The Christmas season is here, and one thing that excites children is receiving toys as gifts from families and friends. The next thing you know, new toys replace the old ones in your children’s hearts.
When this happens, old toys become cluttered in your home. And the cycle continues each year until you have no more space for your things. But more toys mean a happier child, isn’t it? While you think that having many toys is better for your child, in reality, it isn’t.
So the best thing for you to do is to declutter unplayed toys to leave room for toys your children want to play with. Know the negative effects of too many toys and what to do with old toys so you don’t end up getting sick of all the unused ones lurking in every corner of your house.
Fewer toys better play
Can too many toys cause problems in your child? You might think that having too many toys does no harm to your child. But experts found out that children who had too many toys had a less valuable play.
Distraction from development is one of the disadvantages of too many toys. A study revealed that when toddlers have fewer toys, they spend longer hours with a single toy. Apart from that, toddlers play and explore more creatively and are focused more.
So, if you want your child to become more creative and imaginative, offer only a few at a time. Rotate with different toys every week, so your child will not get bored with their toys.
How to get rid of too many toys
What toys do toddlers really need? How about children from ages 5 to 10? It is hard for children of any age to get rid of toys. Sometimes your children might have separation anxiety about letting go of toys they used to play with.
However, as Marie Kondo said, we need to discard the things that do not spark joy. According to her, when you feel joy upon touching something, it is proof you need to keep it.
So when you see your children are not enjoying playing with their old toys, it is time for them to say goodbye. Here are ways on how to only keep toys that get played with and discard those that are collecting dust.
Sell
Selling is one great way to get rid of old toys while earning some cash. However, make sure you evaluate the toy first before giving out a price. If a toy is overly used and is not worn out, you may sell it at a price way lower than its original worth.
When you think a toy is used only once or twice and is good as new, you can sell it at about half its price. Unsure how to price the toys? Think about whether you would be willing to pay the price if you were the customer.
Not many people want to buy used toys, so to avoid all the hassle of opening up a garage sale, you can move on to the next tip on how to get rid of toys.
Donate
If selling is not your thing, you can donate them instead. Many charitable institutions accept toy donations that can still be played with. Many unfortunate children would love to accept preloved toys because they do not have much to play with.
Why not bring your children with you and have them help with distributing toys to the needy? This way, your children can learn to treasure what they have. Other than that, your children will also learn to show sympathy and help out the needy.
Throw
Throw out worn-out or broken toys. This a no-brainer, and no one would want to play with broken toys unless it is the original owner. If you or your child is still holding on to that broken toy, ask your child if she still wants to play with it for the next couple of weeks, if not, throw it.
How to avoid having too many toys
I get it. Your children are loved by many people so they receive tons of toys yearly. Even us parents are guilty of buying our children toys because we love seeing their eyes glitter with joy.
As a result, we suffer from all the old and used toys as the years fly by. However, there are ways on how to avoid having too many toys around the house. Below are some ideas on how to avoid having headaches over piles of toys.
Avoid buying toys all the time
Our toddler has entered the play store only recently. We did not want to bring him there because he might get overwhelmed with all the toys he could see. But we brought him in once because we had to buy presents.
We did not buy anything for him. Because we do not want to make him think he can buy toys every time he goes to the toy store. (This is just what we believe in, and I don’t mean to say you should never buy toys for your kids.)
But if you do not want to have too many toys by the time your children reach 10, try not to buy toys every time you will go to the store. Besides saving money, you are also saving yourself from stepping on scattered Lego or blocks everywhere.
Discard unplayed toys before opening new ones
If you think it is time to replace old toys, ask your children to discard old ones first. Let them choose which ones they would not want to play with anymore, and either sell, donate, or toss them out.
When you see a doll without a limb, incomplete puzzle pieces, or broken crayons that are not usable, toss them out. Unless it is your child’s favorite, you can throw away toys not playable anymore.
Limit the number of toys for playing
When your children receive too many toys over the holidays, do you let your child open everything at once? My suggestion is to let your children choose only one to open and save the others at a later time.
Let them choose which one they want to play with first, so it sparks their interest. And when they only have one new, they are more likely to cherish that one new toy they have.
So when do you let them open the other toys? When you see that they seem bored with their old toys, it is a good time to bring another toy to open. You can also let them choose which one to open again. You get the idea, don’t you?
Being present
We seldom buy toys for our toddler. Not because we do not want to give him new toys to play with, but because we do not want him to think that he can only be happy with material things. I know I am guilty of not being present with him all the time.
However, I try my best to be whenever I can. I make sure to have some time every day to play with my son, especially since we spend most of the days with only the two of us. We play lots of different kinds of play from horsing to play-pretend.
And it makes my toddler so happy that he gives me time to do what I need to do. Our children need us to spend time with them no matter how short. All it takes is at least 5 to 10 minutes, and you will see their love tank filled to the brim!
Spend money on experiences, not things
If the pandemic did not happen, we would have brought our son outside of the country already. And now that the world is loosening up, we are planning on bringing him to places to gain experiences.
Bringing your children on travels might be too daunting, especially with the younger kids. But did you know that there are benefits to traveling with kids? Besides getting on priority lanes, you can also get some freebies you never could when traveling as a couple.
So, instead of spending money on too many toys, why not book that plane ticket anywhere across the globe for more family bonding? Those family holidays will be etched in your children’s hearts and memories even as they grow older.
The takeaway
Too many toys might be too overwhelming for most kids. They tend to get distracted about which one to play with first when a lot is around. I noticed that when I offered lots of toys for my toddler, he tends to move from one toy to another.
It goes to show that there is a disadvantage to too many toys in kids. I hope you have learned a lot from this article! If you do, please hit that share button so other people can benefit too!
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