Grasping at Straws

Parents aren’t kidding when they say that sometimes the best toys are free, or nearly free. One day, while frantically trying to keep whatever was on the stove from burning without burning my toddler or me, I set the babe down, opened the nearest drawer, and tossed her a pack of straws. Quick mama mental calculation suggested that this was an okay toy (i.e., not jabby or containing small chokeable parts, bag not big enough to fit over considerable toddler head).

Well this bag o’ straws, retailing all of 97 cents, has provided hours (seriously!) of entertainment, and they’re not even the bendy kind. First there’s pulling all the straws out of the bag one by one. Then there’s putting them all back in the bag one by one. Then there’s picking out all the yellow ones (one by one) and handing them to mama. Then there’s asking mama to connect all of them (one by one) into a “long wand!” or “big circle!” And today, my fabulous sister discovered that you can use these straws to blow bubbles – far easier for toddlers to handle compared to the wands that actually come with bubble mix.