Who Needs Fancy Kick Toys?

Go to Toys R Us and you will no shortage of toys that are dedicated to, or include in part the capability to "stimulate gross motor development" by giving the baby something to kick. We once had one such device that tied onto the side of the crib and featured huge piano keys that played different notes when the child kicked them (it could also be laid flat for the child to smack at or step on.) The colors and sounds were supposed to elicit and reinforce the act of kicking--and when you think about it, what every new parent needs is for the child they have to change up to a dozen times a day to be really good at kicking his legs while on his back in diaper changing position, right?

When we had this toy, it was one of Liam's ten toys--I swear, all the toys Liam had to play with his first year fit into one 18-inch wide shelf area in the entertainment center, plus the swing, walker and the piano-keys-kick-encourager. And the kid had little or no interest in the piano keys--what I'm supposed to take away from that is that he might have been a super athlete in some sport if I'd encouraged this activity, but I just remember that he was an angel to change except that he tended to pee when his diaper was opened. (Someone should come up with a musical toy that encourages parental dryness during diaper changes in infancy. Maybe an air horn sounded just before the diaper is opened that shocks the child into voiding immediately into the diaper and then lying still in shock during the changing process. What? What did I say?) Now we have lots more baby and other toys accumulated over the years and the kids play with approximately 3682 of them--all of which are Legos.

I can't say the subsequent babies are any more interested in the various toys than LT was--the best things are still the swing, the walker, and the silicone spatula. But I admit, it's hard to look at all those bulky baby toys and not be tempted. "Oh, it's so colorful, and maybe she'll grow up to be a lying-down-on-her-back soccer star!" I mean, once in a while a toy catches their interest and pays off--Duncan and Tim as infants like the playmat with the arches from which cute toys hung to give them something to look up at until they figured out how to roll over about ten minutes later, for example. K is now placed on that mat, without the arches, in the kitchen because it's small enough to fit in the kitchen and gives her some traction for getting up on all fours, something that's tough to do on a smooth floor when one is covered in winter baby clothes with no exposed knees or feet to use as non-skid surfaces.

It was while on that mat, flipping all around, that she found her own excellent kick-encourager. It doesn't play music, it isn't colorful, it just moves out and snaps back. It's the cat door to the basement. (Picture below--the blur in her left hand is the trusty spatula.) She hit it accidentally, and has been kicking and kicking and kicking it in over and over. All I need to do is start tossing a mini-soccer ball at the door from the other side and her athletic training is begun. Her other favorite activity during her kitchen floor time this morning has been peeling off the paper tape on a box in the corner, just out of sight in the picture--this not only encourages fine motor skills with her hands but also social interaction with her mother, as I have to get up every 1.3 minutes to take away the bit she peeled during the 1.73 seconds it takes her to realize it's free, look at it, and starts to move it toward her mouth, and do it while being so cheerfully distracting that she isn't pissed that I'm taking something out of her hands. (Which begs the question, which one of us is being trained here?) One might argue that I should have her play with something that is not an ingestion or choking hazard, but all that pretty plastic stuff is just not as challenging or enticing as a brown box with paper tape, and I DO want her to be a genius, right?