Lincoln's New Favorite Toy

There is no shortage of children's toys. None whatsoever. Recently, the lowly stick was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. Amazing. Here I've been trying to navigate my way through a bewildering assortment of toys, not helped in the least bit by hyperaggressive Chinese sales people. I had one woman follow me through the toy section, banging on toy drums, pushing all the buttons on every toy that made any noise, setting off a little remote control dog, shaking rattles in my (and Lincoln's) face, all in an attempt to coerce me to buy something. I did. Though nothing with batteries, nor anything as simple as a stick. I try to buy toys in moderation and to choose them with care. Which toys will be best for developing hand-eye coordination? Will spark his creativity? Teach him to problem-solve? What seems to engage him? I love Lamaze toys and I think Lincoln does too. They have these special features that are supposed to be good for the baby's overall development and are really darn cute to boot. But all that special research into what features would engage the baby the most seems to have gone to waste since his latest favorite toy happens to be a lowly tissue box.



He loves it. He bypasses the rattles that will teach him hand-eye coordination, the high-contrast black-and-white toy, the special teethers, all in favor of this simple box. He would not leave it alone while I changed his diapers. He would twist his little body to bat at the tissue box. I finally handed it to him to get him to hold still for just a minute while I snapped his shirt. It's love at first sight. Boy meets box. Box eludes boy. Mommy separates boy and box. Boy and box meet. Boy falls in love. Boy lives happily ever after with box (until he gums it into an unrecognizable mess). The end. Who doesn't enjoy a good love story?