Eh-books are friends. To be read, eaten, thrown, burned, whatever suits you. They aren't sacred.
I let mine destroy paper to a point, and when it becomes a real problem, I just keep the paper away for a while. I don't really think that you have to worry about teaching them how to properly care for books, and eat nicely at the table and all in their first year. Or really, even in their second. It doesn't ruin them for life, and they just aren't ready for that kind of thing yet. When they are ready for books, they'll stop eating them. And if you want to be reading to them when they are still in the book eating phase, just say, "This is Mama's book. It's not for eating. See the cat?"
I hand my really little ones just about anything. Starting at about the time they first start grasping things, I'm handing them who knows what. I figure they are trying to learn about their world, and the more I can let them handle the more they can learn. It's neat watching them explore new things. My last baby was particularly scientific about it. Anyway, around 7 months, when the pincer grasp really starts, I've found that mine like to play with tiny things. I'll sit beside them and let them stack dice, or other tiny things for a while. Obviously, you shouldn't look away for a second, but it really does seem to fulfill a desire in them to be allowed to touch the little things, too.
And, I don't know, but it seems like letting them explore everything when they were tiny has prevented them from trying to destroy it as they get bigger. They know all about the remote...they don't even care about it anymore now. And I never had to say "no."
: Some water in that, and some spoons, and she's entertained for ages.
), and much less messy!
