Ten-month-old babies may not seem like the world’s most intelligent creatures, but they’re already beginning to grasp the nuances of complex human language. For instance, Thomas has already discovered that “no” is the universal word for fun.
“No, no, no, we do not play in the kitchen cabinets!” his mom said, as Thomas turned around and grinned in self-satisfaction. (And maybe his dad grinned back, but there is no evidence to support that fact–only the accusations of the mother). Around Thomas was a bunch of plastic containers and lids strewn across the floor, as he had recently discovered the riches of the Tupperware cabinet.
At his current stage of development, Tupperware is about the perfect play toy for Thomas. It’s lightweight, comes in all shapes and sizes, and makes a nice “whacking” sound when walloped. Thomas spends most of his waking hours crawling around looking for inanimate objects to pummel, whack, or wallop into submission–who needs high-dollar Fisher-Price toys when you can be perfectly content wielding a cup, coaster, or cell phone as a hammer?
Certainly, it’s a lot more cost-effective to let Thomas play with Tupperware, as most objects aren’t built to withstand the abuse a teething pre-toddler can induce. When he’s not pummeling something, he’s gnawing on it. With four front teeth now and an unlimited source of slobber, he can do a lot of damage to high-tech devices.
That said, there is one high-tech device that I recommend all parents purchase. Sure, it may be $300, but $300 for a ten-minute break from childcare is a good deal if you ask me–plus it cleans the floors. We’ve had a Roomba for many years, and I always wondered why it bounces around the room in a seemingly random vacuuming pattern. Now I know it’s just an evasive action protocol meant to prevent hijackings by crawling babies. If you want to keep a ten-month-old entertained for ten minutes, turn on a Roomba and let them chase it around the floor. If they do catch it, most Roombas are built tough, or at least tough enough to withstand a moderate walloping by a ten-month-old armed with a Tupperware lid.
