Sharp and Dangerous

When sitting my 15 month old son on the ground, you can almost see his radar search the room. He takes a deep sigh, scanning the room with a piercing gaze. What will his next target be? The brightly colored, rounded-edged toys in the left corner? Perhaps the plastic fire truck in the right corner? No, almost instantly his little legs run toward the pile of paperwork in the center of the dining room table. Much more interesting. Especially on the ground...

It seems that no matter how interesting or brightly colored his intended toys are, what his attention is drawn to ends up being much more dull in color and seemingly boring...to us. Often to our dismay, these items are fascinating to our children. Anyone who has bought an expensive toy only to have the child delight over the wrapping knows this. For hours, my son will walk around with a wooden mixing spoon. At times, he will carry the broom around for kicks. He searches all of those dirty spots you thought you could hide under this, behind that. He promptly locates the scissors you left after wrapping that present - in the middle of the table.

Upon the determination that all children's toys that are currently available are completely ineffective at engaging our toddlers, I have a proposal. We need to have a line of toys that look annoying, sharp, dangerous, loud, and messy, but are actually benign in nature. These would serve as mere deterrent - a distraction if you will, while we safely secure and hide all of the actual sharp, dangerous items, and the meticulously done paperwork.

Just a thought...