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I saw this site today and clicked around to see if it was legit or not. There’s a lot of fun stuff on GreenzoneTV, like these birdcalls… its refreshing to see such simple ads with a sense of humor packaged with a sustainable mindset.

But I also saw some things that just don’t cut it. Like the cardboard box rocket and castle… what’s the point? Give your kid a cardboard box and let them make their own castle or rocket! Most of the fun of playing with something is in the process of creating it yourself. I remember reading some really academic child development researcher/writer saying once that the best toys to give your kid is the stuff you throw away.

Case in point: my daughter has a wood dollhouse full of every possible household item imaginable– no plastic, the dolls are made of fabric, all very eco-friendly, right? Wrong. Because she doesn’t play with it. But she always begs and begs for the cardboard boxes which she makes into… what else?… castles and rockets and forts and kitchens… and whatever strikes her fancy. They live a short life– anywhere from a week to 4 months– depending on her attention span and the quality of cardboard– and then they go in the recycle box.

This is yet another Live Small principle in action. By not buying her “pre-fab” stuff, I get to teach her about the value of re-use and empower her to think for herself, to engage in a kind of play that only requires her own imagination. And that’s the starting place for nurturing the Big Dreams in our children.

Jason