Parenting Tip #15 Play Dough

Ahh, the joy of play dough. What child doesn’t like to play with play dough? It’s such an open ended toy, just waiting for a child and his or her imagination. Put play dough on the table, set a child in front of it, put some music on in the background and watch the magic happen.

Here’s the basic play dough accessories: toothpicks—for poking into the dough, muffin tin—to hold pretend muffins or cookies, rolling pin, popcycle sticks or butter knife to cut the playdough with, cookie cutters, and anything else in the kitchen that looks interesting.

But don’t forget the music. Any upbeat or children's CD will do. I personally think that playing music in the background helps children play longer, more happily and helps them think creatively.

I always make my own play dough (though I hate washing the pan). It’s kind of fun to make and it’s nice and warm to play with. Here’s a site with some fun variations on making your own play dough. http://www.easy-kids-recipes.com/play-dough-recipes.html
So the next time your kids need something new and different to do, make some play dough, put on the music, and watch the creativity flow.