I think every family reaches a point when they wish they hadn’t bought their child so many toys. There used to be toys all over my house. I didn’t even know where some of the toys had come from. We got a lot of hand me downs from cousins and friends, toys from a grandma addicted to yard sales, and cute toys I myself was guilty of buying. Needless to say we were drowning in toys. Recently we invested in a storage unit and I boxed a lot of the toys away. We still have toys in my house, but even putting away the amount of toys we did made a difference in my kids day. Psychologists say that having fewer toys can help your children develop many crucial life skills they will use in their future careers, marriages, and friendships.
Here is just a short list of the qualities your children could gain if you box up some toys and create a more minimalistic home. Christmas is a good time to start this new mentality, instead of buying more toys for your kids, buy them something they can use this next year in school or sports.
CREATIVITY
I could buy my son batman, superman, captain america, hulk, and all the other super hero costumes. But if I don’t, he will imagine a way to become a superhero. He might figure out how to tie a towel or sheet around his neck. Just because you don’t have exactly what you need to play, doesn’t mean you can’t play. You just have to think about what you can do with what you do have to accomplish your goal. Talk about a life skill….
SHARING
When you have fewer toys, your children will be forced to learn to share. They will have their perceptions of “mine” change and they will be forced to redefine their boundaries. This is also a crucial life skill. In the future they may find themselves in a situation where there is not enough to go around and they will be able to feel comfortable and wait patiently for their turn.
INDEPENDENT PLAY
The two most glorious words in mom language. We are always trying to buy our children more toys hoping that will stimulate independent play and give us a few free minutes to wash clothes or dishes or sneak some chocolate. The real key to teaching independent play is having less. Kids will know what and where the toys are and be able to get them and put them away on their own.
STRESS REDUCTION
Fewer toys, less stress. When there are less toys there are less reasons for kids to fight and get emotional about why someone is playing with “his” toy or they “NEED” that toy. When the kids are less wired up during the day you will be too.
About Brittany:
Brittany was born and raised in Alabama. She is a Wife and Mama of two sweet babies- her son John is two years old and her daughter Annie is ten months old. She is pursuing her degree in Home and Family Studies with an emphasis on Child Development from BYU. She is looking forward to writing for Birmingham Mommy in preparation for graduation in the Fall of 2016.