As Ben sat next to the basket of bathtub toys eagerly grabbing toys out and exploring them, I realized he’s old enough for treasure baskets! I love this stage of babyhood where they are old enough to sit but haven’t started moving around yet. This is the perfect time to introduce a treasure basket.

A treasure basket is a collection of items, usually around a theme, that have different characteristics for babies to discover. You can include objects of different sizes, weights, textures, colors, etc. Little ones love to explore a new object and then when the newness is gone, they move on to the next object. Treasure baskets accommodate this short attention span perfectly because they are easy to reconfigure when your little one is tired of its contents. My friend Melitsa has an ebook which contains tons of ideas on different combinations of objects that you can safely include in a treasure basket for your little one.

We’ve used this idea for traveling by putting the collection in a backpack instead of a basket. We’ve also used the treasure basket concept for play dates by placing several baskets around for little ones to explore. I have also used the treasure basket to entertain my babies close by while I clean or cook. There are so many ways to adapt this concept to fit the needs and interests of your baby.

Check out Melitsa’s page all about treasure basket play to get more ideas on how to use treasure baskets with your little one!