Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tipless Tools: Letting Toddlers Help

When we were assembling 400 pounds of IKEA bookshelves, Ranger desperately wanted to be in the action. He kept absconding with every unattended tool so he could imitate our actions. We weren't exactly thrilled to have a 2 year old running around with pointy tools or ramming them into our brand new furniture.


Eventually, we gave him a special screwdriver of his own (a screwdriver handle without any of the interchangeable magnetic tips). He loved it as it fit over the ends of the IKEA screws. We loved the fact that it couldn't easily gouge him or any of the furniture pieces nor could it actually loosen or tighten any fasteners.

Other posts about entertaining a young assistant:
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3 comments:

  1. amy@flexibledreamsSep 11, 2008, 2:27:00 PM

    I assembled my Ikea Poang chair under the watchful eye of my three-year-old son. About three quarters of the way into the assembly I got a phone call and left the room. I returned moments later to find SIX screws on the floor and a very happy little boy working on the seventh.

    I couldn't figure out how to fix what he had done and ended up taking the entire chair apart so I could correctly put it back together.

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  2. Lilia EfimovaSep 15, 2008, 5:02:00 AM

    Well, with our 1,5 years old it's only worked for a while - till he discovered that there are magnetic tips to be inserted and insisted on having a "proper" screwdriver. Now we teach him not to run around with an instrument :)

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  3. Nicole FelicianoSep 16, 2008, 9:22:00 AM

    I do the same thing--enlisting help. It is easier than trying to keep a 3 yr old occupied elsewhere.

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