With all the focus on the coming arrival of baby #2, I'm trying to keep my lovable toddler in the picture! She already knows that all the UPS packages arriving are for the new baby, but she gets really unselfishly excited when there's finally something for her. Maukilo has generously sent us a perfect toddler toy to keep those little hands busy while mamma is nursing. We received the Haba Indian Summer Magnetic Puzzle for review.
I remember when baby E was a newborn, I probably spent 8-12 hours a day nursing. In anticipation I thought of making a toy box with activities for my toddler to keep her occupied while I nurse. Sure, she has a doll that she can 'breastfeed', but not for that many hours a day! One thing that's going in that activity kit is the Haba Indian Summer Puzzle. So far it can keep her occupied for at least 15-20 minutes, sometimes longer. She's still a little young (31 months), so she prefers that I do it with her. On occasion I ask her to play by herself and she has a strange attraction to the round pieces in the puzzle, she has made some beautiful designs with them.
Here is what I love about this puzzle so far:
- It allows for open ended creativity, there is no one right way to do it!
- Allows her to be creative without the mess of paints, markers, pencils, or crayons (i.e. I don't need to supervise her).
- It doesn't leave her frustrated the way art supplies do because she knows she can actually make something without being able to draw yet.
- It's magnetic, so she can play with it on the fridge (the magnets come separately and you need to attach them to each piece, very easy and took my husband and I about 15-20 minutes).
- I like any toy that's wooden and made in Germany! Though I'm sure she could care less...
- It even kept my husband busy for a while, toddler included :)
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