Are you looking for a boredom buster activity for your child? Let your kid hammer away! This not only builds his self-esteem but also his fine motor skills and creativity but it’s also a great stress reliever! Hammering has worked wonders for my 3 yr old and this is why I let my kids play with tools and you should too. 

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Why I let my kids play with tools and you should too!

Disclaimer* Let me start out by saying not all kids need to play with hammers and nails. My kids have both his “That Age” where they would rather hit someone else than the nails themselves or get so frustrated they throw things. Those kids you need to wait on.  You as the parent can decide what is right for your child.  I am not a doctor, counselor, or any authority other than Me talking to You (one mother talking to another) about what I would do. Also, wear safety glasses, I forgot his for the pictures.

Kids need an outlet, they need something to do that’s physical to help their coordination, self-esteem, and stress! I break out the hammer and nails at least once a week for my own son to role play and be a construction worker.

In having an in home daycare I have dealt with some huge tempers coming out of such a small sweet kid. I sympathize with them though, it’s hard to have a toy taken from you without wanting to hit someone. As adults, we don’t like things snatched out our hands either.

• Eye-hand coordination
• fine motor
• Problem-solving
• Role-playing
• Creative thinking
• Imagination
• Independence/self-esteem
• Stress reliever (pounding)
• Matching/classification
• Sorting
• Comparing/measuring
• Textures and properties
• Conceptualization
• Cooperation
• Respect for tools and materials
• Increased awareness and understanding of the world around them
• Language development
• trial and error

And on and on and on…  you get the point!

You will need these items

• 1 small hammer
• small nails with a wide top but not too small
• a piece of wood large enough for the child to hold steady and enough space for each nail but not too close.

What to do now?

Well, first you will need to tap in your nails far enough that they can’t flip out but not too far that there’s nothing left for you kids to hammer in.  Like this!

That’s pretty much it! Just grab your small safety glasses for your child and one for you, because you will need to watch closely because this happened to me..

Seriously, Ryker didn’t himself hammering, I did.. showing him how to hammer. (Insert giant eye roll here!)

Look at those nails! Wow, he sure can hit them when they are bent! Encourage your child to keep trying they will get the hang of it soon!

See look at all of those hammer marks. He had a blast hammering in those silly nails and felt so proud doing it! And that’s why I let my kids play with tools and you should too.

Did your kids beat the dickens out of some nails too?