Addiction....

Among the myriads of baby toys, there are a few that make sense or are truly cool; a blanket with one corner that has soft rubber on it so it can be an effective chew toy and rubber ducks that light up when placed in the bathtub (thanks mom!) are just a couple of examples.

There are also those that are incredibly obnoxious and/or pointless... i.e. anything that makes buzzing/beeping/squealing noises, talks in an annoying voice, plays an incredibly repetitive song (like the birthday card I bought my best friends two year old [insert evil maniacal laugh here]) or anything that promises to improve the intelligence of your child.

Then there are those true rarities, the toys that are so compelling to your little one that they become a premature addict. These toys vary from child to child, and can catch you completely by surprise. Our son was recently given a teething toy that vibrates when he bites down on it hard enough that he has become slightly addicted to. When the darn thing starts vibrating his eyes glass over, he stops fussing, and the drool starts coming even more profusely than it already does. This inevitably results in the following chain reaction: toy stops vibrating, toy falls from mouth, boy starts trying to put back in mouth, boy puts hard plastic part of toy in mouth (not soft vibrating part), boy starts crying because he cant figure out why the part of the toy in his mouth is neither soft nor vibrating when he bites on it, tired father puts (and holds) the soft part of the toy back into boys mouth, wash, rinse repeat. The boys father is a bit more of a pushover that his mother, who instead of feeding his "habit" will find creative ways to entertain him that doesn't require the use of the aforementioned toy.