Originally Posted by
nurseknitsLaura
One of the nicest toys my kid ever got was not a toy. it was a collection of nuts and bolts in a container and a board with holes drilled through it to put the bolts through. Each bolt came with two nuts, and they were all different. He had to figure out which nut went with which bolt. The same person gave him a cardboard box stuffed with crumpled paper and taped shut and a bunch or roofing nails and a tack hammer to nail them into the box. He still has the nuts and bolts in a jar somewhere....loved it. Laura
Now that nut and bolt board sounds like a good idea! Have to keep them away from his baby brother... My youngest son had his own hammer when he was about 3. When we built a house he pounded nails in the sub-floor - kept him busy for hours. Those floors never did squeak. He played in the pea gravel and hauled rocks in his little wheel barrel. He had real tools. Never did have toy tools. I think he was 14 or 15 when he had a plasma cutter and made yard art. My husband insisted both boys learn to sew before he would let them use a saw. He figured a piercing was better than an amputation. We had a treadle around and that got played with a lot.