Blog

Some call it Duck Tape^®, some call it duct tape. At Family & Children’s Place, Judi Steilberg and her HANDS home visitation teams don’t care what it’s called, so long as they have plenty on hand.

The team, which works with new parents to ensure a baby’s happy and healthy development, uses the miracle tape – good for almost anything – to make toys to help with the baby’s exercise, play and development.

A recent gift of 30 rolls of colorful tape from Shurtech Brands LLC, of Avon, Ohio, valued at $120, will help ensure more toys and safety for more children and families.

“We use the tape to show parents how they can make interactive items and toys from objects they have at home rather than going to a store and buying toys the babies will soon outgrow,” said Steilberg, director of the Family & Children’s Place program. Toys such as rattles made out of empty medicine bottles with some rice in them, wrapped up in the tape. Or blocks made from small, empty colorful tape-covered cardboard boxes.

“Because the tape is non-toxic, it’s safe for babies and children,” said Steilberg. “We know the babies will put the toys in their mouths, as babies are wont to do, so we want to be sure they are safe.”

Making toys from the tape shows parents how to be thrifty, too. By making toys from household items and covered in tape, families don’t have to spend money they need for food, health care and other critical needs, especially since so many of them have limited budgets.

“The 30 rolls help us, too,” said Steilberg. “Each roll of tape costs around $4 at the store, so every roll of tape we get as a gift allows us to use our limited resources to visit more homes and help more families raise happy, healthy babies.”