Princess of the Rings
Abbie’s latest toy of choice is our wedding rings. That may sound like a dangerous and expensive toy to let her play with, but it’s better than her current second favorite toy: The oven, especially when it’s really hot.
Ellie handed Abbie her engagement ring the other day under close supervision to see what would happen. What happened was Abbie liked it. Her ring makes a safer toy than most rings; instead of holding the diamond in place with prongs that can be bent or broken, her ring uses a pressure mount that nestles the diamond within the ring’s body, holding it place with hundreds of pounds of pressure, or slightly more pressure than even the most determined toddler that’s armed with a plastic hammer can muster. Plus when I bought it, I made sure the stone was so small that it would slip through a digestive track while causing minimal damage in case any of our future children ever swallowed it.
Abbie slipped it on her thumb, and admired it like it was the world’s most beautiful piece of jewelry, way cooler than a Super Bowl ring. She then slid it off her thumb, and played with it with her fingers, rolling it, flipping it, placing it on various digits, and sneaking it into her mouth. Ellie took it away as soon as it entered her mouth, but her fascination with rings had begun.
Whenever I put my hands in close proximity to Abbie’s eyes, like while pushing her in a shopping cart or changing her diaper, she takes the opportunity to grab my ring. She’ll grab my hand and carefully examine each finger looking for my ring. If she grabbed my right hand, I need to slip her my left hand before she screams in frustration, especially if we’re in the shopping cart scenario. When she finds the ring, she tries prying it off. This can be painful since my ring is a tight fit and needs some gentle work to remove, but Abbie favors digging her too long fingernails into my knuckle region and pulling. If we’re in public where I could lose my ring, I’ll try to distract her with the nearest shiny object to avoid removing it. If we’re at home where I know exactly how to flush it out from under the couch should it fall, I’ll let her play with it under supervision close enough to make a Bush daughter feel excessively spied upon.
My wedding band is as simple as they come; it’s a smooth gold band decorated only with the dings of five-plus years of wear. I’m not a big jewelry guy; a metal watchband is too flamboyant for my tastes, and my leather one is pushing it. Hence my band is as safe as a ring can get with no little pieces to break off and lodge in delicate innards. I do need to watch closely though to make sure she doesn’t scuff it any more than it already is; it’s made of gold, which is a precious and beautiful metal, but is also softer than a toddler’s teeth.
Ellie gave her a couple of inexpensive metal rings to play with, fancy enough to draw her interest, but cheap enough that we won’t care if she damages them. I only let her play with them when I can watch her closely though. As soon as they go near the mouth, I take them away. I’ll replace them with something like crayons, which might be more valuable than the cheap ring I just took away, but at least their box declares “non-toxic.”
Ellie handed Abbie her engagement ring the other day under close supervision to see what would happen. What happened was Abbie liked it. Her ring makes a safer toy than most rings; instead of holding the diamond in place with prongs that can be bent or broken, her ring uses a pressure mount that nestles the diamond within the ring’s body, holding it place with hundreds of pounds of pressure, or slightly more pressure than even the most determined toddler that’s armed with a plastic hammer can muster. Plus when I bought it, I made sure the stone was so small that it would slip through a digestive track while causing minimal damage in case any of our future children ever swallowed it.
Abbie slipped it on her thumb, and admired it like it was the world’s most beautiful piece of jewelry, way cooler than a Super Bowl ring. She then slid it off her thumb, and played with it with her fingers, rolling it, flipping it, placing it on various digits, and sneaking it into her mouth. Ellie took it away as soon as it entered her mouth, but her fascination with rings had begun.
Whenever I put my hands in close proximity to Abbie’s eyes, like while pushing her in a shopping cart or changing her diaper, she takes the opportunity to grab my ring. She’ll grab my hand and carefully examine each finger looking for my ring. If she grabbed my right hand, I need to slip her my left hand before she screams in frustration, especially if we’re in the shopping cart scenario. When she finds the ring, she tries prying it off. This can be painful since my ring is a tight fit and needs some gentle work to remove, but Abbie favors digging her too long fingernails into my knuckle region and pulling. If we’re in public where I could lose my ring, I’ll try to distract her with the nearest shiny object to avoid removing it. If we’re at home where I know exactly how to flush it out from under the couch should it fall, I’ll let her play with it under supervision close enough to make a Bush daughter feel excessively spied upon.
My wedding band is as simple as they come; it’s a smooth gold band decorated only with the dings of five-plus years of wear. I’m not a big jewelry guy; a metal watchband is too flamboyant for my tastes, and my leather one is pushing it. Hence my band is as safe as a ring can get with no little pieces to break off and lodge in delicate innards. I do need to watch closely though to make sure she doesn’t scuff it any more than it already is; it’s made of gold, which is a precious and beautiful metal, but is also softer than a toddler’s teeth.
Ellie gave her a couple of inexpensive metal rings to play with, fancy enough to draw her interest, but cheap enough that we won’t care if she damages them. I only let her play with them when I can watch her closely though. As soon as they go near the mouth, I take them away. I’ll replace them with something like crayons, which might be more valuable than the cheap ring I just took away, but at least their box declares “non-toxic.”
posted by Matt at
11:00 PM
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