Hey Friends!
I’m happy that you are here! I stopped by to say that we have to get this toy situation under control ASAP! I’m sharing some helpful tips, books, and research to get you started.
I found many of the signs of overstimulation in my child and I truly believe the state of her play area to be the root of the problem. This article- Overstimulation: babies and children provides insight to signs of overstimulation in children from birth to age 8. A reduction in stimulation will help to alleviate the stress on a child’s brain in turn relieving you of stress as well.
Hoarding Toys
Hoarding toys that are perfectly functioning is okay. Even hoarding toys that hold sentimental value is okay. However, hoarding broken toys that the children have outgrown is not okay! Be okay with letting old toys go! It is okay to donate or throw out toys that no longer serve a purpose in your child’s life. If you absolutely cannot part with a particular toy, limit yourself to putting 1-2 toys in a childhood memory box for the child(ren) to open when they are older. Toys that make it to the childhood memory box should have memories that you are able to share with the child. If you don’t have strong memories of the child playing with those 1-2 toys, LET THEM GO!
Quality over Quantity
This concept takes some serious planning upfront! Thinking about major toy gifting events (birthdays and Christmas especially) ahead of time is key to ensuring that you and family/friends don’t overdo it when exchanging gifts! Limiting the number of toys that the child receives is helpful when determining the toys that a child will engage with during play. Oftentimes, family and friends will ask you what to get the child as a gift. Don’t be afraid to tell them! It is okay to specify the type of toys that you wish for your child to receive. With that being said, mix it up and ask for clothes, books, gift cards, memberships to different activities (zoo, children’s museum) movie tickets, outdoor toys, cookie decorating kits, restaurant gift cards, educational app subscriptions, etc. This concept takes planning on your side up front, but it will be worth it to reduce the number of toys that you need to store and manage!
If reading Too Many Toys by David Shannon is the story of your life, stay with me!
Planning Your Space
I will admit that this was the absolute hardest part for me when I began this toy limitation journey! I have an extra bedroom in my home that I converted into a playroom. This happened because I was absolutely tired of finding and moving toys out of my living room, dining room, kitchen, my bedroom, basically everywhere except my daughter’s room! Finally, I dumped (literally) all of her toys into the spare bedroom. My anxiety would get triggered each time I walked in there because nothing had a specific place, so me saying clean up had no meaning. I ended up settling on telling my daughter to pick everything up off the floor, but the issue became nothing could be found! Finally, I’d had enough and decided to make a change! I started with looking at the items that I wanted to keep in the playroom and then decided on which items would need to be purchased to make this transition successful. First, I measured my space, and then I got to work! This Kallax shelving unit by Ikea has been life changing!
I decided on this 8 shelf unit because wanted to lay it horizontally; the height is perfect to double as a tv stand! This particular unit comes in different sizes, so make sure to find the one that fits your needs!
My daughter attends a Montessori Program so I wanted to ensure that the skills she is exposed to at school could smoothly transition into our Homelife. One thing about Montessori is that children have choice and they have access to the choices they encounter. This unit allows her to select the toys at her leisure and return them to their space. I chose not to use baskets because in her classroom many of the materials are out in the open. So far, this is working well because she can see the toys she has access to. There are 8 cubes so that automatically limits the toys she can experience at any given time.
Toy Rotation
Ultimately, you will still need a system to store toys that your child is not currently using. I’m using my garage at the moment so the “out of sight, out of mind” concept is in full force! Other options are a closet, under bed storage, grandparents’ house, storage shed, etc. The goal is to remove the toys from the child’s immediate memory so that when you rotate the new toys into their play space it is like Christmas all over again. I used Christmas Day and a few days after to see where my child appeared to have the most interest. I didn’t take anything out of the original packaging until I knew that she had a strong desire to play with said toy. For example, she received a mixer that is completely kid powered, I had an open shelf on the Kallax that the mixer could fit into so that worked out perfectly. I plan to rotate toys each month. Over the next few weeks I’ll watch as she plays and let her keep the toys that she is most in contact with. Other toys will be removed and replaced with toys from the garage.
If every month is too much for you, try every 6-8 weeks. Give the child time to explore each toy both alone and with you.
Final Thoughts
By this time next year, you’ll have your system so the next gift receiving experience will be a breeze! Toy ration takes planning, but in the long run you will remain sane! You don’t want your child(ren) to grow up like the sisters in this book!
Good luck!
See you soon- MQ
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