Tip—Empty boxes are full of potential for stimulating your toddler’s imagination.

It’s an old joke among parents that you can buy a young child an expensive “learning toy” but what he really prefers to do is play with the box it came in. The reason this old joke is still around is that it’s true. Toddlers and preschoolers love empty boxes. After the holidays there are typically lots of boxes around, so this is a great time to put them to use (—don’t worry, they’ll eventually get around to those learning toys you bought them for the holidays).

Preschool teacher Sandi Dexter, author of Joyful Play with Toddlers: Recipes for Fun with Odds and Ends, says the possibilities for imaginative play with boxes are endless—they can become space ships, houses, trains, furniture, wagons, and more. She recommends you save the following types of boxes:

shoe boxes	gift boxes	mailing boxes	appliance boxes
cereal boxes	tissue boxes	clothing boxes	storage boxes

Tools—Dexter offers many different ideas for providing hours of fun with a box in her book Joyful Play. A few of her suggestions are outlined below.

Big Box Play: Appliance boxes are especially fun, but since toddlers are small, any big box will do. Make sure any sharp edges are smoothed and be on the lookout for the heavy-duty staples that are sometimes left in boxes after they are opened. Toddlers enjoy crawling in and out of big boxes. Watch your child go in and out, around, up and down, and through the box. Use the opportunity to give her words for those actions:

Box Train: Toddlers spend a lot of time going places with their parents. Your child enjoys pretending to “drive” her box. Even the youngest toddler enjoys this simple idea of how to use a box. Hook several boxes together with ribbon or yarn to make a train. Your toddler enjoys watching the train cars as she pulls them across the floor. She can take her stuffed animals for a ride. Dexter also suggests a train ride into the bedroom at bedtime (use a short rope or belt to pull it). A ride on the train can make bedtime fun.

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in Joyful Play with Toddlers: Recipes for Fun with Odds and Ends by Sandi Dexter.

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