Five Awesome Toys for a Seven-Year-Old Who Routinely Disassembles Things and Scatters Them Around the House
A Gift Guide
Let’s get right to it. Whether your home is (like mine) a veritable graveyard for library books and board games, or you’re just looking for some outside-the-box suggestions, this gift guide will have something for you. I’ve learned the hard way (RIP Kingdomino) that there are some types of toys that do not thrive in the wilds of my house. But I’ve also picked some real winners—models of perseverance and endurance for all toy-kind.
Spool o’ Twine
If you have a seven-year-old (or thereabouts) who takes things apart and scatters them around the house, chances are that child would also love to tie unrelated things together. We gave my son a Spool o’ Twine as a stocking stuffer at Christmas, and it’s almost made it to Easter. The great thing about a Spool o’ Twine is that, unlike Tape, it doesn’t leave sticky residue. It’s also much cheaper. Once, we found our son and one of his cousins in their grandma’s backyard with about $45 worth of duct, tin, and painter’s tape (tapes?) making a “jail” between two metal posts. Impressive, but decidedly single-use and expensive. Since we got him a Spool o’ Twine, he asks for the tape less often.
Belts
Nothing adds a flair of authenticity to a costume (Dad’s White T-Shirt, sold separately) like Belts. Belts can be used for a variety of personas and historical eras and events (Ancient Egypt, the American Revolution, Space, Piracy, Space Piracy). Belts are also excellent for strapping on the variety of accessories that are needed in those variable conditions. The best place to find Belts is the thrift store. Stock up on several at a time on their respective colored-tag clearance days because you don’t know what weight those puppies can handle until they’ve been tried.
Sticks
Now, before we get into the benefits of Sticks, allow me to tackle a common concern: “Playing with Sticks™ is dangerous.” I can see why people think that because it totally can be. However, if we were to calculate a “Total joy as a result of playing with Sticks” against a “Horrible accidents as a result of playing with Sticks” ratio, I think we’d realize that kids have been playing with Sticks forever and it will be (for the most part) fine. And from the anecdotal perspective, the seven-year-old in question has been running around holding Sticks since he was 10 months old (he was an early walker [of course he was]). The only Emergency Room visit we’ve ever had with him was because of a Trampoline (see honorable mention section). We do tell him not to play with Sticks ON the Trampoline.
The great thing about Sticks is their versatility (like most things on this list). Sticks can be absolutely anything, and you can find them almost anywhere. The only downside to this is that if you lose your absolute favorite of your Sticks while hiking, it’s nigh impossible to find it again… ask me how I know.
Actual Trash
It’s on the way out anyway. Why not allow the child to exercise his or her powers of deconstruction with something you aren’t going to use again? Actual Trash comes in so many varieties, like Cereal Boxes (shields) and Egg Cartons (computers) and Those Leftover Cardboard Tubes from Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls (wrist cuffs—add one of your Belts and you ARE an Egyptian). The possibilities of Actual Trash are endless, and the price can’t be beat. And I haven’t even gotten to the intellectual aspects! The ability to assign new meaning to seemingly inconsequential objects and to make connections between those objects is associated with this rather obscure term: “creativity.”
I hope I spelled that right.
Real Big Rocks
The best for last—this is the crème de la crème of toys in this category. A Real Big Rock can be anything: a castle, a ship, a bunker, a planet in another galaxy, an elephant… and Real Big Rocks have the unique feature of not being able to be carried to the car or into the home, no matter how hard the child tries. Also, children of all ages enjoy Real Big Rocks. A few weeks ago, we were hiking with cousins. Once our two-year-old realized what the activity was—that is, he realized that we were all (two parents, one aunt, one grandma, four siblings and four cousins) going to walk on the Real Big Rocks together—he looked up at us and announced, “I like this.”
Honorable Mentions
Trampolines, Bicycles, Sea Shanties at Full Volume (house favorite right now is “Brisbane Harbour”), Another Child Approximately One-and-a-Half to Three Years Older Who Also Likes Pretend Play, and Legos (but with the understanding that he will only build the set once and then all the pieces will be thrown into the same large plastic tub).
If you need other (actually helpful) suggestions, check out these gift guides from
(birthday ideas!) and (Easter basket additions!). Along those lines, is graciously publishing a poem/prayer I wrote about anger and motherhood in their 3/23 newsletter (today!). The prayer is probably shorter than the sentences I’ve used to tell you about it. I’d be so honored if you checked it out! Think of it as my gift to you.But while we’re talking about gifts…
Eucharistic Saints would make a good one, for any child receiving First Communion (and those other kinds of children, too)! The book ships on 5/20. I was *also* a little surprised when I saw the price—but there are full color illustrations and it’s hardback. Perfect for the child who likes to pretend to be a Roman martyr (wearing Dad’s White T-Shirt and a Belt, binding up their own wrists with a Spool o’ Twine to complete the “captive” look).
Today is the last day I’m going to mention my Easter Giveaway—if you preorder Eucharistic Saints, OR if you tell someone about the book, let me know! (you can send me a direct email by replying to this one—I have no way of knowing who has preordered, so you have to tell me🙃). For your trouble, I will enter you into a drawing for an “Easter Basket” of lovely gifts: Humans of Heaven by Jana Pingel (I love this book SO MUCH), My Name is Philomena by Fr. Peregrine Fletcher O’Praem (a children’s book about St. Philomena, a Greek princess and martyr), a lovely sticker featuring the art of Adalee Hude, and, if you so desire it, a copy of A Saint A Day.
Are you sure you have not abducted my son? You are describing my child exactly!
“Actual garbage” 😂 My five year old has three grocery bags of parts of broken toys he’s taken apart. We’ve started telling family members to buy him broken toys from used stores as gifts so he can take them apart 😆