What Can A Mainstream School Do Towards Deaf Children?

Mainstream education programs, especially those in India, aren’t usually thought of us very inclusive in their approach towards special needs children. However you can make a difference by starting off deaf supportive culture in yours. It’s a small step to take, just to begin with, but it goes a long way in creating a more responsible and tolerant society of young pupils who are the future. 

So if you are planning to make such pioneering changes in your institute, following tips from the school for the deaf can help.

• Before you even launch up the initiative be aware that deafness or any special need for that matter is a permanent condition. So the attempt trying to make a change should also span the year. So whatever support activities you perform should be observed—even if on a very small scale—all year long.

• History helps here. Just as Black history and successful names from back then is a source of motivation and pride for the African American society, a special class on such notable people with special needs can be of great help. Arrange for interaction with adult hard hearing or deaf individuals to sensitize children.

•  You don’t have to be a special education school to hire deaf people. There are enough talented people out there from the community. Hire them and set an example. You can also involve other hard hearing individuals to be a part of the program. There are deaf story tellers who work for the cause.

• In order to let the students learn about employment, task inclusion and support, take them on a visit to where deaf people are employed.

•  A tie-up with a school for the deaf can also be beneficial for cross cultural programs and familiarization sessions. It will not only help the pupils relate to deafness but will bring the special children closer to mainstream society.

For more Details :
Visit us: http://mbcnschool.org/
 
 

Challenges and Concerns of Families for Mentally Retarded

Mental Retardation- the two words put together perpetuates offence of the worst variety. But then, can its existence be denied?

Looking at the surge in the cases off late, clearly not. Yet, there are people, especially parents, children or relatives of the people affected by it who can’t bring themselves to deal with the situation. Acceptance, denial, self-blame- these are only few of the roadblocks that come in the way of a comprehensive solution to the malaise, says a special education teacher.

          Acceptance:

Once the news of the child’s inability to learn and grow as a normal kid breaks out, the family of the child finds it but difficult to come to terms with the situation. While many families tend to go from one doctor to another to for a cure, they forget that mental retarded is not a disease but a syndrome caused by genetic factors. The parents need to take action to enable the child to make most of his potential by involving him in all activities. Taking him to doctors and seeking medication for him won’t do any good.

           Self-blame:

More often than not, parents blame themselves for the condition of their child, says a teacher from a mentally retarded school. They feel that it is their lack of care and concern that the child is being made to bear the brunt of.

             Stigma:

Prejudices and stigma associated with the condition stall the growth of the child more than anything else does. Most parents feel that it is a matter of shame that their child is not like others. As a result, they keep their children in confines of their homes and seldom allow them to live a normal life.

      Behaviour problems:

Not all parents can take the condition in their stride and take care of it patiently. Patience wears thin when parents have to put up with the odd behaviour of their child in addition to handling house chores and work.

Hiring Domestic Help in a Family with a Special Child

Taking care of a special child can become a little overwhelming you are trying to manage all fronts of life alone. Parenthood becomes a full time job while work and family stay just as engaging as they ever were. So, hiring domestic help to smoothen things out is only obvious. But before you do that you must realize that they will be your extended family. And being a part of your home, they need to share a friendly equation. Especially, if your child will be dependent on the helper or the arrangement includes him spending time alone with your child then it is extremely important that you have the right person for the job, says a teacher at a special school.

However, judging a book by its cover can be difficult. So here are a few tips to help you read between the lines and hire someone who is compassionate as well as skilled.

• Foremost, make sure that the concerned person at least has some basic education. Looking for that in India can be comparatively costlier but not difficult. This will ensure that if need be, you can rely on the person to access emergency help, time your kid’s medication, and a lot of other things advices a teacher at a mentally challenged school.

• Look for someone who preferably has worked with kids in the house, if not special children.

• Try to assess from their reaction, what they feel about your child and his disability.

• Ask them if they could manage taking care of the child if you were away for a while, even if you never intend to do so. Their reaction and body language will give you a fair idea.

• Word of recommendation from previous employers matters. Try to find their work history.

• Police verification is mandatory. Get your domestic help registered at your nearest police station, if you haven’t done that already.

• Explain to them the exact nature of responsibilities they are expected to take care of.

My Observation on 'Special' Children - Part 2

In conjunction to my last blog, titled as my observation on ‘special’ children, here’s what I personally feel and simultaneously, offer you my lenses to analyze both situations and comment on how right it is to treat children, based on such baseless reasons. This is when a special school, MBCN i.e. Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan came up with its helping hand.

I am not here to pass judgement; the only matter of concern is that what if a special school like MBCN has not enrolled the child, what have been the scenario? Do schools take admissions based on caste, creed, religion and considering how well of a child’s parents is. Well, to my understanding this is the last thing that can happen with a child and so as the guardian. The both of them are likely to get affected in the long term; the student would surely feel the difference now.

After all it’s about his career which cannot be compromised with in any way. Just because a student has some verbal concerns, school faculty is no one to say that he should be enrolled in mentally retarded school. If at one point of time, i agree to what’s being advised, let’s just make it very clear that autism is not a severe concern, based on which a child can be discriminated from society. It just that the child needs some to be taught in a specific way in comparison to the counterparts and this problem can be recovered, if the child is given apt treatment. Correction, it’s not treatment, its care. And that’s what a child needs from school.

I have not brought up both of these cases to favor a home for mentally challenged or show agony against any schools, but yes, i would make a special request that no child should be discriminated or favored based on from which family he belongs to. Stop this social plague, it’s likely to ruin our future generation.

My Observation on 'Special' Children - Part 1

I am Shruti, working as a financial consultant with a private based firm in Delhi. Follow up of my blog will present before two different cases:

Case (1)

My boss’s child; around 9 years is though sweet, is a classic exemplar of the aristocratic society. For the reason that he belongs to a well-off family, his father can afford worldly luxuries for him. Though he is nine, but is super sensitive. I have seen him, when he was only four. He would come to office and every single time he came, there was something that I found strange about him. Every time, i would think that there’s something missing. He was never one of the chubby and loud child, which was though hard to digest, atleast for me. I would think, does he have problems or he is just like that. He would keep staring at one direction and won’t cry much. At times, he would get very high, but now with change in time, things have had changed. Not much…to put it aptly. Later when his parents realized it, he was taken to doctors. He would get irritated with people around him. So, he was asked to enroll in a school, where he can be made sit with not more than 15 children. For the reason that he belong to a well off family, his father could make it. A separate section was opened for him, which is a big thing.

Case (2)

My friend’s daughter, who is just five, is as sweet as an angel, but she stammers and has some verbal concerns. When my friend filled form for her admission and took her for an interview, the reaction from schools of repute came to her as surprise. No school principal was ready to enroll her in school, saying she is not fit or won’t be able to adapt to the school environment. The basic idea was that she won’t be able to cope up. The reason being what…she stammers! Half the school principals ended up saying that she needs a special school for her.

Well, a lot more to say…but have saved it for my next post.

Make Your Special Child Enjoy Things in a Special Way

It’s been seen that whenever it comes to special children, many tend to sympathize with these children, which in reality is unsubstantial. These children are capable of anything and everything in the very same way as that to their counterparts. So, being parents, it’s your obligation to always make your child feel superior in every way, regardless of what’s happening around, says special education teacher. This you being his parents is the child’s biggest strength and if in any case, the world do not favours the child, he won’t be affected, but the day the child would feel left-out at home, he would begin cutting off from family, which eventually will affect in his recovery.

There are hundreds and thousands of ways via which you can make your child enjoy in the best way. You certainly need not to allot him/her a task or make him study all day long, indeed there’s a plethora of indoor games and other activities that can be tried out with the child at home. It’s acknowledged that being a guardian, you feel anxious as to whether you should allow the child to go out to park or its too cold outside that would definitely affect him badly. Remember, a kind might understand all these things, whenever you try to, but what about the innocent heart that coaxes him again and again to step out from home, says teacher of special school for disabled children. Well, certainly not! There are lot of things that can be done at home such as freeze dancing, ludo, piano playing session, puzzle games a lot more. Yes, the child may understand things differently, but he is equally capable of performing things with the similar zest in comparison to their counterparts.

High Calorie Diet for Special Children

In a world obsessed with ‘low calorie’, ‘zero fat’ and ‘skimmed’ stuff, it becomes really hard for parents of special children to switch to a high calorie diet. Usually high on medication, these children loose appetite and need substantial calories to back the heavy doses. But our mind is so attuned to the stereotypical ‘All calories are bad’ mode that it won’t budge. Even after having adopted the diet for some 3 years now, I still flinch while giving him an extra spoonful of sour cream or butter, but I guess some habits are hard to let go.

After conforming thrice to the dietician I could get myself to feed him the way he should be. Actually we have spent a generation avoiding calories and carbs, but think calories equals to energy and not cholesterol, advices a dietician at a special children school.

However, giving one member of the family high calories and rest of them normal or rather low calorie diet can add up to your kitchen woes. Cooking two separate meals every single time is not a very promising prospect but you can’t sacrifice anyone’s health for you ease. Well, the dietician at a school for mentally disabled found a middle way. You can add a calorie supplement to your child’s serving.

However, when on a high calorie diet, it gets easy to choose all the wrong by products in your high calorie meals. Brownies, ice-creams, junk food etc. may have much higher calorie content but they are unhealthy as it is. So learn to read the labels and get a fair idea of what you pick. Anything unprocessed and natural is usually good. Moreover, keep an eye on fibre content as well.

So, make healthy choices and modify them carefully according to your child’s likes and dislikes.

Why Special Schools are Better than Inclusive Education Programs?

You talk to an academician and they will tell you that lessons learned outside the school are usually more important than bookish knowledge. Academic lessons open your mind to observe and develop a pragmatic approach to life. And what we commonly refer to as life skills are though the crux of education system, are learned outside the classroom.

However, for children with physical impairments, the order of learning is just the reverse. Generally more sensitive and deliberate in their approach, life skills are among the first lessons to be taught. Schools for blind and special children incorporate their impairments in the course structure and formula methods likewise. This one fact alone rules out most points stated in favour of inclusive education.

However, should you still remain in doubt, consider this: you really want your child to feel socially included but at what cost. You wouldn't certainly dream of compromising vital self-dependence training and carefully grafted special skills within a course compatible to mainstream education. These are the pragmatic needs of your child and come foremost. And the harsh reality is that mainstream educational institutes in India lack the infrastructure and expertise to cater to your child’s needs. They can teach a sightless child brail, but it is only under a special education teacher can he learn to lead a truly independent life.

Besides, does the much overrated social inclusion of special children offer anything of value? The idealistic approach and reality are on two asymmetrical planes. His mates at school can be trained to pity their special classmates but respect is a value much deeper than that. Moreover, self-esteem and self-worth come before social acceptance, which is carefully worked upon by special education teachers. Once they are self-sufficient blossoming personalities, they will automatically gain respect elsewhere. And at their special school gives them the courage to try, for there will be others who perhaps are like them. They bond and understand that they are not alone-and this, is a powerful thought.

So, make the choice between a normal and special school wisely.

Books for Deaf Children

Raising a child can prove to be a tough deal. It gets a tad more challenging when the child suffers from a mental or physical disability. It gets slightly taxing for parents to make well informed decisions about their kids and keep a cautious note of any activity or occurrence that might prove to be unkind to their overall development.

Getting deaf children enrolled in a school for the deaf or a special education school is the first step taken towards their wellness and growth. Despite parents’ and peers’ constant concern, there is a specific kind of motivation amiss. A drive, perhaps, that fuels the inner self to overcome all odds, enormous though they might be in measure. For self trust, and for motivation within, parents need to indulge their children in activities, book reading perhaps, that could get them familiar with the philosophical approaches to the daily challenges.

Books can serve as a great source of encouragement, of belief and of optimism. Books can tamper with the way you look at things and can change your entire outlook towards life- either for good or for bad. Listed below is a short assortment of options that parents of a deaf child can choose from.

• Books written by parents of deaf children for other parents who face similar challenges while dealing with the daily demands.

• Books written by deaf adults narrating their own experiences and offering ways to handle the distress.

• Books written by people who have had some overwhelming and heart rending experience within their family or friend circle.

• Then there are books that are written by professionals and doctors that provide a better insight into the things that ought to be done by the parents, and how they should be done.

Detecting Autism in Your Child

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and autism are common terms for a group of complex disorders of brain impairment which are characterized in varying degree by difficulties in social interface, in social interaction and some unusual repetitive behavior. It was in May 2013 that all the autism related disorders were summed into one large umbrella of ASD states a school for mentally disabled. ASD is associated to cognitive disability, disturbance in motor synchronization and attention and some physical health issues. Generally people with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art.

ASD springs up from very early brain development. However the most significant signs of autism develop between the age of 2 and 3. There are many early signs of autism in a child which a parent needs to detect. Amongst that low sensitivity to pain, inability to communicate and express are the most familiar ones.

It is indeed difficult to conclude that your child suffers from autism. But you need to be vigilant about these so as to help your child on time.

Here are some of the ways to identify this in your child as directed by a school for mental retardation -

It is necessary to monitor your child’s development. Autism is highly about developmental delays. Evaluate your child’s progress in comparison to other children around you. Keep a close eye on your child’s social and emotional behavior.

Do not approach any delay in your child’s development with a wait-and-see strategy. It harms your child the most. By delaying an action you also mar the best chances of improvement.

Agreed that there are different pace at which every child develops. You don’t need to panic if there is a lag in your child’s talking or walking. But if he is not meeting the milestone as per his change then you should be concerned.

True, your child’s doctor will cater to your concerns. But there are times when even a well-meaning doctor will not be able to detect these. In this case trust your instincts because it is you who best knows your child and go for a thorough evaluation.

Speech Therapy- Power of Words

It’s a no secret that no two children are same and so as their requirements, their likes, dislikes and priorities. ‘One shoe fits in all’ approach does not work, especially in case of children with special needs. Say for instance: if there are verbal or non-verbal complexities with a child, he has to be given attention and treatment in conjunction to the same. A child who has non-verbal complexities, he won’t be benefited in any way, if he’s given tutorials on hearing impairment.

There's a multitude of therapies to choose from, concede noted professionals from Gurdeep Singh Chadha Trust. Speech Therapy is one of the highly sought after therapies for children with special needs. In speech therapy, the major focus is drawn upon receptive language, or the potential to comprehend words spoken in front of a child. This is highly beneficial and is one of the most endowed therapies because there are many special children who despite have a lot to say, still fail to say what they feel, when asked. This is where these children are trained to speak out what they feel. The best part is that this therapy works magically and enables an individual to produce words and go with the flow in terms of articulation, fluency, pitch and volume. The ultimate aim is to ensure that these children do not have to suffer in any way and live in conjunction to their counterparts, says an expert of special children school. After all, these children are nothing short of anything, yes the only difference is that these children have special requirements and thus, have to be treated in the special way.

Social Acceptance and Mental Illness

Caring for mentally disabled children is a unique challenge in itself. Special children schools and centers have helped improve their battered conditions and given them a home to be looked after, yet there is a broken bridge of social acceptance that needs to be pulled together.

Mentally disabled children walk the roads of alienation every day. The journey has been made less daunting with special schools for mentally disabled. With all the special care and facilities, these schools have successfully provided all that is exclusive to the children’s needs. Though decades have passed since these schools provided rehab to the mentally disabled, not much ink has been spilled over the social aspect of the issue.

The road to accepting these special children with open arms and heart has still not been walked over. Their mental illness has been closely co related to their social acceptance. Time and again, they have been subjected to ridicule, shame and disgrace. Though there are people who sympathize with them, there is hardly anything that they do to make lives their socially uplifting.

Apparently, sympathy is not what our special children want, or even need, for that matter.  Support in the garb of acceptance for what they are is the need of the hour. Instead of looking upon them with contempt and disgrace, treat them as your equals integral to your social herd.

It is a fact that more than 450 million across the globe are battling mental illness. Many of these people don’t receive any proper medication or social attention that they need. Many families keep them enclosed in their homes for the fear of disclosing their mental inhibitions. They are forced to retreat into an empty cocoon which proves to be mentally as well as socially destructive in the long run. All we can do is introspect within ourselves for the pain we are inflicting on them because of our social inhibitions.

Integrated Education for the Mentally Disabled

Imposing restrictions on children always does more harm than good- it stifles their independence, and most importantly, their growth which is essential to their overall development. Allowing children to flourish in a non restrictive environment is important, children- both normal as well as mentally disabled.

Now you may wonder that amalgamating the variations may create a chaos, disabling the growth of both. However, studies in the field of child development would urge you to think differently.

According to studies in child development and special education, a higher rate of personal as well as academic growth is witnessed in the mentally disabled children if they are subjected to an integrated environment. An environment that considers an average child no different from a physically or mentally challenged one sows fulfilling seeds of growth. With an effective technical assistance and stringent guidelines given to the teachers, the mentally disabled, or even the blind can project wonders despite their shortcomings. In such a scenario, a separate school for mentally disabled gets shoved to the bottom of the rack. Special children respond more not to a special treatment, but to an inherently normal one. All it takes is just sensitization of their requirements.

Similarly, schools for blind children are being rapidly replaced by normal schools. As it turns out, more and more parents are tresspassing the ‘special zone’ and chartering into the ‘normal zone’ for their children. They believe that schools that provide their kids the same opportunities and educational experiences as normal schools help them grow stronger and achieve better.

However, integrated education is not only about placing the children in a regular classroom an expect them to grow on their own accord. They need assistance in form of social support, love and patience. Also, correct help in form of supplying material that are integral to their lifestyle at the right time helps them adopt an easy lifestyle.

Make Your Child Enjoy Happy Shades of Life

It won’t be wrong to say that a child play can play 24*7, without complaining about anything, but if it’s a child with special needs, there have to be several considerations so that a child do not have to suffer in any which way. It’s a no stone carved rule that the child won’t find games interesting, of course they will. But there has to be sincere considerations, based on the same.  Having least said, let’s take a sneak peak in different activities that would enable you in determining apt and interesting activity for your tiny

• On a foremost note, it has to be ensured that you choose such an activity for the child that it does not become an annoying matter for the child.  If at any point of time, game becomes annoying, child would end up losing his interest altogether.

• It’s been observed in special school that majority of children with autism have a tendency to have a crystal clear view on what all what they like and what they do not prefer. Thus, it is advised that no matter where you are, do not force your child to play games, they will voluntarily tell you what all they like. If they do not, then only take an initiative to head-on.

• Do not discourage your child in any way thinking that he might not be able to perform a certain task, says an expert of a special education school. Indeed, as a parent, you should keep pumping up your child so he is motivated to set new benchmarks for himself.

• Do make your child enjoy rainbow colors in his life. There’s no point in making them feel alienated in any way, which I am sure is the last thing that a guardian would wish for.  Thus, make your angel enjoy every aspect of life in the best way possible.

Special Educators Must be Available To Every Needy

The story of the young girl from Kerala, Sophie Joe, raised quite a stir as she represented India at the Miss World deaf and dumb. It cuts out a picture of dedication, resolve and above all how special education can work wonders.

Schools for mentally disabled have been a great tool in making the lives of thousands of affected children make their way up. India has lakhs of such children who are faced with one or other disability, and there is grave need for professional specialists.

In Sophie’s case, she was blessed to have her family come together united. They stood by her to see her through from obstacle to other. But a large part of that success comes from the efforts put in by those who educated her. It was the confidence she drew out of her ability to feel at par with the world that made her aim and achieve bigger things in life.

This is where special education I feel has key role to play in shaping up things of thousands of needy children.  Like Sophie, who got her education partly home-tutored and partly through special tutors at a nearby school for autism, there are millions in need of the same.

But given our prevailing infrastructure, it calls for picking up the slack on investments and how they are invested for optimized infrastructural growth. Perhaps even more than that, we need the society to develop a fabric of compassion and responsibility.

There are hundreds of thousands of qualified teachers in the country serving the mainstream. Special education stream however is in dying need of trained faculty. Its time those with a flair for the profession of teaching go a notch above and get themselves in a position where they can leverage lives of a million special children. That would be a great platform for India to make a mark in this world.

An Ode to A Special Teacher!

The life of a teacher is not an easy but certainly a remarkable ride. Blessed with the opportunity to heal ignorance and enlighten thousands of minds, they have an imperative role to play in the society.

Being a parent, I feel honoured to mother two, and rather accomplished at having done the job reasonably. I can only imagine the sense of pride a mentor would feel, seeing his prodigies take wings and go places in this world, all sprouting from the saplings he had carefully grafted. It must involve a hell lot of responsibility, only a feeble part of which is answerable to the employer. Mainly it is to self that he answers whether he has guided each inquisitive young soul rightly. And, for a special education teacher, this sense of accountability is even more deeply rooted.

As all his prodigies, each skilled in a different and unique way, look up to him to teach them not just inked gibberish but the skill to survive. Survive... Survive against all odds of life, and he teaches them to believe in miracles and more than anything, in themselves.

At a school for physically challenged, you can see lives being transformed as little ones learn to master their more visible inadequacies than their ‘so called’ normal counterparts. They learn to believe in the spirit of humanity as they are exposed to the rawest forms of human compassion under the care staff and wonderfully patient special education teachers. In a way, this ironically points out what such a teacher imparts so easily by leading by example, and we so often fail to teach our children.

Being human is a simple virtue too tough to master. And these teachers lay paradigms of it for others to follow, unknowingly in their simplicity. What are nuances of daily life for them is an awe-inspiring life changing miracle for people like us. When with the kind of talent they have, they can easily opt for white collar jobs and more paying professions; they choose to work with these special children. A career path with little recognition and tough life, where swapping duties of a nurse and a teacher is everyday life.

Perhaps, they seek no accolades and adornments but their rewards lie in seeing their students smile and take a shot at life with full might. I salute their spirit!

Recognizing Developmental Disabilities in Infants

Taking care of a new born involves extreme caution. You must be tender while handling him and alert for his needs. You need to understand the unspoken words and tend to his needs. Things become difficult when your baby needs medical attention. Often, if the symptoms are not physical, you can rely upon your baby’s unusual wailing.

However, it is important that you keep a closer watch. No parents want to imagine that their child is born anything but healthy. But still, you cannot rule out chances and be naïve. Developmental disabilities often bear no visible signs until a much later age, while early detection is crucial for treatment. So, keep a close watch on developmental benchmarks, advices an expert at a special school for disabled children. A slight disparity in normal norms of development may be a call for attention to a much serious issue. Here are some symptoms you should keep a watch at.

After Eight Weeks

If your baby does not begin to be active even after 8 weeks of birth, then note his further activities. 

• The usual babbling and warm expressions should start by now. 

• See if he actively kicks his legs, responds to tickles and touches.

• Do his eyelids seem to be drooping even when he is active and awake?

• In his pictures with the flash on, do you notice an unusual white spot in his eye beside the usual flash reflection or red eye?

• Anything unusual not common in babies of his age. You can obtain a specific chart of symptoms once you have an area of doubt from your paediatrician or a special school. 

After 3 Months

• All of the aforementioned benchmarks must be met by now

• The child must start looking towards bright colourful moving objects.

• You should be able to distract him through claps, snapping your fingers and audio visual toys.

About A Year

• Meaningful one words babbling like ‘mum’ should start.

• He should be able to recognize family members from strangers

• He should follow sounds.

• See if he is inclines his head at a certain angle to listen things.

• If he is not active enough

• If your baby watches faces intently

• Doesn’t respond to games like peek-a-boo or tickles.

• Warm smiles and laughs are missing.

If you find a disparity in the above symptoms, see a paediatrician. Your child might have some sort of developmental issue and needs medical help.

How to Design A Room for An Autistic Child?

Designing a room for an autistic child will not be an easy activity, each and every aspect varying from colours to keeping clutter at bay have to be considered. Follow up of this blog makes a mention of different aspects to decorate a child’s room says a special education teacher.

• Light mechanism: avoid using extreme bright shades such as dark orange, yellow, black or red. This is because it is necessary to create atmosphere that do not hampers an individual’s state of mind. Going too loud with colors might affect a child and disturb him psychologically.

• Flooring: flooring should not be either too slippery or too rough. It should be easy to clean and simple. Say for instance: hardwood flooring would do well. The basic idea is that floor should not be designed in such a way that a child find tough to walk on.

• A safe and sound corner: instead of making a child’s room look like a rock star’s corner, you should try adding a glimpse of tranquility in each and every corner of the room. This way, things will work out well and your child will also appreciate being there, says a teacher of school for the blind.

• Pictures: if you are keen on hanging pictures to make your child’s room look attractive, then instead of hanging any random picture, try picking up nature oriented images. It leaves a nice impact on a child’s mental plane.

• Prefer heavy furniture at your place: instead of keep light weighed furniture, prefer having bulky ones. If there are sharp edges then try having padded covering over it to avoid any mishap. Even if you have placed a toy box in a child’s room, avoid buying the ones that have lid over them. This will create mess for the child, so a drawer or toy box without a lid would be great.