We believe that having more toys is better. But frankly, it’s just too much. More is not always better; a good toy or experience is.
It’s easy for toys to take control. It begins very innocently. You adore your children. You want them to be content. However, before you know it, you’re knee-deep in abandoned Legos and naked Barbie dolls.
Everyone is unhappy, the house is a mess, and the kids are bored. Sounds familiar?
Toy overload affects most households. Many well-intentioned parents are unaware that having more toys really results in less play.
Children are easily overwhelmed by choice, and when they don’t know what to play with, they frequently wind up doing nothing at all. However, the issue is more fundamental than that.
Because of our society’s addiction with shiny plastic junk, kids are now pushed to play passively. They anticipate being entertained by their toys rather than really playing with them. For about five seconds, they are. Then it’s back to the floor — or, alternatively, the toy box.
Furthermore, the more toys kids have, the more they fight for control of a certain toy. When there are too many toys available, children would fight more than play. But guess what — when they are just given two cars — they instantly learn how to play together.
What Happens When Children Have Too Many Toys
Whether you have one child or five, having too many toys can cause a variety of problems that can be easily avoided by setting a toy limit.
Let’s examine some of the issues that result from children having too many toys.
1. Having too many toys makes it harder for kids to share
Consider this: kids inherently enjoy giving and receiving. Babies enjoy giving you things and then demanding that you return them. When they were toddlers, if you gave them a dish of sweets, they would gladly give one to each individual in the space. This is so that they can share their favorite things, which they do when they are at ease and comfortable.
Why then does a small person who has a lot of toys find it difficult to share?
The easy solution is that children who have too many toys experience stress. Kids who are under stress find it difficult to feel secure and at ease, which makes it difficult for them to share.
2. Children who have too many toys get overstimulated
When there are too many toys to chose from, kids may get overwhelmed. They are unsure of what to do with all of those items.
Children’s neurological systems are still developing, making it challenging for them to process several stimuli at once. They may get irrational and crazy as a result of the excessive stimulation, making it challenging to persuade them to concentrate.
A Guardian article claims that giving kids too many toys can be harmful.
Child development specialist Claire Lerner conducted a US government-funded investigation examining the impact of over-toying kids. She discovered that having too many toys can limit a child’s development and even be harmful.
They become overburdened and overstimulated and are unable to focus on one thing for a sufficient amount of time to learn from it, so they simply shut down. If they have too many toys, kids won’t learn to play imaginatively either.
3. Too many toys restricts their creativity
Joshua Becker describes how two German health worders (Strick & Schubert) carried out an experiment by persuading a kindergarten class to remove all toys for three months in his book Clutterfree with Kids.
Even though boredom first set in, the kids soon started making up games and using their imaginations to play.
According to this study, children who have too many toys will not be able to use their imaginations.
Additionally, it demonstrates how children instinctively use their imaginations to play when excessive items are taken away.
4. They don’t take care of their toys
Children who have an excessive amount of toys are unable to appreciate their possessions. You don’t respect what you don’t value.
They will play with this other toy, so it’s not a big deal when anything breaks. They might even be aware that their birthday is approaching and decide to acquire a new one.
If there are always alternatives available, children will never learn to value things.
5. Children who have too many toys find it difficult to have fun
Giving kids toys that take care of their imaginative needs teaches them to crave entertainment. They are unable to think up ideas on their own or learn how to have pleasure on their own.
Before you realize it, your children will be depending on you for everything. They probably have too many toys if you feel the need to keep them occupied all day at home.
6. They don’t get enough physical exercise
If your children do not have a room full of toys, they are much more inclined to play outside. But as soon as his phone is taken away, one walks outdoors to skateboard or ride his bike.
Children who spend more time playing outside exercise more. People benefit from exercise in so many ways. Kids who participate in regular physical activity are not only happier and healthier, but they also sleep better.
7. They lack problem-solving skills
Kids who have an excessive amount of toys don’t develop critical problem-solving abilities. This is evident when a child tries and fails to use a challenging toy before moving on to an easier target.
Too many toys discourage your children from taking initiative and solving problems on their own.
8. Children who have too many toys fight more
Simply put, there will be more disputes if there are more toys.
When there are lots of toys, kids feel possessive and will fight with one another over playing with a specific toy. However, if there aren’t enough toys accessible, kids will automatically learn how to play nicely with others.
9. The more they have the more they want
Kids get increasingly unhappy as their toy collection increases. Children struggle to achieve contentment when they are surrounded by toys. They are constantly desiring more because they are constantly acquiring new things.
One Christmas when my niece was a young child comes to mind. She was the lone young girl in a large house full of boys. She was ecstatic when she initially opened the gift and didn’t want to put it down. But there were still many of other toys and enjoyable girly items to be opened.
By the time the last gift was opened, she was disappointed that the gifts had ended, rather than being able to appreciate everything she had gotten. She was not even interested in the toys; she only desired more.
10. They get messy
Kids become overwhelmed not simply by the quantity of toys they own, but also by the mess those toys create.
Have you ever told your kids to tidy their rooms just to check back later and discover they haven’t done anything? They simply don’t know where to begin because there is so much information available. So they take no action.
The mess then overwhelms everyone, particularly mom.
More Toys, More Problems
When there are too many toys, parents also suffer since it takes a lot of labor to keep everything organized. You spend time arranging and rearranging the toys as you looked for the most effective approach to entice the children to play. However, as soon as you clean them up, they bring them all back out. After that, you yell at them nonstop to put their toys away.
Another incentive to lower your personal inventory is the stress that comes with having shelves and boxes full of toys, as well as the responsibility of where to store them, where to donate them, and how to find the time to do so.
It is worth honoring any feelings of heaviness that arise as a birthday or Christmas approaches. Use your own urge to declutter as a chance to teach your children.
What is it that you want them to learn most? Do you want them to develop a sense of giving and generosity? Moderation? Environmentalism? There are several possibilities available.
Decluttering at your place may entail learning about the effects of consumerism on the environment. Showing your children footage of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean, you instruct your children about the limitations of recycling.
Choosing The Right Toys
Does this mean you should stop buying toys for your children altogether (along with everyone else in their lives)? No, not always.
But you ought to think about it more carefully. Choose simple “open-ended” toys that encourage creativity and imagination in children, such as dolls, trains, or little cars.
Because there is no room for you in that play when you have a toy that does everything for you, you rapidly lose interest in it. Toys that force children to make choices are crucial for their development and for providing good.
Playing alone and running their own environment is incredibly healthy for children.
With toys that encourage imaginative play, kids tend to play with them longer and more consistently. They will play with little vehicles all over the home if you give them some. However, if you offer them a track, they rapidly grow tired of seeing the car circle in place.
Be wary of your child’s early enthusiasm for anything that needs to be prised out of shiny plastic packaging, and don’t be afraid to refuse the current fad and avoid the annoying toys that are displayed at eye level in almost any store these days. Saying “no” to a child is a crucial ability since it teaches them about boundaries.
How To Cut Back
Instead of toys, ask gift-givers to think of experiences as birthday and holiday gifts, such as visits to children’s theaters or simply a cheap park adventure.
Then, to organize your collection of toys, involve your children in the process of giving away any that are no longer needed. That will turn out to be a pleasant activity in and of itself. The kids should be really happy to learn that they are giving the toys to other kids.
Though not all children may react as happily. It’s common for kids to object to giving things away. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on the project. It can be challenging for both of you to teach a child about giving and contributing. But being kind to others breeds kindness.
It’s a good idea to organize the toys you choose to keep so that your child may easily access them. You may gather the toys into one room and give a new organizational scheme. Small containers with labels — one for vehicles, one for dolls, and so on — may be used instead of the large bins of mixed toys. Make certain that all of your children can access the toys.
Store certain toys and switch them in and out of play if you have storage space but don’t want your child to feel overwhelmed by everything being available at once.
Start donating the toys your children have outgrown to daycares and public areas so that other children may use them. Additionally, rather than buying a new toy, let your two-year-old play with the toys belonging to his two older brothers.
Consider the toy’s durability — how long do you believe it will last? — before buying it. How often will they use it?
When it comes to birthday celebrations, now politely ask visitors to refrain from buying new toys and provide them with the option of paying for a visit to an entertainment park or helping to fund a collective gift for the child.
With less stuff crowding the house, everyone is happier.