What you see in the picture (besides a very silly me), are Jack's Waldorf-inspired wooden clips. Kids are supposed to dig them, I suppose because they can manipulate them, or see how a fulcrum works, or secure a sheath of silk to something to make a fort. Of course, I don't see them advertised on loud commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.
My boy got his in the mail yesterday, and his chubby little hands squeezed them open. I'm impressed. He also got other wooden toys from both American and European companies, some of which will have to go out of business on February 10th because of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which will require all toy manufacturers--even the ones who have been acting responsibly all along--to test all of their toys for harmful stuff. Don't get me wrong: I love that there won't be leaden Wiis shipped from China, but are they really serious about asking wood whittlers to test...wood? I mean, this is the whole reason I chose the toys I chose for my son--because they're safe, and they always have been. And now we may not be able to buy these because of the toymakers may close down shop because of the hefty cost of testing all their handmade wares. So mama's buying all the good toys while the gettin' is good. Happy 8-month birthday, Jack!
Anyway, the spirit-birthing part of all this is that I AM GETTING TO PLAY WITH SOME OF THE COOLEST TOYS EVER. Wooden dollhouses, wooden nesting bowls, wooden blocks...I'm having a blast! Jack is playing too, but he's more into chewing on everything. And with these toys that don't have lead paint or bad-for-you varnish, I'm not worried about that at all.
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