Healthy Appetite

My husband tells me I need to update my blog and then in the next breath explains that he is eating a banana for the first time in 30 years. I wonder at that. "Why are you eating a banana?" "Because it is healthy for you. And I am going to eat more fruits and vegitables." So I ask "Why not stick with fruits and vegetables you actually like, it might make your endeavor more successful?". His reply "I figured it had been so long since I ate a banana I should give it another try". He went on to inform me that he will not be eating another banana for another 30 years.

What does this have to do with toys you ask? Not unlike our bodies, our brains are in need of healthy diet (ok yes I know a brain is part of the body). As the brain learns and grows at such an incredible speed in the first years of life, this is the time to start. A child's brains need freedom of time to explore and the proper tools in which to do so. Some of these tools might include simple things around the house, like a bucket. A bucket is a perfect tool to go exploring with, and collecting delightful little finds. Other tools might include blocks or a puzzle. Blocks for creative play and a puzzle for problem solving.

I could go on and on, but instead I will quickly make my point. A child's brain needs healthy tools to aid in healthy play. AND, unlike my husband's line of reasoning, there is no need to start with the tools we dislike (bananas in my husband's case). There are so many wonderful, fun and delightful tools (and toys) that the experience can be extremely enjoyable. Amazingly it is the seemingly simple activities and child's play that do the most in building pathways in a child's brain.