We had maybe 3-4 books in the bedroom but also he was allergic to rest. And only a few toys. Most of his books at that age were in a wooden crate/2 wooden crates in the living room. But books were less of an issue.
Toys he would always dump and panic when I cleaned and dump. I gradually got my toy rotation tighter - like at or under 10 toys.
BUT
This year I realized and saw research that he would have done much better and been less stressed with one toy or half a set out and the rest hidden/pulled out only to play. My hippy let them explore beliefs were all wrong for him. Now at age 4 he can handle 10 toys and one set of building stuff. Usually. He mostly plays with loose parts or uses toys as loose parts anyway. (Full size stuffie skull currently attached to his wrist as a pipecleaner bracelet).
B2 did a book swiping phase for 3 months and seems over it
We have floating shelves up high (self installation), with bookends to keep access to grown ups, with only a few books at low level. Might be an option if you have wall space?
Just be warned if you give them a target like this, make sure there are no stools or little chairs or anything like that in the room. (yes I learned this the hard way…)
(Somewhere I have a photo of Latte balancing on top of her giant plastic rocket the grandparents got her, trying to undo the closet lock.)
Ain’t that the truth. Larva basically wouldn’t let me read to her from age 1-4, and refused the library for anything but the playroom. Cue me, former prolific reader independently from four years old, despairing that my kid would never follow in my footsteps and love books and reading. Then right after her fourth birthday she asked for reading at bedtime and loves picking stuff at random from the library (after which we usually go to the playroom).
And probably I was hyperlexic, so probably she will learn to read in kindergarten like most kids and not follow in my footsteps of being an anxious mess reading above my maturity level for years, and that’s fine too.
Back with a food question! Sorry probably US specific. What are your favorite carb brand options that don’t have added sugar? Eg Dave’s killer bread
(We do eat rice but I’m thinking about breakfast and lunches for days we didn’t have a healthy homemade dinner the night before)
Thank you friends. My baby LOVED Trader Joe’s frozen waffles and tortellini (served separately), and I just realized that he likes them so much because of the high added sugar. Sorry baby! It’s one of those things that when you google, apparently everyone on the internet is making all of their baby’s food from scratch (happy for them!) so please keep any more no cook carb options coming.
Regular pasta! And we always keep a few cans/jars of sauce. Canada Red which seems unlikely to be in the US but is way cheaper than Rao’s.
Bread, pita, tortillas
Pasta
Rice noodles
Oven fries
Some crackers (rice cakes, premium plus)
I take cookies up to 5g - social tea, maria and some digestives
Tortilla chips
Reduced salt plain chips
How would you prep the pasta? I was excited about tortellinis because it was a protein + carb + veggie (spinach) in one. I am feeling a little bad about myself because I struggle so much to cook food for my baby, but in the new year I can work on getting up earlier to cook for him. I’m specifically thinking about his lunches that he doesn’t eat at home.
Dude if you have a way to get a small human to eat spinach, I personally wouldn’t stress the sugar. And I’m def a fairly “healthy foods” person by most people’s standards I think. (Quotes because, y’know, nutrition is not that simple, but clearest wording I can think of)
Okay… this is going to be revolutionary. I put a tiny bit of water in a pot to boil and then boil my kettle because it’s faster. I add pasta. I cook until done (I used to do a little overdone). I avoid soaghetti because that is asking for trouble. I toss with nothing, butter, olive oil, salt, or pasta sauce or sprinkle with cheese. If I am not sure I do a portion plain and a portion with something. If it might be served cold I definitely toss with fat or sauce.
Oh! And I just use it as a carb unless I made beyond sauce. I hardly ever serve more than 1-3 food groups at once. For some reason it offends my kids if I do
lol ok I have made pasta before. I’m thinking meal wise! I know it’s easy for most people to make pasta + cook a healthy protein + veggie, but I struggle a lot. A good thing for me to work on.
(yes I learned this the hard way…)