# Replacement xylophone mallet?



## obscureepiphany (Jan 24, 2008)

I am not a mama yet, but children from church sometimes come over with their parents to our house. I have a basket in my entertainment center with things in it that the little ones know they can get out and play with if they get tired of listening to big people talk. It has playdough, crayons, a coloring book, a video, 2 puzzles, 3 books, etc.

I recently bought a toy xylophone at goodwill for a dollar. It's well made, wood and metal, and has no loose or small parts (something I look out for). I washed it with soapy water and bleach and added it to the basket. The reason it was only a dollar, though, is that it is missing the mallet that you use to play it.

We're having a lot of people over next Saturday, and I just remembered about the mallet.







I thought I could maybe make one, or use a wooden spoon, in a pinch, but I wanted to ask you all about safety.

*What should I keep in mind? How big should the head of the mallet be to avoid choking? Any other considerations? The youngest child that might be there is about 9 months old, the oldest is 7, with the majority being between 1.5 and 5.*


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

If it's one piece, you really don't need to worry about choking... it's too long for a child to get down their throat.

If the ball at the end is a separate piece that could, conceivably, come off, you want it to be no smaller than... um... I forget the measurement, but it's the circumference of a hot dog or grape. ;-)


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## MamaRuga (Apr 23, 2008)

We use a wooden spoon for our xylophone instead of the mallet (it is two pieces and seems secure, but we just want to be careful). You can use the spoon handle end to hit the bars, although my daughter doesn't really pay much attention to which end. She just likes to hit the thing any way she can as long as it can make NOISE!


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