The Best Toys are Kitchen Items

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We stopped buying toys several months ago when we realized the best playthings you can give a baby are right around your kitchen. For example, these silicone covers by Charles Viancin are gorgeous and highly functional - they seal cover round bowls in the microwave, in the fridge, even in the oven for this lasagna bamboo leaf cover. They were quite fun for Mara to chew on during those heartwrenching teething times.

Spatulas and spoons and ladles, whether wooden, silicone or thermoresistant nylon, are all safe to use around food, thus quite safe for the baby to play with (although you might want to leave the knives out of the equation for a while).

One of our favorites is a silicone whisk that is so much fun for Mara to see and handle. She can bang it on counters safely because it has a soft impact, and all the little wires are joining together to make interesting visual effects. Most importantly, every time we see her with it, one of us exclaims:
"Mara is into some Whisky Business!!"

Our latest find were these decorative silicone flower trivets that you can use as support for hot plates on the table, or just as pretty table settings, around a vase or bowl - see the Amazon examples. The double flower made with two of them together is actually very pretty!

Here's what you can do with them if you have a baby:

Hat.

They fit both mommy and baby just fine, although you might have more luck with a toddler rather than a 10mo to keep them on their head for more than 5 seconds. Mara loved the feeling but loved the act even more, so after I tried it on her she spent the next few minutes repeatedly putting it on her own head and taking it off and smiling.

Use to practice your finger dexterity, and/or pose pensively for the camera.

Wiggle as hard as you can for minutes.

Use as bait to motivate the baby to climb up. Once up, baby forgets about the bait and just has fun for a while.

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