Toy or Liability

The other night Annie gave the girls the last of the mini M&Ms they had from their stockings. That left an empty plastic container. Annie held it up to me and said, "This will be a fun toy for the girls in the tub."

"No, that's a liability," I said. She knew exactly what I meant. You see, with little kids, every toy is more than just something they play with. It is also something, that if lost or damaged or taken away, will result in crying and lamentation. This is doubly true for twins, or any kids that are close in age. If we only have one of any given toy, the odds of them fighting over it are very high.

Sure enough, last night in the tub, Kate was playing with the new M&M container, and Genna wanted one, too. I had to (well, I chose to) empty the other container into a baggy so they both would have one to play with. Toys can be such liabilities.

On the plus side, toys can also be leverage. I used this age-old classic on Genna last night, with remarkable results: "If you don't stop fussing, I will take away your necklaces." What do you know, she suddenly lost her will to fuss.