Library Books

Baby M and I go to the library nearly every week and in the past I have spent a fair amount of time carefully picking out books for him.  I'd wander the children's section while Baby M played with blocks, looking for the perfect mix of books-- a variety of artistic styles, some with simple text and some with rhymes, some about trains and some about children from foreign lands.  If he expressed an interest in turtles I would find a book about a turtle.  But now that Baby M is two and a half and Mr. Independent he insists on choosing his own books to take home.  I am pleased that he is interested in books and reading, but I am not always happy with some of the lessons that the books he chooses impart.  Here are a few ideas found in some of the books Baby M has picked up that I could do without

1. Vegetables are yucky and should be fed to the nearest pet dinosaur
2. There are scary monsters in your closet, under your bed and peeking in your window at night
3. Ice cream is a good reward for just about anything
4. Little brothers are annoying
5. "Shut Up"
6. Girl trucks talk too much and might just be insane, while boy trucks are bent on destruction, or at a minimum, getting really dirty

Now I understand that some kids already think vegetables are yucky or that monsters are hiding in their bedroom, but I would really like to avoid introducing these concepts to Baby M if I can.  Sometimes when reading I'll change the story around, but then worry if I am hurting his literacy skills by not reading the words on the page.  Sometimes a book will mysteriously "get lost".  I still pick out books for Baby M and try to sneak them into his pile, but somehow The Stupids Take Off  always ends up on the top of the stack.

So how about it?  Have you ever been surprised by a message in a children's book?  How do you handle  it when you dislike the books your child chooses?

Baby M's Top 5 Toys for Toddlers

By request, here are Baby M's top toys for toddlers.  Baby M is two and half years old.  His interests include trucks, dirt, sticks, trains and dinosaurs.   So these are Baby M's favorite toys.  The ones he continues to play with week after week.  The ones that haven't broken after 2 hours and the ones that I haven't felt compelled to hide for my own sanity.  And, in case you were wondering,  I do not receive any free toys, coupons or any other sort of compensation from anybody.

Step2 Sand and Water Table
Baby M got this sandbox for his first birthday and he continues to play with it daily.  I am amazed at how much time he can spend happily digging, scooping and splashing.  Even better, he is quite content to play alone so that I can get a few things done.  The toy is not perfect; my patio is perpetually covered with sand and I need to re-purchase sand a few times a year.  Also, abandon any hope you have of the sand and water being sides staying separate.  If your child is anything like Baby M you will have 2 sections of muck within minutes of setting it up.  That being said, I highly recommend this toy.  It would be my desert island toy, if desert islands didn't already come with ample amounts of sand and water.




Animal Planet's Big Tub of Dinosaurs
Baby M loves dinosaurs and this set comes with 9 plastic dinosaurs,  a play mat, trees, rocks and volcanoes that you can set up to create a prehistoric world.  Baby M always wants to know the names of the various dinosaurs (actually by now he knows more of them than me!) and I like that this set prints each dinosaur's name on its belly.  Baby M and I set up the volcanoes and have the dinosaurs play hide and seek, look for food, play soccer, etc.  I also enjoy eavesdroping on Baby M when he plays with this toy alone.  His dinosaurs have all kinds of conversations, they usually go something like

T-Rex: Hey!  Are you a hungry, hungry herbivore?
Stegosaurus : Yes, I am
T-Rex: Roar

Crayola Sidewalk Chalk
Baby M likes to draw and I just send him outside with this chalk so he can color all over the driveway to his heart's content.  I like this set from Crayola because the chalk is nice and thick, doesn't break easily and there is a good selection of colors.  If we're feeling like being active we'll draw out a game of hopscotch.  If I think Baby M needs some intellectual stimulation we'll practice letters or draw a rainbow and talk about colors.  Sometimes we just draw squiggles.  I think because we can draw things on such a large scale and because we're doing it while we're outside he finds it more interesting than sitting at the kitchen table with a box of crayons.  (And I don't have to worry about crayon ending up all over my table, walls and hardwood floors)



Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway
So yes, it does seem every little boy loves trains and Thomas in particular.  We never really watched the show, but all it took were a couple Thomas and Friends books and trip to Travel Town to get Baby M on board.  We started with this oval set and then bought a few other pieces (a tunnel, some additional tracks, a Rosie Engine and a singing caboose).  Now our set up is still pretty simple but Baby M is seems happy with it.  I actually wouldn't mind having a few more pieces since I'm the one who usually ends up constructing the track and I'd like a little variety.  Once the track is built, Baby M is content to push the trains around yelling out "Uh oh, Rosie derailed!" every so often.  The wooden pieces are sturdy and go together easily, although I do know some parents who have spent a small fortune building out their sons' collections.


Bristle Blocks
We actually have a 50 piece Bristle Block set by Lakeshore Learning, but I'd love to have a larger set like the one shown here.  Baby M has several building toys that he enjoys playing with and they all have their merits, but the Bristle Blocks are my favorite.  Baby M can put these blocks together without any help from me and because you can connect them on nearly every surface it's easy to build complicated structures.  Baby M builds cars, airplanes, helicopters, robots, etc.  Also, unlike many of the building sets, the blocks do not specify what he is supposed to build, so they encourage his creativity.

A Trip to Sea World

Last week my mother and I took Baby M to Sea World.  Growing up in San Diego I took a lot of school field trips to Sea World.  It was basically a zoo for aquatic animals-- a few aquariums, tanks for dolphins and sea lions, the Penguin Encounter, some corny shows, the Sparkletts Water Show and, my favorite, Captain Kids World.  Captain Kids World was a playground with nets to climb on, giant bounce houses, and a maze of full size punching bags where inevitably a 12 year old would barrel through leaving a string of injured 3 year olds in his wake. 


It's been at least 15 years since my last trip to Sea World, and while much of it has stayed the same (the Penguin Encounter, the dolphin tanks), it definitely has more of an amusement park feel now.  The park has added a roller coaster, a raft ride and replaced most of Captain Kid's World with the Sesame Street Bay of Play.   They've also updated their ticket prices so that they are more Disneyland and less zoo.  An adult ticket costs $69, kids tickets (ages 3-9) are $59 and parking is $12.  It's definitely worth searching out discounts.  We got 20% off our tickets by showing our Southwest Rapid Rewards card and thankfully, Baby M, being under 3, was free.  Also, you cannot bring food into the park, so plan on buying your lunch or heading back to your car for a picnic.  I did bring in some snacks for Baby M and no one objected.


We got to the park around 10:30 and ended up waiting 30 minutes just to get into the park.  Buy your tickets in advance if you can.  We started out at The Sesame Street Bay of Play, which has Sesame Street themed rides and characters as well as some of the climbing nets from the old Captain Kids World.  Baby M enjoyed the spinning teacup ride and getting his picture taken with Elmo, but I have to admit I kind of miss the old unbranded, non-motorized, probably more dangerous playground that I grew up with.  We hit most of the exhibits breaking them up with lunch, the sea lion show (still as corny as ever) and the 4-D theater presentation of Sesame Street's Lights, Camera, Imagination.  The 4-D theater shows movies in 3-D but also has squirting water, vibrating seats and air jets.  Baby M managed to keep his 3-D glasses on and enjoyed the show, happily yelling out "I need an umbrella!" when it started "raining" in the theater.  There was one scary moment involving a giant flying cookie, but overall he did really well sitting through the 20 minute movie. 


We had fun at Sea World and since Baby M is particularly interested in sea creatures (and still free!) it was a great time for us to go.  But it was also a long and tiring day.  We were there for 8 hours on a hot day during Spring Break.  Some of the exhibits were crowded and the shows were very full. Baby M was pretty good about riding in the stroller, but still needed to be carried through some exhibits.  I'm definitely glad we went  but I don't feel a need to back again until he is older and can get more out of the shows and rides.