I’m guilty of thinking it’s going to take a LeapPad or something similar to keep my daughter entertained in the car. I’m also guilty of overlooking the classic toys like Slinky, Pick-up Sticks, jacks, and yes, even the miracle that is Silly Putty.
On a whim, I picked some up for around $1.00 because my daughter was being particularly well-behaved on a shopping trip and I wanted to reward the good behavior with an inexpensive new toy. You can’t get much simpler than a little container of Silly Putty, and she was intrigued by all the things I told her it could do.
Honestly, I expected her to get bored with it within a day or two, but a few days later as we were walking out the door to do some errands, she asked if she could bring “something” along to stay entertained (smart kid–certainly smarter than her mom in this case!).
She looked around for a minute and said, “Silly Buddy!” She knows the real name, but insists on calling it that. I can understand. I wanted to call it my buddy, too, after it rescued us in a traffic jam the other day.
There’s construction near my house, so we sat in the car, not moving, for at least ten minutes before we even got to make a little progress. It was some of the worst traffic ever, but quite possibly the first time I didn’t have to listen to her complain about it.
She was busy making the putty make popping noises, pulling pictures up from her comic books with it, and manipulating it into shapes. Luckily, she didn’t try rolling it into a ball and bouncing it off the windshield.
When shopping for kids’ toys, don’t overlook Silly Putty, especially if your child is around four or five years old. It’s inexpensive, versatile, and easy to travel with.
Photo credit: Â Ben Franklin
