Jenga Challenge

During Christmas at my mom's house in New Jersey, we discovered that my son derives a certain pleasure from knocking down tall structures (see video). He really can't help himself--he is drawn to anything that is tower-shaped. He'll come over, show he admires your effort with a smile, and then proceed to knock every single part of it down as flat and as far as it can go. If your toddler is anything like mine, he'll delight in this version of playful and harmless (?) destruction, while also challenging your speed of dexterity.

The first thing you need is a tower of Jenga blocks. Dump them on the floor--your toddler will be drawn to the sound; this is like dumping chum into the water to attract sharks. Start stacking individual blocks vertically as fast as you can. When your toddler notices this, he will most likely run over to gleefully knock them down. Don't get discouraged as he is only fulfilling his role and part of the game. As stacker, your objective is to stack all of the blocks in a vertical fashion before he can knock them all down. As long as you have one block standing, you're still in the game. But if he knocks them all down, you lose.

It's difficult to lose unless you allow the uncontainable energy of the toddler to dispirit your efforts. Tip: Wait until his attention is drawn away from the blocks to other toys, and then proceed to stack as furiously as you can. You can also use your body, or his, to create divided areas of stacking. For instance, start the game by stacking blocks on your left side. He will need to run to that side to knock them down. As soon as he does so, start stacking blocks on your right side. Now, when he finishes razing the blocks on your left, he will have to totter back around to your other side earning you some much needed time to and space to defeat a particularly tenacious toddler.