There are Toys and Toys!

We have a one year old baby at home.Natural that we want to buy toys for him. We do check out with D every now and then, the type of toys that he would enjoy. She has some ideas and other times she says she is clueless. The ideas are
a) don't get him battery operated toys(that ruled out 99.999 percent of toys in the market.
b) get him something where he can do something with it, not be a passive spectator
c)multi coloured ribbons will be fine, he can wrap it around the chair or stool and unwrap it and fool around for a while
d)you can try getting  building blocks(the ones in the market are for 3 year olds and above.So!
e) get him wooden toys, the chennapatna variety.It will be totally child safe. (Yes, but they dont hold the kid's attention for more than one minute!)
f) get him a toy phone.So that he will fiddle with it when we are on the phone.

So I made a toy hunt. In Adyar neighbourhood I had never really seen any baby shop till we had a baby in the house. Now there is one in every street.Well, almost. But none of them have toys meeting D's specs. Well not entirely. I got a whole lot of colour ribbons and also a hoola hoop.Yes, for a one year old. I thought D can use it and amuse the child. I am very creative you see.

But then there are a whole lot of visitors who get toys which they believe a one year old will play with. A dancing horse which makes sounds and trots around, a drum beating toy, a screeching parrot and what have you. Chiku is fascinated with unpacking and he fools around with the shining wrapper when D is interested in seeing the toy. Yes, it has remained that way.

Let me explain. Today morning like every other morning last few days chiku takes us near his toy basket and wants us to lift all of them. He tells (eloquent sign language) us to empty them on the mat. I get busy with the building blocks and other toys and look up to see if chiku is there fascinated. No, he is far away and is busy with the idli plates, piling them one on top of the other. When I am dragging the channapatna toy train round and round to distract him,  he is piling washed plates in the side rack and busy arranging them in an order which makes sense to him. I am taking the satin ribbons and tying them around the legs of the chair and after a while lift my head up to see chiku is watching to possibly imitate and amuse himself later. But he is busy pulling his dry clothes from the cloth hanger and putting them away and taking his soiled clothes and busy putting them in the wash basket.

I saw Chiku's father playing with the toys and chiku fascinated with the folded clothes and trying out his father's tshirt!

Yes, toys for children are actually enjoyed fully by the adults at home. It relaxes them; helps them relive their childhood; helps them to see the new age toys which they never had a chance to play with.

While the children are interested in stuff that adults are doing and wants to grow up fast and do the same things.

Role reversal??