Step into a world where the focus is keenly set on prior note meaning. Within the confines of this article, a tapestry of references to prior note meaning awaits your exploration. If your pursuit involves unraveling the depths of prior note meaning, you've arrived at the perfect destination.
Our narrative unfolds with a wealth of insights surrounding prior note meaning. This is not just a standard article; it's a curated journey into the facets and intricacies of prior note meaning. Whether you're thirsting for comprehensive knowledge or just a glimpse into the universe of prior note meaning, this promises to be an enriching experience.
The spotlight is firmly on prior note meaning, and as you navigate through the text on these digital pages, you'll discover an extensive array of information centered around prior note meaning. This is more than mere information; it's an invitation to immerse yourself in the enthralling world of prior note meaning.
So, if you're eager to satisfy your curiosity about prior note meaning, your journey commences here. Let's embark together on a captivating odyssey through the myriad dimensions of prior note meaning.
CCleaner hack affects 2.27 million computers, including yours?
CCleaner hack affects 2.27 million computers, including yours?
Computer-optimization software is supposed to keep your computer running smoothly. Well, in this case, maybe not so much. Monday, the company that makes CCleaner, Avast's Piriform, announced that its free software was infected with malware. If you use CCleaner, here's what you need to know.
What does the malware do?
It gathers information like your IP address, computer name, a list of installed software on your computer, a list of active software and a list of network adapters and sends it to a third-party computer server. Your credit card numbers, social security number and the like seem to be safe.
"Working with US law enforcement, we caused this server to be shut down on the 15th of September before any known harm was done," said the company in the announcement.
Who was infected?
According to information provided by Avast CEO Vince Steckler and Consumer Business CTO and EVP Ondrej Vlcek, the compromise to the system may have started as early as July 3, prior to Avast buying the company. The compromised version of CCleaner software was then released to customers on Aug. 15.
Around 3 percent -- roughly 2.27 million computers -- used the infected software. Specifically, computers running 32-bit Windows 10 ($144 at Amazon). If that applies to you, don't panic. The company believes that they were able to disarm the malware before any harm was done.
How do I know if I have the corrupted version?
The versions that were affected are CCleaner v5.33.6162 or CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 for 32-bit Windows PCs. The Android version for phones doesn't seem to be affected. As of Sept. 19, Avast says that 730,000 users are still using the affected version.
If you've updated your software since Sept. 12, you should be OK. This is when the new, uncorrupted version was released. Also, if you have the Cloud version, it should have automatically updated itself by now to the clean version.
I don't use the cloud version. What should I do?
CCleaner v5.33.6162 does not update on its own, so if you use the non-cloud version you may have the corrupted software. Piriform recommends deleting your current version and downloading a clean version from its website.
After you have your new software downloaded, run a check on your system using malware protection software to be sure that CCleaner didn't leave any nasty invaders behind.
Editors' note: This article was originally published Sept. 18 and has been updated with new information.
NFTs explained: Why people spend millions of dollars on JPEGs
NFTs explained: Why people spend millions of dollars on JPEGs
Take a quick look at the image to the right. What, if anything, could convince you that image is worth $9 million?
Richerd/OpenSea
What you're looking at is an NFT, one of the first ever created. It's part of the CryptoPunks collection, a set of 10,000 NFTs released in 2017, a time when much of the world was still finding out what bitcoin is.
Most likely you've already rolled your eyes, either at the $9 million figure or at the very idea of NFTs themselves. The response to nonfungible tokens hasn't changed much since March when they first started exploding. The public at large has reflexively dismissed them as environmentally harmful scams. The bigger the sale, the more brazen the injustice.
Which brings us back to the above pixelated chap. Its owner is Richerd, an affable Canadian software developer. He started building cryptocurrency software around 2013, but eventually tired of it. After discovering NFTs earlier this year, Richerd bought CryptoPunk #6046 on March 31 for $86,000 in what he said was the biggest purchase he'd ever made in his life.
Richerd, who has over 80,000 followers on Twitter, last month claimed that his CryptoPunk was priceless to him and wasn't for sale no matter the price. The very next day his determination was tested when an offer came through for 2,500 ether, or $9.5 million. It was made not because Richerd's CryptoPunk is worth that amount -- similar NFTs now go for about $400,000 -- but rather because his bluff was very publicly being called. It was a challenge, but it was still a legitimate offer. If Richerd clicked "accept", 2,500 ether would have flowed into his wallet.
Richerd rejected the offer.
"Well, obviously, the day before I said 'I'm not selling it for any price,' so if I sell it for that price, I'd be going against my integrity," Richerd told me over a Zoom call. "On top of that, I've used this CryptoPunk as my profile pic, as my brand. Everyone knows that's me."
Not too long ago, Richerd's explanation would have sounded insane to me. How divorced from reality would someone need to be to offer eight figures on a picture that looks like a Fiverr job? How scandalously misguided would a person need to be to rebuff that offer? After I spent a few months researching and following NFTs, however, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. In fact, it makes a whole lot of sense.
There are 10,000 NFTs in the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Here are three examples. The middle one is owned by Jimmy Fallon.
Yuga Labs
Bitcoin millionaires
Here is one quick fact that explains why NFTs are bought for the equivalent of a CEO's salary: Bitcoin is estimated to have made over 100,000 millionaires. It's no surprise that NFTs became a phenomenon in March. That's when bitcoin hit $60,000, up over 500% from just six months prior.
When you see a headline or a tweet about some preposterous sum being spent on an NFT, it's easy to become bewildered over how absurd that purchase would be for you. What's easy to forget is that very expensive things are almost exclusively bought by very rich people -- and very rich people spend a lot on status symbols.
Take Bored Ape Yacht Club, for example. It's a collection of 10,000 ape NFTs, all with different traits that make some rarer than others. Rare ones have sold over for over a million bucks, but common variants go for around $200,000. (At the time of launch back in April, BAYC developers sold the NFTs for $190 each.) BAYC, owned by the likes of Steph Curry and Jimmy Fallon, is what you'd call a "profile pic collection." The main purpose of the images is to be used as your display photo on Discord, where most NFT business goes down, or on Twitter, Instagram or wherever else.
To recap: $200,000 minimum for a profile picture.
In isolation, that's insane. But place it on a spectrum of how wealthy people spend money, and it becomes less staggering. You can right click and save a JPEG, so why spend money on it? Well, you can buy a nice house in a safe neighborhood almost anywhere in the world for $1 million, yet celebrities regularly snap up $20 million mansions. You can find a fashionable dress for under $500, yet brands like Chanel build their business on selling ones for 20 times that amount.
Up to 100,000 people became millionaires when that green line shot skyward.
coinmarketcap.com
We accept that rich folks buy extravagant items offline. Is it so inconceivable they would buy extravagant things online, too?
"In the real world, how do people flex their wealth?" said Alex Gedevani, an analyst at cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital. "It can be buying cars or watches. How scalable is that versus if I buy a CryptoPunk and use it as my profile picture?"
Obviously, status symbols aren't specific to the rich. All of us indulge in some way or another, be it buying a $20,000 new car when a $7,000 used vehicle will do, or buying a $30 T-shirt when Walmart sells basics for under $5. What most status symbols have in common is that they have a specific audience in mind. The banker sporting his Rolex and the chief executive stepping into her Bentley don't care that I think either of those purchases is excessive. They have a small but powerful group of people they're trying to influence. So, too, with NFTs.
In the case of Richerd, he runs his own business, Manifold, where he helps show digital artists like Beeple how they can use blockchain technology to make art that could only exist as NFTs. Being a part of the most sought-after NFT collection helps in those circles. And when he says his brand is built on his Punk, he's not exaggerating -- a group of investors even named their organization after him.
"Anybody who owns a CryptoPunk believes certain things," Richerd explained. "Either you've been in the community for a long time so you believe in what these are, or you've paid a lot of money to get in, which shows conviction.
"I want to show my conviction. This is one of those projects that makes you put your money where your mouth is."
A bit of trouble
NFTs are polarizing. There's a small group of people who believe in the underlying technology (tokens that prove ownership of a digital good), but there are many more who regard it as a hoax. Just as the second group struggles to see any value in NFTs, the first group can sometimes be defensive about the technology's imperfections.
And make no doubt about it, there are a lot of issues with NFTs.
First is the confounding inaccessibility. There's a reason software developers tend to do well in crypto and NFT trading: Setting up blockchain wallets and other required digital apparatus is difficult. Even just buying and selling can be perilous. Send money to the wrong wallet address by accident, and it's gone forever.
Then there are the fees. Imagine you're interested in dipping your toes into nonfungible waters and you have $1,000 you're willing to lose. If you're minting a new NFT during a public sale you'll usually spend between $120 and $400. Not too bad -- until you factor in the transaction fees. Most NFTs are built on the ethereum blockchain, which is notoriously inefficient. The more people using ethereum, be it through trading altcoins or buying NFTs, the higher the fees. At a good time you'll spend about $100 per transaction, though double or triple that amount is common. Suddenly that $1,000 doesn't go very far.
This is especially troublesome for NFTs, which are infamous for causing "gas wars." It's possible for 100,000 people to buy shiba inu coins at once, since there are a quadrillion in circulation. But when 10,000 people try to buy an NFT, it results in a massive spike in transaction costs as some users outbid each other to speed up their purchase. It may only last a minute or two, but a lot of damage can be done in that time. People spending over $10,000 on a transaction fee isn't rare. People losing $1,000 on a failed transaction isn't, either.
This is what it looks like when someone spends $4,000 on a failed transaction. It's rare, but not rare enough.
Etherscan screenshot by Daniel Van Boom
Ethereum's inefficiency also contributes to the other major criticism of NFTs, the massive amount of energy they consume. Note that this is something of a semantic issue: NFTs aren't bad for the environment as much as ethereum is. Other networks, like Solana, use a fraction of the power. Ethereum developers are expected to implement an upgrade next year that will make mining it consume 1% the energy it currently does. At this moment though, while no one can say precisely how much energy ethereum consumes, we know it's a lot. (Bitcoin, despite getting all the headlines, is even less efficient than ethereum, which is why almost nothing is built on its blockchain.)
And finally, there's the fact that most people trading NFTs are doing so to make a profit. Scams are everywhere, and prices are volatile. Most of the people who create, buy and sell NFTs are ignorant or uninterested in the technology. If there is a technological leap taking place, it's likely to be obscured by the dizzying price movements.
"I'd call it a bubble," Gedvani said, "because the amount of speculators that are entering the market is outpacing genuine creators."
But a bubble can pop and leave something better in its wake. Think of Pets.com. It had a peak valuation of $290 million in February 2000 but by November of that year, as the infamous dot-com bubble began to burst, it had already closed shop. It's used as a cautionary tale for speculative trading in bubbles. But the impulse to invest in Pets.com evidently ended up being justifiable. That particular venture was misguided, but the e-commerce trend it was flicking at was legitimate. Seven-figure pixel art may not be forever, but proof of digital ownership, which is what NFTs are really about, may be.
A big 2022
Where NFTs will end up is anyone's guess -- and anyone who claims to know is probably trying to sell you something. What we do know is that the amount of people buying NFTs is almost definitely about to grow.
It's estimated that around 250,000 people trade NFTs each month on OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace. In the short term, CoinBase will soon open its own NFT marketplace, for which 2 million users are on the waiting list. Robinhood has similar plans.
More importantly, giant companies that already make money outside of the crypto space want in. Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, has just announced a game in which players can earn bitcoin. Twitter and the company formerly known as Facebook plan to integrate NFTs into their platforms, and Epic Games says it's open to doing so too. Envision a world where instead of buying skins in Fortnite, you buy an NFT for those skins that you own -- meaning you can trade it for outfits and weapons in other games, or sell it once you're done with it. (Epic said it won't integrate such a mechanic into Fortnite, but that may not stop competitors.)
Richerd reckons the flood of people soon to enter the NFT marketplace will create a broader diversity of digital products sold for different audiences. Your neighbor might not want to spend $200 -- much less $200,000 -- on a profile picture, but maybe they'll be willing to spend $10 on a one-of-a-kind skin, or on a product in Facebook's Metaverse. But though the space may change, he remains confident that CryptoPunk #6046 is safe for a while yet.
"Even if every NFT falls," he said, "CryptoPunks will be the last one."
Love very play kits reviewed are these subscription services love very play kits reviewed are these subscription definition love very play kits reviewed are these subscription meaning love very play kits reviewed in spanish love very play kits reviewed journal lovevery play kits for sale lovevery play gym washing instructions
Lovevery Play Kits Reviewed: Are These Subscription Boxes Worth the Money?
Lovevery Play Kits Reviewed: Are These Subscription Boxes Worth the Money?
I started seeing the Lovevery Play Kit ads almost immediately after I became a mom. The ads showed colorful, aesthetically pleasing baby toys that seemed to be curated around developmental milestones.
Because my newborn was more of an inanimate blob than I'd expected (they all are, it turns out), I'd been having trouble figuring out what to do with him between nap times. Not only was it kind of boring to try to interact with an inanimate blob, but I also felt the modern parenthood anxiety of milestone-meeting, experience-fostering and lesson-learning bubbling almost from day one.
My hunch was that I could quell this anxiety by creating and executing daily activities with my baby, almost like a curriculum. That would make maternity leave a lot less boring, too. The problem -- I'm not a trained Montessori teacher or a child development expert. I was also busy nursing, changing, bathing, burping (the baby, not myself) and rocking to spend any time lesson planning for a newborn. Could the Lovevery Play Kits do the heavy lifting for me? (And the better question: Would they be worth the price?)
My colleague Alison DeNisco Rayome and I tested four Lovevery Play Kits with our real kids (The Looker for kids who are 0 to 12 weeks old, The Senser for 5- to 6-month-old kids, The Realist for kids aged 19 to 21 months and The Helper for kids who are 25 to 27 months old) to answer that question. Read on for what we thought. Plus, check out the list of hot kids' toys to buy as gifts, toys for the kid at heart, STEM toys we love and the best gifts for 2-year-olds.
Read more: Here's a toy that makes the perfect gift for any age .
What are Lovevery Play Kits?
Lovevery is a US-based toy company that sells Montessori-inspired subscription boxes focused on "stage-based play." The idea is that kids have different needs at different stages in their development, and the right toys can support those needs.
The Play Kits (Lovevery's name for its curated subscription boxes) are separated into four buckets by age: 0 to 12 months, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years. Each age bucket is further broken down by smaller ranges, with boxes named after their respective developmental stage (e.g. The Charmer Play Kit is for months 3 to 4, while The Observer Play Kit is for months 37, 38 and 39).
Every kit includes a few toys, a book and a parents' guide that provides ideas for using the toys inside to help your child meet their milestones. The toys are made from sustainable and baby-safe, natural materials -- and they look pretty sleek on your shelves, too.
Is Lovevery Montessori?
Yes, Lovevery is inspired by the Montessori method, which emphasizes independence, STEM skills and toys that develop skills used in real life. That also means you won't find any flashing lights or noisy toys inside your Play Kit. Instead, the toys tend to favor "open-ended play," so kids can continually invent new ways to play with them. (Read more on Lovevery's approach to the Montessori method.)
Read more: Baby Registry Checklist: 10 Baby Products I Wish I'd Asked For
A toy from The Senser, Lovevery's play kit for kids aged 5 to 6 months.
Lovevery
How much does a Lovevery Subscription cost?
When you first sign up for a Lovevery subscription, you'll enter your child's birthday (or due date or adjusted age), and Lovevery will suggest a Play Kit to get started with. You can also add a few of the earlier boxes to your initial order, because the toys inside will likely still appeal to older kids.
Boxes for kids aged 0 to 12 months cost $80 a box and ship every two months. Other ages will get a box every three months for $120 a box. You can also prepay for several boxes at a time, which lowers the cost per box down to as little as $72 for infants or $108 for older kids.
Because you can skip boxes or cancel your subscription at any time, it's easy to buy a one-off box to try it out or to give as a gift. Since the Lovevery website shows what's inside each box before you order, you don't have to buy the ones that don't look as compelling.
Read more: 9 Book Subscription Services for Kids and Young Adults
Is Lovevery an American company?
Yes, the subscription box company is based in the US. Boise, Idaho, specifically, is the city that the company calls home and it's where the toys are designed. They're manufactured, however, by a network of suppliers throughout Asia.
Testing the Play Kits (with a real baby and toddler!)
Boxes for 0 to 12 months
Cost: $80
Boxes we tested: The Looker (weeks 0 to 12) and The Senser (months 5 to 6)
The Looker box includes:
A double-sided mobile
Sensory links (soft, high-contrast toys that can hook together or on a stroller or play mat)
Two black and white card sets (one with simple patterns and one with complex patterns)
A standing cardholder (to put the cards in during tummy time)
Black and white mittens (to promote hand discovery and body control)
A wooden book with black and white animal pictures
A silicon rattle with a removable ball
The parents' play guide
What we liked:
The double-sided spiral mobile, with high-contrast black and white on one side and colorful circles on the other side, was a big hit with my newborn daughter -- she loved looking at it when we held it up or tied it to her play gym. (Lovevery suggests hanging it over the changing table as a distraction, too.) The black and white cards were a mainstay in her play gym, and the little book seemed to hold her attention more than some of her other high-contrast books did (perhaps because it's "baby's first book made with sustainably harvested wood" and she's a budding environmentalist? Who's to say).
Not listed on the website, but my kit came with a mug for a parent that reads "The Days Are Long But the Years Are Short." It's not my favorite child-rearing sentiment, though it's proven true for me, but it was nice to have a little gift included.
The real winner, though, was the parents' play guide. It's difficult to know how to engage with a newborn, but Lovevery gave some practical ideas to align with her weekly development. I found that helpful as a first-time parent who was overly stressed about being able to give her enriching playtime.
What we didn't like:
The sensory links were never a favorite, perhaps because she had several other similar clip-on toys that came with her play mat and and stroller. And while the black and white mittens were a good idea, in theory, the effort it took to get them on and off a squirmy newborn wasn't worth it for me most days.
--Alison DeNisco Rayome
The Senser is Lovevery's Play Kit for babies aged 5 to 6 months old.
Lovevery
The Senser box includes:
A spinning rainbow wheel
A magic tissue box (to pull cloth tissues out of and put back in)
Magic tissues (cloth tissues that can link together)
An organic cotton rainbow ball
Parts of Me book
A pair of play socks with bells on the toes
A tummy time wobbler
The parents' play guide
What we liked:
Once my daughter hit the 6-month mark, the way she played changed dramatically, particularly since she could stay sitting up with little assistance. The spinning rainbow wheel is one of her favorite things to play with, and it keeps her occupied longer than most other toys. Once she got the hang of the magic tissue box, she enjoyed pulling the tissues out of that as well (and using them to chew on and play peek-a-boo with). The tummy time wobbler has been another solid choice both while on her tummy and while sitting up. She still tries to eat that, too, like everything else.
I'll admit, I was a Lovevery skeptic, just given the price tag. But this box convinced me these are great toys that can give your baby plenty of entertainment, and I'm already planning to buy the next one.
What we didn't like:
The play socks seem like they might have been a bigger hit when she was younger, as she discovered her feet long ago. The rainbow ball is also pretty but only holds so much interest.
--Alison DeNisco Rayome
The Looker box from Lovevery comes with a magic tissue box.
Lovevery
Box for 1-year-olds
Cost: $120
Box we tested: The Realist (months 19, 20, 21)
The Realist box includes:
A wooden lock box with four locking mechanisms
A puzzle with shapes that nest and stack
Fabric "critters" that can be tucked into matching pockets on a quilted wall hanging
A cup and pitcher for pouring your own drinks
Bea Gets a Checkup board book
A wooden "ring chute" with rings
A flashlight that lights up
The parents' play guide
What we liked:
The lock box is my 2-year-old son's favorite toy, and the fabric critters have taken up residence inside it. Locking and unlocking each of the doors -- and putting things inside, then taking them out -- has occupied more of his time than pretty much any other toy. Unfortunately, he's now learned how to lock his own bedroom door. Thanks, Lovevery.
The flashlight is easy for a toddler to turn on and off and my son likes to use it to find toys in his bedroom when the lights are off, since he can't reach the light switch. We've also read the included board book, Bea Gets a Checkup, dozens of times and the requests keep coming.
What we didn't like:
The ring chute toy is aesthetically pleasing but it seems to only have one real use, a use my son is not very interested in. Considering how large the toy is, I'd have preferred something with a little more versatility.
--Karisa Langlo
The Helper Play Kit comes with a play sink that pumps water.
Karisa Langlo/CNET
Box for 2-year-olds
Cost: $120
Box we tested: The Helper (months 25, 26, 27)
The Helper box includes:
A play sink with a real pump, plus cups and dishes for washing up
Felt flowers in a stand that can be removed, counted and bundled
Washable tempera paint "sticks" with paper in a travel-friendly zippered pouch
Making Muffins board book
A "dot catcher," which looks like a rainbow Connect Four game
A two-sided puzzle that uses the same pieces for two separate designs
Routine cards with photos of everyday tasks for mapping out routines
The parents' play guide
What we liked:
My son couldn't get enough of the play sink. Its ingenious design lets you keep the water running without the sink ever overflowing or running out of water. Because it's not hooked up to a waterline (it just recycles the same reservoir through its pump repeatedly), you can't get any dishes clean in it, but my son loved pretending to wash dishes next to me at the real sink while I washed real dishes.
The box arrived just as we were starting to work on learning colors, and the rainbow dot catcher couldn't have been a more perfect toy. My son now knows his colors like the back of his hand, but he still likes to drop the colored wooden discs into their corresponding slots, and he gets a kick out of the quick-release lever.
What we didn't like:
The puzzle and routine cards both seemed a little too advanced for a young 2-year-old. They both also seem like toys you could make yourself, if you had the inclination for DIY.
-- Karisa Langlo
Box for 3-year-olds
Cost: $120
Box we tested: Didn't test one (yet!)
Lovevery offers four Play Kits geared toward three-year-olds, up to age four:
The Observer Play Kit: Months 37, 38, 39
The Storyteller Play Kit: Months 40, 41, 42
The Problem Solver Play Kit: Months 43, 44, 45
The Analyst Play Kit: Months 46, 47, 48
While we haven't tested one of them yet, the Lovevery Play Kits designed for 3-year-olds all include a similar mix of items as the younger boxes, with more sophisticated, preschool-age appropriate toys and books.
The Looker Play Kit from Lovevery.
Lovevery
Beyond the Play Kits: The Lovevery app and other products
The Lovevery app requires a subscription to the toy boxes to access (though you can also get the app if you received a box as a gift). Like the parent play guides, I found it to be a great resource for ideas for what to actually do with your baby all day long.
On the Activities tab, you'll see a list of toys from the age-appropriate toy box that you can tap on to get ideas for how to use by the month of your baby's age. There are also suggestions for using toys from prior boxes that are still age-appropriate in new ways. Beyond that, you'll find several other DIY activities to try (at 7 months, things like playing with paper and teaching your baby to clap), which you can check off to keep track of what you've tried.
The My Baby tab shows what motor, cognitive, communication and social/emotional skills your baby will be learning that month with a pediatrician's video. This section reminded me of a more in-depth What To Expect app. But I appreciated that it makes sure to note that all babies are different to ease the minds of worried parents. An Ask and Learn section lets parents write or search for different questions and topics that Lovevery's developmental psychologists and pediatricians answer.
If you have the toy boxes, it's worth downloading the app (if you have an iPhone -- there's no Android version) to get the most out of them.
The other Lovevery product you'll often find on baby registries is The Play Gym. As with all of its products, it's more aesthetically pleasing than many others on the market -- and more expensive, at $140. It's also a bit larger, since it's meant to be used for the baby's entire first year, with relatively tall wooden posts -- so it may not be the best choice for people in apartments or smaller spaces.
The Play Gym comes with a few toys that my baby loved, including a bell to ring and a crinkly teether. But to be honest, she seemed to get bored more easily on this mat than on the less expensive Skip Hop one I originally registered for, which is decidedly not a Montessori product. I think if I'd been invested in the ecosystem of toy boxes, it might have given us more to do there.
As with everything else with parenting, it depends on what you want: If you have the resources to invest in the Lovevery system, it's a great choice. But your child will be just fine without it, too.
--Alison DeNisco Rayome
Is the Lovevery subscription worth it?
If you're looking for a one-off, curated toy box to give as a gift, the Lovevery Play Kits are definitely worth the money. The quality of the toys individually makes the price reasonable, and you get the added bonus of knowing they've been hand-selected by experts. If you can afford it, you likely won't be disappointed. Lovevery knows what it's doing!
As a subscription box, though, the price becomes a bigger concern. Do you need to spend the equivalent of $40 a month on toys (or $36 a month, if you factor in the prepay savings)? One thing to think about: As your child ages, the mystery of how to interact with them naturally dissipates, and they'll likely begin playing with whatever you have lying around the house anyway (including the Play Kit boxes themselves). At this point, an expertly curated toy box becomes even more of a nice-to-have.
And another thing: Between birthdays, holidays and overindulgent grandparents, a lot of children are positively drowning in toys. A monthly box will only worsen the problem of clutter, which goes against the Montessori ethos. According to the Lovevery website, "parents say these are the 'only toys you'll need.'" I'm inclined to agree! But I have no idea how to keep all the other stuff out of my house.
"We did all the research so you don't have to," the company's website also declares. And for those parents who otherwise would spend hours researching developmentally appropriate kids' toys, the statement isn't wrong. But not every parent does -- or should -- fret over toy research. And even for parents experiencing anxiety around optimizing a child's playtime, there are far cheaper ways to fill a toy chest.
Correction, June 7: This story initially estimated the monthly cost of a subscription incorrectly. The box costs the equivalent of $40 a month or $36 if you pay in advance.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
