Individual Toy Bins

This is how we've managed to, at least temporarily, solve the problem of "Mommy, Macie's playing with my tooooooys!!!" And if you didn't read that quote in your best toddler whiny voice, go back and try it again.

Now you understand why the problem needed a solution!?!

Not to mention that this is a great way to keep Ivie's "3+" toys out of Macie's reach. It's not good for my heart to glance over at the girls playing nicely on the kitchen floor and see a necklace of beads, perfectly shaped for getting stuck in windpipes, hanging out of Macie's mouth.

To separate the toys initially (because they all used to be in the same bucket), I sat down with Ivie and we went toy-by-toy through the stash, discussing which ones we thought would be safe for Macie to have in her bucket. A great way to get her to "help" me with the task, and also a strategy to begin to teach her what types of things Macie should not have in her hands. So that when they're playing, she can help me keep an eye on her.

So far, so good...