Hey Ya'll! Lets talk about TOYS!
Kids today are over run with toys. Its spilling out of their rooms and into the rest of the house. It used to be an everyday battle for me. Toys! Taking over the house. Toys in floor, in the kitchen, the bathtub, and even in my bed. The car, the yard, they are everywhere! When I would go into my sons room, I would just turn away because it felt hopeless! There are birthdays, Christmases, and just trips to the store that contribute to this madness. Kids have more today than they know what to do with. I tried what I think we all have and that is organizing. I went out and purchased some colorful and fun bins that was sure to solve all my problems right? No! It did not work! I found that I would spend an entire day placing toys in their bins. I even went as far as labeling the bins with pictures (since my son could not read yet) This was pointless! By the end of the day the toys were all throughout the house and dumped from their bins. My son became overwhelmed, as did I when it was time to clean up. This was time consuming. A young child simply does not have the attention span to sort toys for 30+ minutes. I felt stuck in this never ending toy cycle. It was time for a new approach.
The first thing I did was observe my son to see which toys he played with the most. I found that he spent more time dumping them out than he did actually playing with them. This is when I made the choice to do some eliminating myself. I put my little one to sleep in my bed that night, so that I could work in his room. It took several hours, and afterwards I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I realized why I let my child's room get out of control in the first place. I grew up with hand me downs, and very few "new" toys. I feel this is why I bought my son any toy he wanted. I could see that this approach was a mistake. I wanted my son to have everything I did not. My heart was in the right place, but it was not the best thing for him. Suddenly I was faced with three mountains: regret, spent money, and toys! I felt more attached to his toys than he did, because he never played with them. He did not take good care of his toys. He did not appreciate what he had. I was feeling a little bit of guilt and shame. I had to do better by him.
My son has a double closet and it was packed full! He had two TVs! No one needs two TVs in their room, he's not working for NASA! We kept one, and donated the other. He had two foam couches that he had outgrown and I let both of those go. I found puzzles, play-dough, books, and much more. We kept some of the books, but the other stuff he was not interested in. I still had four bins of his infant clothes and I chose to give them away. I knew of someone in need and I did not foresee an infant in my future. This was the first clean out! We have since had several more.
I wanted to involved my son in the process. I wanted him to understand why we were doing this. That he was not being punished. As an example, I told him about a daycare that was in need of toys. I explained to him that he was very fortunate that he had so many wonderful things. We went through each and every toy together. We created piles to keep, give away, and broken. This is a personal choice. All children are different. You may find it best to make this a shared experience between your child and yourself. It just depends on your preference. This part is not always easy. When working with your child take breaks to play with them as you all are eliminating. Find a way to make it a game, and allow them to be involved when its time to drop off. If you find that your child cannot part with any of his/her toys try talking to them about why you are doing this, and why its necessary. These are lessons that they will take into adulthood. Sometimes it may be necessary that you make all the decisions on which to keep and donate. This helps teach your child that if they cannot make the choice, then the choice will be made for them.
It is okay if you still end up having quite a few toys. Here is what you can do about it. Create a toy rotation box. I suggest a 32 gallon plastic tote. Put toys inside that you will rotate out about every Two to Three months. Once you have de-cluttered your child's toys/stuff. It is now time to create a storage arrangement for the toys when not in use. We decided that all of the toys would go into the toy box. You may like to try a shelf with just a few colorful bins. Just experiment and find out what works best for your child and you. It is a good idea to stay ahead of the toy madness. In our home we have implemented a rule. Its called the ONE IN AND ONE OUT rule. This rule is simple. If a new toy comes in the door, then another one goes out. I would suggest creating a donate box or bag and keeping it in a closet.
Since the downsize of my sons room it has become so much more manageable for my son and myself. Like I have mentioned before no child is alike. You will have to use trial and error to find which method suits your child best. My son appreciates and actually plays with his toys now. This is what made me come to the conclusion that when children have less to play with, it actually makes them more creative. They have to use their imagination to find something that will work in their play scenario. It also makes things more interesting for them so they will stay engaged in their play much longer. Remember that once you have things straightened out, stick to your rules to keep it that way. Above all use times like these to teach your child life lessons that will aid them into adulthood.
