Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer are parents to nine-month-old Gene. After being very open and candid on social media about hyperemesis and struggles with IVF, Amy and Chris are expanding their advice to include Parenting Hacks. Amy posted what she called their first YouTube video in which she advised people of an “exactly free” toy you can give your toddler: a box with blankets in it:
Her description of this box hack is as follows:
“Our first advice/tip is a good toy for a baby around seven, eight, nine months old and it is exactly free. What it is, is a box.
So you get a big box, okay? You clean it out and make sure there’s no staples in it, and then you put blankets around it, and you put some toys in it. And we put an egg crate in it… and they can hold on to the edges and stand or fall or whatever, and they really like being in their box. And that is our first parenting hack.
And cats everywhere said, “Duh!”
This rings of Amy’s humor. But I’m not completely sure she is making a joke. She really has been leaning in to this whole plain–spoken advice/support made public thing so this could be legit. Plus she is selling her sincerity, so brava if this is all commitment to the joke. But many of us grew up hearing our parents tell us we’d rather play with the box our gift came in than the gift itself. And joke or not, Amy’s 100% correct, kids love boxes. My teenagers – today – would play with a giant box if I gave them one.
In the spirit of light-hearted parent hacks – I’ll be “that person.” Given its size, Amy’s Box Hack is more of a portable playpen than a toy. This is further evidenced by her putting other toys in it. But it’s not “exactly free,” those big boxes cost a lot, especially the ones that would be stronger than the child and that they can’t climb out. Of course, maybe the parent ordered something, and the big box was packaging, so only technically free. Looking at Amy’s Instagram comments, folks are loving the Box Hack. Just keep in mind, yes, toddlers will grab the sides and will likely beat the hell out of them, which will compromise their structural integrity so don’t take your eyes off the kid while they are in there. Also, if the box toy gets left up overnight or taken outside, pull every item out of it and check it before putting your kid back in it, spiders like boxes too.
Maybe Amy’s next Parent Hack could be how to dispose of a box that large once it’s been chewed and drooled on, trampled and torn. The biggest obstacle, of course, is getting your cat, who claimed the box for his own, out of it.
Photo credit: Instagram, YouTube and WENN/Avalon
Just got a kitten from the local humane society. Nothing gets him going like an empty box!
She’s completely serious and good for her for figuring that out. It’s a magical time before they can walk- you can just plop them somewhere and they will stay there and play while you can take care of other stuff. My son learned to scoot around on his back (if that makes sense) and so would scoot across the room to go under the lounge chairs and inspect them. So that is very disconcerting when you step away for a few seconds then come back and he is gone. Then you see tiny feet peeking out from under the furniture and this delighted look on their faces, haha.
YES! What a wonderful time when they can sit on their own and play but not go anywhere! My son was at this stage when we were moving. I would plop him in a box, add some toys, and pack up a room without worrying about him. It was lovely. And then…he learned to crawl the DAY we moved into the new house 😐. It was not as easy unpacking 🤣🤣🤣
Why don’t they just buy a playpen? I like Amy but this whole celebrities showing “the poors” life hacks is kind of insulting and condescending.
And yes if you own a cat, best believe it will be in that box with your baby! LOL
Amen to that. So sick of condescending messages from celebs and exposure of kids who can’t yet give consent.
She still gives me mean girl / cool girl vibes but I know she went from devil to saint here. So I’ll show myself out.
People with money still like to save money too. Maybe she has 3 other playpens but needed something to plop the baby into in this room, who cares?
I see what you’re saying, but many kids (including my own toddler) would spend a ton of time in a box or laundry basket (my daughter’s favorite), but will refuse to be in a playpen. I don’t understand the toddler logic, but I think one seems fun and the other is clearly just for restriction.
I don’t think they’re playing poor. Using s box is so much better for the environment, too. You save a hundred bucks, it’s recyclable, no plastic, no factory making it, no trucks delivering it, it’s biodegradable, you reuse the blankets and you only use a play pen for not even a year anyway. I’m into it.
Heck my kids are 7 and almost 5 and they are STILL obsessed with every box that comes through this household. They cut the bottom out and make cars they walk with, they make TV’s they can star on, ideas are never ending. It’s the hack that keeps on giving.
I used a laundry basket with my daughter, lol. I’d dump the clean laundry on the bed, put her in the basket with a couple of toys and then I could fold and put away the laundry. She loved it.
Ha! I just typed that above. My girls (7 and 2) still love to play in the laundry baskets. Just yesterday they got in one and pretended to be on a boat together 🙂