Posted on 05/06/2022
It may be a first-world problem, but having too many toys can be a problem - for the sake of our children, our family bonds, and our sanity. Thankfully, parents today are wisely becoming more educated. Many people are aware of the consequences of modern advertising's ubiquitous materialism and the entitled mindset. Others are continuously removing toys from their homes for a variety of reasons, including educational and developmental health, household happiness, attitude modifications, and mental & emotional tranquility.
As more parents around the country — and around the globe — consider whether less really is more, many are coming up with innovative ways to break free from the slavery of toys in our homes. We may help promote a more positive environment in our homes by implementing the following four steps.
Purging
This is a challenging, but important, step. A particular toy goes if your child doesn't use it or no longer enjoys it. He hasn't played with that toy in months. Remove that toy from your life. Tears may be shed. It's possible they're even yours if the toy holds special memories for you. However, let it go. The temporary discomfort of parting with a non-valuable item is far preferable to the ongoing tension of extra clutter — and the never ending nagging to tidy up a bedroom or play room! Get the surplus toys out of the house by selling, donating, passing them down, or simply tossing them!
Organizing
It will now be time to organize the items you've selected to keep once you've completely the purging phase. Whatever method you use, you'll almost certainly reap the same benefits. Toddlers can learn to keep sets and similar toys together as a pre-math skill, but having too many alternatives at once might be overwhelming. If cleaning up everything that is accessible to them is beyond your children's developmental level, then there are still too many toys for them to regularly access. To address this dilemma, consider changing bins or boxes of toys as needed — perhaps a particular bin comes out on Fridays, or you switch out some toys every week or month. Kids love to welcome things familiar as if they were new again.
In the Future
But what about special occasions like Christmas, birthdays, and Valentine's Day? If you're anything like me, you enjoy giving gifts to your children, but you don't want them to be sweet goodies (we won't even venture there!). Many mother bloggers publish non-toy gift ideas on parenting sites around the holidays, with suggestions ranging from lessons and event tickets to "coupons" for "dates" or other pleasant activities, and even memberships to local attractions. Sharing such lists with friends and family who enjoy showering your children with presents can also be beneficial.
Even so, we all like the thrill of receiving a genuine, physical, enjoy-it-right-now material gift. Connecting gifts to memories — perhaps a photo book from last year's experiences or a book or special container labeled for memories or keepsakes acquired on prospective trips — is one approach to satisfying that desire.
Continue reading with Part 2.
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