S/O -- Playing with Food

[anonomom]

Seems like I've seen several blog posts/Pinterest Pins about letting toddlers play with dry beans/rice/pasta. Everybody raves at how long their kid spends pouring, dumping, stirring, etc. while they get other things done.

So I thought I'd give it a try with DS, but I think I must be doing it wrong. Don't get me wrong, a pound of beans or pasta will buy me 5 minutes of delighted play, but usually it just takes seconds for DS to dump the entire container of whatever food it is on the floor, then practically do snow angels in the resulting mess. He's definitely not interested in doing any nice, neat pouring, no matter how many times I show him. I spend at least as long cleaning up as he does playing, and the entire time all I can think of is the waste. It's not like I grew up in the Depression or anything, but it bugs me beyond all proportion to waste food like that for five minutes of play.

Am I doing something wrong? Usually I"ll put the beans/pasta/whatever in my largest tupperware container, then give him 2-3 smaller containers and a spoon or two. I start by showing him how to move the food from the smaller items to the larger, etc.

[ExcitedMamma]

Is he into cars? My DS loves sensory tubs with cars or trucks. The CAT trucks are like $5 at Target and he can scoop with the front loader or dump with the dump truck and fun to bury and find. Fun for easy counting too when found. Also did one with Toobs ocean characters set. I think the key is to add what he's intersted in. Super messy though my DH hates it!

[hillview]

how large is the container you are using? is it a storage size bin or something a lot small? Is he intending to dump it on the floor or is it by accident?

[mackmama]

Same experience here. I've tried it several times with 2yo DC - and it all just gets dumped on the floor, scattered around, and then left. Not fun cleanup and doesn't seem to hold DC's interest. Will be watching this thread for ideas.

ETA: My DC dumps it on the floor on purpose.

[anonomom]

I use a container that's a good 6-8 inches tall and probably 12 inches long. A pound of beans fills it about 2 inches deep. He dumps them intentionally -- if I had to guess, I'd say he likes the noise.

[daisymommy]

Thats too small. It needs to be like a large storage tote bin that you use for seasonal clothes/decoration storage, so that lots of dumping and pouring can go on within the tote bin and it still won't end up on the floor.

I would say something 2-3 feet long x 18"-24" wide x 18-24" deep.
http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-glacier-blue-storage-box-56-qt/-/A-13771723#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=56

http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-66-qt-q-c-vu-lidded-box-red/-/A-13945075#prodSlot=medium_1_11&term=66

Otherwise it's too hard for little hands to keep it all in there and still play, IMO. I used things like this when I was a preschool teacher, and we would put a vinyl table cloth underneath the bin, so that when things got spilled out, it was faily easy to dump it all back in. We also had those little hand held sweepers and dustpans and we taught the kids to clean up spills.

[mackmama]

Thats too small. It needs to be like a large storage tote bin that you use for seasonal clothes/decoration storage, so that lots of dumping and pouring can go on within the tote bin and it still won't end up on the floor.

I would say something 2-3 feet wide x 18"-24" x 18-24" deep.

Otherwise it's too hard for little hands to keep it all in there and still play, IMO.

Interesting! I didn't know to use something so big. FWIW, I still think my DC will manage to flip it over. :)

[Blue Hydrangea]

Have you tried putting a shallow storage container of beans/rice/etc on the floor, on top of something like a splat mat convering floor? That way, when he's done playing, all you have to do is pick up the mat and use it to funnel the stray items back into the shallow container and snap the top on to save for future use. Or, you could pour the beans from the container into a gallon ziplock for future play and use something different next time. Since these items won't be eaten, you wouldn't need to throw them out after every play session.

ETA: We use a long, shallow under-bed type container, and DS was closely supervised until he was a little older, maybe 2.5?

[hillview]

can you stop up the drain and put the tub in the BATH tub?

[anonomom]

All good ideas. I'll try them.

Thanks!