Household Items You Can Turn into Toys for Your Children

Have you ever gone to a child's first birthday party and watched as they opened the gift you spent hours picking out only to have them be more interested in the gift wrap and the box the toy came in rather than the toy itself? It happens to everyone. You feel silly because you've spent money on a toy they don't even seem interested in.

There are literally thousands of toys you can purchase for your children. Some toys light up, some make noise, others do both - but they all claim to be the best toy you could ever purchase for your baby. It's not bad to buy some toys for your child, but many parents go overboard and spend hundreds of dollars on toys that often end up becoming tripping hazards and space wasters. You don't need to spend a lot of money to entertain and educate your child; a little bit of creativity and some common household items can become toys that your child will enjoy just as much - or more - than toys that lights up and make all the noises.

Almost everyone has Kleenex boxes that, when empty, end up in the trash. Next time you use up your Kleenexes, give the empty box to your baby. Put her favorite rattle or teething ring in it. She will be delighted to play "peekaboo" with them by putting them into the box and pulling them out again. If you have a toddler or a preschooler, you can have them guess what item they are touching when they reach into the box. This is a fun rainy day activity and can help them learn to use their sense of touch rather than just relying on their eyesight.

Paper towel, wrapping paper and toilet paper rolls make great toys, too. You can duct tape several rows of wrapping paper rolls together to make a raft. Cut the ends of two more and unfold them to make paddles. Two toilet paper rolls taped together can become binoculars for your little sailor. Then there are the usual telescopes and megaphones made from paper towel rolls. If you're willing to save a bunch of them, toilet paper rolls cut in half and glued to half a pizza box make a fun carnival-type game. Paint the rolls different colors and assign points to each color. Have your child toss ping pong balls to the rolls and add up the points based on which color the ball landed in. You can even use a toilet paper roll to help you determine if an object is a chocking hazard for your baby - if an item fits through the tube, it's not safe for your baby to play with.

Another old standby is to let your baby play with your pots and pans. Give them a wooden spoon - it's a great teether and makes a pleasing noise (to your baby's ears anyway!) when he bangs it on the pans. Even older child will appreciate you letting them play with your "drum" set.

Dry pasta creates a fun tactile experience for toddlers and preschoolers. There are all sorts of fun shapes to let them play with - from macaroni to wagon wheel pasta. To make it colorful, put ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol and several drops of food coloring into a baggie, add dry, uncooked pasta and shake it to coat it with the color. Let it dry and then give it to your child to play with. They can make jewelry with the colored pasta by stringing it together. The different shapes of pasta can be glued to paper to make pictures or designs. Putting some of the colored pasta into an empty pop bottle can make a fun rattle for a baby - be sure to glue the lid shut first or you'll be searching for pieces of pasta in your kiddo's mouth in no time.

Babies always seem to know the difference between the "real thing" and a substitute. My kids have never been drawn toward their plastic keys or toy remotes when the actual item was anywhere within their eyesight. Many people have obsolete remote controls and keys that no longer have a use. It will take a long time for your baby to figure out that the remote doesn't work because you've removed the batteries and your actual remote won't get goobered up by drool and sticky fingers. And if you keep the old set of keys in your purse, you can give them to your baby instead of your real keys. You won't have to worry about losing your car keys and your baby won't know the difference.

Babies love things that crinkle and make noise. If you've finished reading your morning paper, why not give it to your baby so that she can crinkle it and rip it apart? It will make a bit of a mess, but you might be surprised at the delight your little one finds in something so basic. If your baby likes to eat everything, be prepared to supervise her closely so that you won't find today's news in tomorrow's diaper. Also, if she got enough in her mouth, it could be a choking hazard - if you are not able to keep your baby from trying to eat the paper, it's best to wait until she is older to let her have the newspaper.

Many parents buy diapers in bulk and end up with large, colorful boxes that usually end up in the trash. Those boxes are perfect toys for your baby. Your little one can enjoy crawling in and out of one that is lying on its side. When your child is old enough to play pretend, the box can become the shell of a turtle on his back or a boat for him to ride in. If you have duct tape, you can make a tunnel by opening both ends of several boxes and taping them together. Even more exciting than diaper boxes are appliance boxes that can become forts and play houses for older kids, just ask your friends and family to save these large boxes for your kids to play with.

These are just a few of the household items you can turn into toys for your children. If you use a little bit of creativity, you can save a lot of money and teach your child to use their own ingenuity rather than relying on a lot of bells and whistles to entertain them. When they are babies, you can even get away with giving them these items as gifts rather than spending a lot of money on some toy when they will just like the box better anyway.