.
2. Car seats: First, safety-wise, the seat may seem in great shape at first glance, but underlying cracks, chips or seatbelt damage may be present. Potential hazards greatly outweigh any savings. Second, any mom will tell you that a car seat can get pretty nasty. Spills, spit up, leaky diapers… they all happen and, while most models of car seats have removable covers, many have padding that is permanently fixed on the unit and can’t be cleaned well. All that yucky stuff soaks in and is there for good. Blech.
3. Mattresses: Whether for a crib or bed, take a pass on mattresses, not only for the soaked in yuck factor, like the car seat, but because there could be bed bugs, bad springs and even mold.
4. Open personal items: I know this sounds weird, but I’ve been to garage sales where open, partially used containers of lotion, powder, baby wash and even disposable diapers have been for sale. I can’t explain why someone would want to share their leftovers, but eww. Follow your common sense. As for the diapers, they may look totally fine, and I know that I’ve accidentally purchased the wrong size and tore a whole in the bag before I realized it, but you don’t know how long or where they’ve been sitting around. There could be dust and irritants in the bag that you don’t want touching your sweet one’s tush.
5. Antique toys (unless they’re for decorative purposes): If you come across a cool old toy that you’d like to put on display (on a very high shelf), that’s one thing, but if it’s for your child to actually play with, then err on the side of caution. Old toys don’t meet new safety standards and have probably been played with by generations worth of children. Because they’ve been loved for so long by so many little ones, they might not be the safest items to have around your children.

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My wife and I try to make as much of their lives about learning as possible. There is so much of the world that they have yet to see and understand, that the magic of learning as yet to wear off. I will let long division and multiplication tables do that.

When I came to getting a toy for my oldest children, I couldn’t make my mind up between some Nerf shooters or toys where they would actually learn something. Nerf is fun and I knew they would have a ball shooting each other with the little foam bolts, but the only thing they would learn is marksmanship.

The other toy was a interactive map of the United States that had information about each individual state and made a game out of geography. They were both roughly the same price, but the child in my head (you know, the one my wife says I listen to all the time) was telling me to go for the Nerf, but the parent was telling me to go for the geography game.

So there I was, having a raging internal battle in the toy aisle of a major department store. The parent ended up winning, as it usually does, and I got the geography game. My son loved it and plays with it, and I was so impressed by how fast he learned the information. He was like a sponge.

I think I made the right decision, but it made me remember that kids are kids for only a little while. He is going to spend the next 12 years learning about the world from books and computers. As parents, we have to let that kid inside of us win every now and then. I went back a few days later and got the Nerf shooters and the battle rages on in my home as I write. The air is filled with laughter and foam darts.

I love every minute of it. In an hour or so, they will tire of the game and move on to something else. Maybe the geography game or one of the other countless educational toys we have in the home. Life is all about balance. Just as adults can’t work all day and night without an occasional break, children can’t spend all their time learning about facts and figures. Nerf also gives them physical activity, which is important as well.

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He spent the  better part of the afternoon setting up anything he could find in lines and squiggles on the floor in the living room, just for the few seconds of awe and excitement that came when he got to knock them back down again.

Playing with the domino effect is fun for children, but it’s also educational. They gain a better understanding of cause and effect, while learning patience from the trial and error.

This weekend, I promised him we’d set up a big domino experiment as a family. Because he’s so young, he didn’t realize that you could play with ramps and gravity to make it more exciting. I searched the Internet and showed him a few videos of large scale domino setups. He’s pretty excited to turn our living room into a massive course of domino shenanigans.

I have to admit, the hubz and I are pretty excited, too. It will be a lot of fun searching for items to add to our line of “dominoes” and get the boys involved in the process of setting it all up. It may take all afternoon, but the light in their eyes will totally be worth it.

What are you doing together this weekend?

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Parents can literally go broke providing their children with all sorts of cool toys. From kitchen sets and blocks to interactive robots and educational video games, the world is full of all sorts of awesome gadgets and gizmos to catch the interest of a little one and to captivate him for hours of play.

Still, kids don’t think like adults, and while flashing lights and robotic voices will entertain them for a while, it doesn’t take long before they’re “over” the new toy and move on to something else.

And, usually, that something else isn’t even a toy. As my oldest boy went through different stages, it never ceased to amaze me what he’d be captivated by. Then, as each of his brothers started to explore the world around them, certain patterns began to emerge.

Apparently, some things are just universally awesome to children.

Boxes: Boxes must be enchanted. They’re like kid magnets. But, if you think about it, they have so much potential that it’s actually easy to see why kids like them. You can put things in them, then dump them out. If they’re big enough, you can climb in and captain a ship, pilot a plane or speed down an imaginary racetrack.

Pans: Why drop $50 bucks on a tiny drum kit, when your kids would rather root through your cupboards for an antique cake pan, anyway? All my kids LOVE my pots and pans. Beside having to rewash them and deal with the earsplitting decibel levels, I say why not?

Underwear: At one time or another, each of my boys has walked into the living room, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, with a pair of superhero briefs on his head. Either my kids are genetically predisposed to using undergarments as accessories, or underwear is a universally cool dress-up garment.

Wooden spoons: To me, they’re tools to make the perfect homemade marinara. To my kids, they’re wands, swords and conducting batons. I never know if they’ll be slaying dragons or heading up an orchestra. What I do know is that they’re having a blast doing it.

Dog toys: If a kid has the choice between a $10 Nerf ball and a slobbered on, chewed up, old tennis ball, the boy’s going to choose the tennis ball. I have two theories on what makes pet toys so attractive. 1) The dog endorses it. If Fido likes it so much, then it must be awesome. 2) They’re forbidden fruit. People, in general, naturally crave that which they cannot or should not have. The same goes for icky dog toys.

I think children’s innate fascination with completely mundane objects around a house is nature telling us to keep it simple. Kids need opportunities to explore their imaginations, and watching my boys pounding on my great grandma’s old sauce pan or sailing a fleet of cardboard pirate ships with tighty whiteys on their noggins reminds me of that on a regular basis.

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There comes a time when you have to let go of the old to make room for the new. And in our house, the time is now. Otherwise, we’ll have to start selling our furniture to make room for the insane amounts of toys we’re accumulating. Before we started cleaning, we made a pact to be as objective as possible and to not let nostalgia play too heavy a role in our decision-making. We decided that each toy would fall into one of three categories:

Keep in play: These are all the toys, balls, blocks and other goodies that our kids still use on a regular basis.

Pitch: The pitch pile was made up of any broken toys or sets that were missing significant pieces. I had to force myself to be pretty ruthless about this, but in the end, there weren’t a lot of items I 86’d. I did stash a couple of my kids’ favorite toys that were just over-loved, like a couple key stuffed animals they’d outgrown, but that had true sentimental value. Those went into the attic in totes I have marked for each child. I think their kids will get a kick out of it someday.

Donate: Because my kids are still fairly young, this pile mainly consisted of baby toys that I’m convinced we won’t need any more (the baby factory is closed indefinitely as far as I’m concerned) and an incredibly large collection of stuffed animals. Stuffed animal collections grow at an alarming rate. I remember where most of them came from, so it was hard to part with them, even though they just sit around and take up space.

If it weren’t the beginning of winter, then I probably would have tried to garage sale the toys in the donate category before taking them to the Goodwill store, but I know that if I save them for the spring, then they’ll end up living in my attic until the end of time. It’s better to acknowledge my weaknesses and just send them on their way now.

Once everything was sorted, the toys we were throwing away went out to the garbage can, and everything that was going to be donated was boxed up and put straight into the front passenger seat of my minivan. I know myself well, and if I hadn’t put it there, then it would have either sat in my trunk or dining room until we sold the car or moved.

After putting all the toys that survived back into their rightful places, I was really proud of our accomplishment. The boys now have ample room for this year’s Christmas goodies and for next year’s birthday presents. It wasn’t an easy process for a natural “keeper,” but it was time well spent and made a huge difference in our household. The kids have more room in their playroom to actually play, so things aren’t gravitating into other areas of the house, which is a total win-win for us all.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/4703018751

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