Second Cup: You need a busy basket

A listener suggests an idea for screen-free entertainment

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that you need a busy basket. Toddlers aren't
the only ones who can benefit from an entertainment kit.

(00:25):
Put one together and you will never find yourself at
a loss for what to do. Today's tip comes from
Before Breakfast listener Ferriita Alkoff. She has a nineteen month
old daughter and notes that she has prepared a busy
basket full of activities such as blocks and stickers to

(00:46):
keep the little girl independently occupied. Anyway, while editing her
home office, Friita came across books she had been meaning
to finish new books she hadn't touched crochet and crossed
the projects, art material and so forth. She says, it
occurred to me that grown ups need a busy basket too,

(01:11):
So she found herself an unused basket and threw in
it a few half read books, her half done crochet project,
a couple of new adult coloring books and pencils, a
journal and a nice pen.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
She says, I've been meaning to cut down on my
screen time, so this came at a perfect time. It
now sits in my home office, so if I have
a spare minute or after hours, I can use it
to read or create. It's already working. I spent a
good fifteen minutes coloring at the end of the day
instead of scrolling on my phone. I love this idea.

(01:49):
We have explored the concept on Before Breakfast before of
creating kits, that is, keeping things together as a way
to encourage fun or progress on projects. A busy basket
is another way to think of this. You are creating
a kit for screen free fun, one you can pull
from when you need it, or even take with you

(02:12):
if you are going somewhere boring, like I don't know
the dentist's office. What you put in your busy basket
is up to you, but the point is to make
it look enticing. With toddlers, you definitely want the kid thinking, hey,
I'd like to play with that. So what would do
that for you? I would probably like some nice note

(02:35):
books and pens. Maybe it's some really cool new markers
and a coloring book. I would probably like some design magazines,
and maybe a book of photos of gardens, or maybe
a book of funny essays or poems. Think about what
would make you excited, then put together a basket full

(02:56):
of the goodies. Then, like Farita, whenever you are looking
to fill a little time, you can grab the basket. Now,
it might not be quite as obvious as grabbing your
phone and scrolling around on Instagram. I guess your phone
is also a busy basket of sorts, but with a
little preparation it could be equally cool looking. And if

(03:19):
you are trying to spend less time on screens, that
is a big benefit. Indeed, in the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
More podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

(04:05):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.