I didn't know why, but our son and I have been bored with each other for about a week. Playtime hasn't brought its usual enthusiasm, and he hasn't been as enthusiastic about doing the same activities we'd been doing.
Over the last week, we've been to a couple of houses where there were kids' toys around. I realized that I haven't updated his toys in quite a while. Looking around our condo (still not sold), he's got a bunch of dolls and some balls, but that's about it. He still likes the balls, which are good for certain types of development, but the dolls are old and are boring. We needed some things with a little pop, a little pizazz.
Then I walked into Target. Fortunately, the number of toys appropriate for his age group are somewhat limited. I don't think I missed many, though. We rang up over $75 in new toys. Depending on who you are, that may sound like a large number or a small number.
As he gets older and interests become more diverse and complex, his toys will become more expensive. They will include bikes, sporting equipment, musical instruments, art supplies, video games, and more. If you think about it, though, all of those are toys he will have for quite a while, whereas these newly acquired toys will last six months at best. Some he will play with once and then never acknowledge again. Others will be staples for a year. He's only seven months old and the toys are generally reasonably priced. That is, until you start buying ten at a time. Then 7.99 - 24.99 price tags become sticker shock at the register. Not that I'd put anything back.
Now that we've got some new things, we'll have a lot more to do when playtime comes around. While one would think the new toys are just for our son, that is just not the case. If I'm not having fun, then it's hard for me to have fun with him. I'm looking forward to introducing a couple of new toys at a time and seeing how he reacts to them. As all of us parents know, watching children do things for the first time brings great happiness.
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