Don’t Throw Away the Boxes
Most of us have witnessed this scenario before….. a child receives a gift for a birthday, holiday, etc., and after ripping off the paper and ribbon, and removing it from the box, the child puts the gift aside and plays with the paper, ribbon, and box! Children LOVE boxes!
If you have the room to store them, consider saving boxes of all sizes. Take them out on a rainy day or after children get bored with the toys in their toybox. They are guaranteed to have a ball playing with them. Babysitters: you too can collect boxes and bring them along babysitting to provide hours of fun for the children. While you probably wouldn’t drag a refrigerator box down the street to your client’s home, you might be able to carry several smaller boxes, especially if they can fit one inside of the other.
- Shirt boxes don’t hold up very well, but they can still be used to cut up for picture frames or other crafts.
- Small jewelry boxes are great for tiny treasures, especially if they are lined jewelry boxes as opposed to cardboard. But, kids love the small cardboard ones as well!
- Shoe sized boxes are great for storing crayons and markers and other small toys, but are also great for making dioramas and houses for tiny dolls or stuffed animals.
- Then, of course, if you have a box large enough for a child to fit in, then the ideas are endless. Depending on the size of the box, it can be anything from a shipping crate delivering a wild animal to a local zoo, to a club house complete with windows and doors.
The boxes alone are fun enough, but you can also give the children markers or crayons, and any other craft items to decorate them. Let their imaginations run wild transforming the boxes into anything they can dream up! Let the children decide what to create but offer suggestions to help spark their imaginations if they seem to be at a loss for ideas.
Always assist children if they want holes or flaps cut in the cardboard. Depending on how thick it is, cardboard can be difficult to cut and a child could easily injure himself.
Parents: Before you throw away boxes to toys or games, if you won’t be using them for the children to play with, consider whether or not it would make a good storage container for the toy when it is not in use. Boxes are much easier to stack and store than the toy itself. It also helps to keep parts, pieces, and instructions all in one place.
Lisa McLellan, Child Care Expert
Tags: playing with boxes
December 4th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Great idea for boxes. I can’t say that I have ever really thought of using boxes that way. However, it is true. My nephew will play with and throw around a box for hours.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Lisa,
I have no doubt in my mind! Kids do love you. I’ve been reading your blog for about 8 months and I continue to be amazed at the talented, creative, ideas and advice you have.
Lynn Lane
Success Strategies For Life
December 6th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Lisa,
Waste not, want not.
It’s always best to either improvise or turn “junk” into useable items.
In real life, storage mght be an issue to keep all those boxes, which are handy for running a babysitting business
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
December 8th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Hi Lisa
Boys seem to love big boxes – unfortunately from a storage point of view!
We have a cardboard packing case that’s been used as a den, a tent, a spaceship, a place for hide and seek and is now a Formula 1 racing car!
It’s a shame that (in affluent countries) electronic games (and Facebook) seem to have taken over from ‘good old fashioned play’. Whilst the electronic games are creative, the player doesn’t need to be!
Excellent babysitting idea.
Martin Wright
Impact, Poise, Presenting
December 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
That is a great idea, I still remember as a kids playing with boxes.
Jose Escalante
Business Marketing Small
December 21st, 2009 at 12:38 am
Hi Babysitting Lady,
certainly my mother when she was alive she would describe that we kids loved to play with the wooden spoons and pots and pans in the kitchen sink. Kids do not always need big expensive elaborate “toys.”
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Single Boomer Dating Expert