Switches that answer back

Around now, many toddlers become especially drawn to mechanical devices — wind-up toys, switches, buttons and knobs — and every press or flick is a small research project: they're gathering information about how the world actually works, one experiment at a time.

🛡️ Stick to switches that can't start anything dangerous — a light switch, a doorbell, a toy with a fixed button — never a stove dial, an appliance control, or a lamp with an exposed socket. Skip anything with a battery compartment they could pop open: coin and button batteries are a swallowing hazard, and "what does this do" is exactly the question a toddler will ask of a lid.