My kids want to touch everything all time time. Whenever we go to a store and I’m afraid they are going to break things. I ask them to stop but they don’t. What should I do?

SUMMARY

Kids always want to touch everything and there’s not stopping them. So why try? Let them touch things but with one stipulation: They can only use one finger.

WHY?

Hands provide great sensory feedback. Kids love exploring and touching things to learn about their environment. You can stop them from touching things by force (hold their hands, carry them, make them sit in a chair) but that will only take you so far. Their desire to touch things is still there and probably building.

Rather than try to prevent the kids touching things, do the opposite. Let them touch things but only with one finger. We call it, “one finger touch” and you can start teaching them to do this as babies. Wherever you are, take their hand, pull one finger up and guide their finger to touch things. Every time you do it, say, “one finger touch.” After a while, they will learn to stick out their own finger while you help them touch things.

As the kids become toddlers and start touching things on their own, you can say, “one finger touch” and they will know exactly what to do. They’re touching things, but in a controlled way!

I owe this tip to my friend Christi. It always stuck with me and I knew I would follow her advice when I had kids of my own. Sure enough, it works great! My kids would walk around touching all sorts of things without incident. Sometimes they treat their finger like a little magic wand. As they walk, they stick out their finger, and touch one item and then the next, saying “ding” each time they touch an something. It’s cute and people would comment about how gentle and well behaved they are.

You’re never going to stop your kids from wanting to touch things, and this is a great way to let them do what they want, without having to exercise the “you break it, you bought it” rule.

Note: WOTnWHY is not responsible in the unlikely event that something does break while doing “one finger touch.”

Somebody gave us a bottle brush and I really don’t know much about them. Are they all the same? Besides, I have a dishwasher. Do I really need one?

SUMMARY

Yes, you will need one. Bottle brushes are not all the same. A bottle brush is one of the many tools that you will use on a regular basis. The hardware store carries 27 different types of hammers. If there wasn’t some difference, they won’t make so many, right? The same goes for bottle brushes.

WHY?

When buying a bottle brush, don’t settle for good. Get the best one you can find. Even if you have a dishwasher, you will be washing bottles a lot. A whole lot. Sometimes the dishwasher won’t get run or it’s full and everything doesn’t fit. Whatever the case may be, you’re sleep deprived and the last thing you’re going to want when you’re falling over on your face is a mediocre bottle brush.

When our kids were babies, we used the Born Free Twister Bottle Brush Set which includes both a bottle and nipple brush. The bend in the stem allows the handle to act as a crank. Stick it in the bottle and start cranking. For large bottles, a straight bush doesn’t cut it. Cranking is the way to go.

The nipple brush is required to get the inside nipple to clean it. Without it, the nipple is practically impossible to clean.

A straight brush is also necessary equipment. We got the Skip Hop Splash and loved the brush a lot. It was great at cleaning small Medela bottles, caps, pump parts and the other odd sized bottle pieces you’ll have in your kitchen. The straight brush also comes with a round drying rack which we used far more than we ever thought and it sat for years on our counter. We never needed to replace the drying rack, however we went through a few of the Skip Hop brushes. The bristles are connected to a twisted wire, similar to the twist in a wire hanger. Over time, the metal fatigues, starts to bend a little and eventually snap. We probably went through 3-4 brushes over the course of 4 years. It’s a great brush though and totally worth it.

I would highly suggest buying a spare brush set. The last thing you’ll want is for the baby to be crying, you’re frantically washing a bottle and then something happens to the bottle brush. Keeping an extra stored away ensures that you always will have one handy.