Play-Doh: Love it or Hate it, You’re Stuck with it
I love play-doh, I really do, except when I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. So let’s just say it’s your basic love-hate relationship and learn to live with that.
Why do I love play-doh? Simple:
- It can keep my 2-year-old busy for almost an hour of tantrum-free fun which is basically like finding the Holy Grail of parenting. An hour to do what I want without having a toddler clamped onto my leg demanding attention? Hell yes!
- It’s actually quite good at helping mommy manage all that stress as well. Who needs a stress ball when there’s always a lump of play-doh within reach? Squishing that little lump of brightly colored dough is surprisingly effective as a stress relief tool.
- Play dates are a little easier with play-doh around because it’s the one toy that there actually are 3 (or 4 or 5) of. Do you know that moment during a play date when every toddler wants to play with the exact same toy? You know it’s going to happen sooner or later, so having play-doh on hand to diffuse the situation is always a good idea.
Play-doh isn’t all rainbows and butterflies though, it can also be the bane of your existence because:
- It. Gets. Everywhere. One session with the stuff and you’re finding bits of it all over the house from the kitchen to the bedroom to the insides of your shoes.
- Have you ever tried to scratch dried play-doh out of a carpet? Yeah, not a fun way to spend an afternoon.
- Kids are perpetually dirty creatures, that is a fact of life. Toys and sheets and furniture can be washed or wiped down but play-doh? That stuff can get disgusting in a hurry if you’re not careful. Have fun trying to explain to a 2-year-old that you threw out her favorite shade of play-doh because she got crushed crackers mixed up in it..
So yes, play-doh and I have a complicated relationship, but my daughter loves the stuff so it’s definitely here to stay.