100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 68: Tongs Practice

The other day, I learned that kids who are my son's age should be able to properly use objects like tongs and (ahem) clothes pins. Oliver doesn't really get exposure to those things, so I created an activity for him to get practice with his grip.

I grabbed our little kid's bucket, the tongs, and a few of Oliver's bath toys. I told Oliver we were going to play a game, and I used the tongs to pick up his bath toys and put them in his bucket. He jumped right in and wanted to do it himself!

At first, he held the tongs at the very top and couldn't get them to close well. I helped him do a few, and he picked up the concept quickly. Within a matter of minutes, he was using the tongs to pick up his toys and put them in the bucket:

Any time it got difficult, Oliver responded by getting frustrated. He'd insist that I do it. I'd do a few and pass the tongs back. He'd do a few, and when he dropped one, he'd stop. I guess that's just Oliver's personality! After about ten minutes or so, he decided to stop the game for good. I'm going to leave the toy in the living room for now so he can go back to it when he wants to.

I give this "tongs practice" activity a C+. It really didn't take any time or effort to do. It gave Oliver practice at a skill he should learn. On the other hand, it didn't really keep his attention. He really wanted to do it a few times, but then he was done. It was nothing special for him.