I’m an 8 month old dad. Er… well… you know what I mean. Anyway, I’m wondering if there is any known correlation between a baby having a bajillion toys around him, and having a short attention span later in life. If he is able to jump from one toy to the next every minute or so, will this become a learned / preferred behavior? It seems to me that it might.
BTW, he doesn’t actually do this very much. Mostly, he will pick up one of his 4 favorite toys, and stick with it for up to 20 minutes at a time. It’s just that on some days, he will turn into a madman and jump from toy to toy (it’s quite a site to see an 8 month old jumping around the room).
Don’t worry about it Steve. He’s just learning effective multitasking techniques.
–Kalél TheHungerSite.com “If our lives are indeed the sum-total of the choices we’ve made, then we cannot change who we are; but with every new choice we’re given, we can change who we’re going to be.”
I can’t ‘cite’ anything other than being a mom with two boys, WELL past eight months of age! I don’t know if too many toys leads to problems later, I just remember that DJ, was my oldest and we were more broke, so he just HAD less, and he seemed happier than my youngest, Billy ever did, who was inundated with toys, from ones that DJ had outgrown plus we had more money. He could get rather frenic too. I started putting half of the toys up and I would ‘recycle’, clean the old toys and put them up, and bring the ones he hadn’t seen for awhile back down. It worked out much better.
BTW, congratulations on being a dad!
Judy
“Lilacs bloomed in April and fruit ripened on the vine. Heartbeats quickened and old appetites were renewed. In April a livelier iris gleamed upon the burnished dove. April was spring, and in the spring Milo Minderbinder’s fancy had lightly turned to thoughts of…tangerines.”
I would not worry… enjoy this time as much as you can, he is starting to learn and discover things at an incredible rate… wait until he starts to learn to talk! The very best thing you can do (in my opinion as a dad) is play with him directly… use the toys together, read to him, talk to him, spend as much time as you can rather than letting him play by himself with the toys… sure playtime by himself is ok, increasing imagination and all, but he will love it if you play with. This will help him pay attention… attention to daddy. This also applies to mommy of course.
“Wow! Spider-Man! Are you really friends with the X-men?” "Not since Cyclops tried to use my viewmaster."
(Marvel Team Up #1)
Lots of manipulative toys are good, also lots of Mom and Dad - play with and talk to him a lot!
You might seriously consider limiting his TV time later, tho, esp. shows like Sesame Street that could have a negative effect on his attention span.
Here are some good books: “Your Child’s Growing Brain” (or Mind, I don’t remember ha ha) and “Why Children Don’t Think Like They Used To” both by Jane M. Healey. If you’re interested in your child’s brain development, you’ll find them very interesting and informative and full of theory as well as good ideas.
Twenty minutes is pretty good for an 8 month old. Parents As Teachers recommends that you get at least 2 laundry type baskets and divide up junior’s toys. Every week or two put away one basket and get out the next one. It’s like getting new toys!!! (Of course, don’t put away any toys to which he is attached or in which he is very interested at the moment.) If you can get him to sit still, you should be reading to him now. Don’t wait until he is talking or think he can understand everything that is in the book. There’s more to having a book read to you than the story inside.
