Toddler Plaything Made from Pipe Cleaners
The humble Puffs tissue container has been transformed into an engaging and educational toy for toddlers, thanks to a clever upcycling idea. This activity, which promotes basic fine motor skills, has been a favourite of many parents and their little ones for almost a year.
By poking holes around the sides of an empty Puffs container and encouraging toddlers to weave pipe cleaners through these holes, parents can create a threading or lacing activity. This practice builds pincer grasp, finger isolation, and bilateral coordination, all essential skills for a toddler's development.
The author, in search of budget-friendly sensory exploration and skill-building tasks, initially used cheap dollar store pipe cleaners. Although they were super bendy, they had sharp ends, which the author later upgraded. To add a touch of colour and aid in colour recognition, the author added colour-matched stickers around the holes of the pipe cleaner toddler toy. However, the son, being curious, has since removed them.
Variations of this activity include using different coloured pipe cleaners for pattern making, adding beads or small recycled items onto the pipe cleaners for a tactile experience, or bending the pipe cleaners into shapes or letters before threading.
This activity is not only a hit with toddlers but also with preschoolers, promoting creativity, finger strength, and concentration. It's a great introduction to basic fine motor skills that can be easily adapted with materials you have at home.
The author found the inspiration for this pipe cleaner toddler toy at Engaging Toddler Activities. The toy has proven particularly useful for keeping the son occupied in his high chair while the author cooks or eats. An empty Puffs container was a favourite toy for the author's son for at least an hour.
Despite the son being 21 months old, the pipe cleaner toddler toy continues to engage him. The author may re-add the colourful stickers to the toy when the son understands more about colours. The lid of the container, although slightly tricky to punch holes in, adds an extra layer of challenge and fun to the activity.
In conclusion, the upcycled Puffs container and pipe cleaners toy is a simple yet effective way to promote fine motor skills development in toddlers. It's a budget-friendly activity that encourages early learning skills alongside fun and creativity.
- This upcycled Puffs container and pipe cleaners toy, suited for both toddlers and preschoolers, offers an affordable way to foster health-and-wellness by enhancing essential fine motor skills such as pincer grasp and finger isolation.
- The family-dynamics have experienced a creative boost with the introduction of this skill-building toy, which has transformed a common household item, the Puffs container, into a source of laughter and learning for the toddler and parenting duo.
- By incorporating home-and-garden waste like empty Puffs containers and dollar store pipe cleaners, the author has successfully designed a lifestyle-friendly toy that makes use of minimal resources, showcasing ingenuity and sustainability in everyday parenting.
