Wednesday 13 July 2011

My boy and his toys

Most boys who turn 3 and want tools usually get the tools of the plastic variety so they can "help" dad without really helping. My little man lost interest in plastic tools waaaay before he turned 3. He got a plastic tool work bench when he was 1.5 for Christmas but none of the tools actually worked and he was not impressed at all. For his 2nd birthday we got him a real life looking drill with batteries, but all plastic of course. Now he loved that it looked real, and it made noise, and the tip spun around like dad's drill, but....it still didn't work. He knew how to work dad's so pretty much ditched his plastic one's for dad's real one. You'd always find him with a real screw driver, never a plastic one. He had the ability to screw and unscrew real screws.
A friend watched him with a real screwdriver one day. She has a heck of alot of experience with children as she does early intervention in preschools and day care centres. She watched on in amazement at not only his determination, but his skill and precision in using the screwdriver with the screw. I decided at that moment he would get a real tool box for his birthday with real screws etc.

Here is the real drill that a friend bought for him. She was very hesitant to get this as she was worried he would make the house fall apart. Admittedly he probably has done a few things he shouldn't like he tried to take the screws out of the flyscreen, and has unscrewed the screws in the architraves. He's also put a screw in his wall and when i went in his room he quickly covered it up because he knew he did wrong. He does love his drill to bits and even charges it up himself.
With the drill we got him a set of screws, and nails to go with his hammer. Yes, a real hammer. It's good therapy for him when he's having a moment as he'll go into his room and bang away on his board, or pull apart a foam box. often i pack up his nails in his room,but he will go back in and tip them all out again so he can do more "work"By night time I just clear a path in his room to get from the bed to the door.

 Sometimes if we need a screwdriver we'll just ask little man if we can use his and he'll run into his room to get one for us. I think I should've actually gotten him a tool belt like his dad's and he would walk around all day with his tools. occasionally he puts nails or screws in his pockets which i never realise until I've washed his clothes and they either fall out into the washing machine, or I head them clunk around in the clothes dryer. There have been times he's taken his tools to bed as well.

If you look closely at the picture on the right you will see the nails in his bed. He also went to bed wearing his hard hat as you do.

Think he's going to be in the building trade

1 comment:

  1. Toby's 18mths and we're getting him a real hammer and screwdriver set for his 2nd birthday! Was thinking we we're being a bit freaky, but feel better now someone else has done it too.

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