Thor, Zeus, Jupiter, Seth–just tell me what I need to sacrifice!

The Potato is a very inquisitive boy. A kid who really wants to find out how the world works. And I’m happy about that, really I am.

But must he destroy every piece of consumer electronics in our home? Here’s a short list of the things that the Potato has wreaked his mighty vengeance on, in his brief 3.5 years in our home.

• my alarm clock (twice)
• a wireless mouse (ack! good thing we had an old wired one still hanging around)
• at least one CD player (the Bee might have had something to do with the second)
• the DVD/VCR player (by putting a DVD into the VCR side)
• more video tapes and DVDs than you can shake a stick at
• the humidifier in his room
• every remote in our house
• including the one for an overhead light fixture I can’t reach (^%#!&*$@)

It’s gotten to the point that I automatically assume that it’s his fault, if something electronic stops working. Sometimes, I think he might be surrounded by an invisible force field that causes things that plug in to self-destruct. Landisdad and I are contemplating buying a new TV, but I’m afraid to bring anything new and shiny into the house, without figuring out a way to keep the Potato from destroying it through his natural curiousity (and maybe that force field).

What do you think? should I just make sacrifices to every lightning god I can find? and is there something that they’ll accept as a sacrifice that isn’t shiny and electronic?

Or is there some other way of keeping our precocious pre-schooler from destroying the appliances?

Is there some kind of Future Inventor kit out there that’s appropriate for a three-year-old? Mini-Mad Scientists R Us? Give me direction!