One of the many things that continues to amaze me with my kids is the types of toys that they like. A toy that is bright and shiny occupies them for about 5 minutes. Some gross knick knack that they find under the table at a restaurant will be on their minds for the rest of the day and possibly the next day. Usually this knick knack is something like a broken used crayon in a shade of red that is far less inviting than the brand-new perfectly good orange crayons. Another sure winner is the stray ponytail holder found on the ground in the parking lot. Even if I convince the boys to bypass the junk, there's a good chance that any subsequent visits to the restaurant or parking lot will recall memories of this treasured item. This long-term memory is particularly impressive in the face of my 4.5 year-old's inability to remember that I told him to put on his shoes two minutes later.
Several years ago, we were at a playgroup where the hostess had fun-shaped laundry hampers. Just so there is no confusion, I am not talking about some sort of electronic gadget; I am talking about a basket into which dirty clothes are placed. This hamper was nylon with fun designs and some sort of springs in them so they fold down. The kids just loved hopping in and out of them. Whenever we subsequently visited someone's house with a hamper in palin sight, you know whose kids were hopping in and out of them. My younger son has learned to love this type of play by following his brother's example.
As odd as it sounds, my older son has been asking for a laundry hamper for some time. Sure he has a plastic laundry basket in his room, but that is for dirty laundry. He wants a fun hamper! Today at Bed Bath and Beyond, we happened to see a bunch of them. The boys picked out a Cars one. They've been playing with it since they got it. It's amazing how many ways you can jump in and out of a laundry hamper. Funnier how much time kids can stay occupied jumping in and out of laundry hamper.
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