“Where’s the button?” How battery operated toys rule my life.

From the depths of the closet I pulled out a forgotten Raggedy Andy. “Oh look, Ellie! It’s Raggedy Andy! I bet he would love to play the drums with you!” My attempt to distract from an almost meltdown was working. I was pleased with my Momming 101 Strategy. Happily she grabbed him, looked at me puzzled and asked, “Where’s his button?” With a disappointed glance she tossed him to the floor and went back to Rockin’ Elmo.

I picked poor discarded Andy off the floor and propped him up on the rocking chair.

But wait…When did all the toys in our house end up requiring batteries and a set of ear plugs? Where are the blocks? The soccer and basketballs? The rocking horses? 

{Oh, they’re here.}

But the blocks don’t sing to you like the magic teapot.

And the new Princess Ball with strobe lights inside trumps the basketball.

Heirloom rocking horse? Who has time for that when you can dance and sing with Elmo?!

Am I the only Mom that feels like the playroom will rise up and attack me with it’s pitchy sing-along walkers, migraine inducing pianos, and eerily on cue interactive stuffed animals?

{Please tell me no.}

As much as I would SO not survive..I wonder what it would be like to live Colonial Mom Time. “Here kids, here’s a wooden hoop and a stick…have at it!”
Seriously, it took a Mom to come up with that one. It’s ingenious.  

My mind begins to wonder and attack itself…

{Am I just not creative?}

{Do I not spend enough time on Pinterest?}

{Will my kid become addicted to electronics?}

{Is she already addicted and I’m a terrible mom?}

I struggle with these thoughts daily. But I have to remind myself…NO.

No, I’m not always creative. And that’s okay.

No, I don’t need to spend more time on Pinterest. Because, comparison ya’ll.

No, my kid will not become addicted to electronics. I’m already worried about it, so that’s Step 1 right?

Am I a terrible Mom because I keep buying electronic toys? No. I’m a Mom living in 2016.

BUT.

Maybe what I can attempt to do is engage with my daughter. Play blocks right along with her and talk about the day. Get out the pretend food and cook a mean pot of vegetable soup. Count how many jumps she can get on the trampoline. Learn how to roll a ball.

Electronic toys have their place. (Afterall, I credit her ABC knowledge to Leap Frog.) But being intentional to mix some manipulative, stuffed animals, books, paints, balls, and blocks…and engage with her. To model what play can be…and take a step back to watch.

I believe both non-AAA powered play and gadget play have a place in our life. But perhaps today I’ll just conveniently take the batteries out for a while…