To think it's cruel not to give a toddler any toys?

[CeCeBloomer]

My SIL nannies for an 18 month old who isn't allowed any toys, parents believe over stimulation causes attention problems. Is this a thing? I had never heard of it. Just seems pretty cruel to me, I can't imagine not playing with my dc with their toys. I also thought playing and toys helped their development?

Very sad for the little boy, no toys no other kids to play with . One fucked up adult in the future.

Is that magazine for real? If so, Will's mum should be imprisoned for crimes against joy. smug cow.

I think as long as he is being played with and is being allowed to use other things around him it is fine. When ee were staying in a holiday cottage in US when dd was around 2 we had few toys with us so she used other stuff instead - the TV remote became a doll and we found it wrapped in a tissue in a box "sleeping". I also distinctly remember being around 5 and visiting an elderly relative who had no toys to occupy me. She did though have a box with old pudding tins and a few other bits and pieces and I loved playing imaginary games with them. ds loved playing with pots & pans when wee and dd used to have a great time with the Tupperware - so it's probably more that we expect kids to have proper toys rather than that they actually need them,

My DS has a friend who is being brought up like this. I invited him for a play date and his mother very politely refused after she found out that DS has aaccess to computer games/Xbox etc., (he is eight). Her children are not allowed anything like that. still, they go to the park with each other and have a lovely time playing and using their imaginations, and tbf, her child can entertain himself with very little, so there may be a benefit? Seems OTT to me, though.

A fundamental part of a child's development is learning through interacting with the things around it.

The great thing about 'toys' is that they have [usually] passed rigorous safety tests so we can be confident that so long as they are age-appropriate they are not going to choke/suffocate/strangulate/poke them in an orifice or whatever. It means independent play and exploration can happen safely and easily.

Children don't need 'toys' but they absolutely do need stimulation and so long as 'items to play with' are around - and are safe - it wouldn't be the end of the world though I wonder what happens when the child is outside the home and exposed to toys belonging to other people.

I question the wisdom that toys over-stimulate. Almost anything has the capacity to over-stimulate. That's why rest and sleep are important. As are quiet times combined with more energetic ones.

It's definitely unusual.

Is he allowed to play with household stuff e.g. empty saucepans and wooden spoons / empty cardboard boxes / blankets / crayons / empty plastic bottles and so on? It would be possible to play with or make toys out of a lot of household things, even if they're not "official" toys.

I think there's a point to what they're saying - how many children have we seen who have so many toys they don't know what to play with and who can't occupy themselves without something singing a dreadful tune at them? Also, too many toys are really inflexible and can only be played with in very limited ways.

A few well chosen, age appropriate toys is the middle way, surely? Lego, blocks, stacking cups, balls...these toys all allow variety, imagination and flexibility without the overstimulation of too many colours, noises and twiddles like those electronic singing nightmares that people like vtech make.

Mine had plenty of toys but apparently the mixing bowl and a wooden spoon was much more entertaining to play with

I'm all for creative play and DS (2.5) has very few toys but I can't imagine his life without the few essentials he does have. All he has played with this week in terms of purchased toys has been toy cars and a ball, the rest has been stuff he's found but how depressing not to have had that half hour with the fire truck.

It's hard to think of good substitutes for balls and 'things with wheels'. And one or two cuddy animals.

There certainly is some truth that for 1/2 yos the wrapping and boxes (esp big ones) are the best part of xmas presents.

The basket of 'natural' materials is called a treasure basket, and you can often find them in baby rooms in nurseries. We used to have themed ones: brushes, different materials, wooden things, metal things etc. I made one for my niece at Christmas with a little bags to zip and unzip, beads, a tin to put things in and out of, wooden curtain rings and a kitchen roll holder to put the rings on and off. Good for exploration and open ended play.

Wouldn't have bothered ds2 a bit. He has always preferred everyday household objects to brightly coloured plastic toys (which we have feckin loads of). He does love his favourite soft cuddly toys though.

Yes sounds Montessori style. I expect he has access to lots of natural items and real tools and so on. Open ended play etc.

(We used to call treasure baskets wnaky baskets on here back when all was fields. The poster was Franny and she was GREAT even though we teased her MERCILESSLY)

Wasn't on MN then

It wouldn't have bothered my eldest .He was happier emptying my kitchen cupboards. He also want interested in other similar aged children at 18 months as he was too busy exploring his own environment. An older child who would tirelessly play peekaboo and respond to his every whom was different . He started being more interested in forming friendships around aged four, where the desire for a friend was by then more important to him than having the monopoly on a favourite item was.

Franny! I couldn't think of her name earlier

I think a shop bought rattle would be better than Will's mum's idea of an empty water bottle with beans in. A baby could easily chew through a water bottle and choke on the beans. At least with a shop bought rattle you know that won't happen.

I'd happily ditch all the VTech singing crap, big plastic play sets and so on, but some stuff really does have play value and is better than the alternatives - for example, lego/megablocks, play tea sets (the small size really appeals to children), soft toys, magnetic letters and numbers and so on. Sure, you can make a doll from a wooden spoon but most children really like a play figure of some sort. Child sized things like play kitchens enable hours of imaginative play without the hazards of a real kitchen. Wheeled toys are an enduring classic and need only be of the most simple kind.

Do children like playing with 'real' things - of course, but that's not to say toys are useless.

YABU. A child doesn't need toys. I tthink the amount of unused toys that tend to pile up every year is truly wasteful. Lots of children in less fortunate parts of the toys go without toys and are happier for it. And what amounts to a toy nowadays - an iPad!?

I don't think it's cruel, just unusual. As others have said, he probably turns everyday objects into toys. DD the other day was playing some kind of imaginary game with some screwdrivers (she's not a toddler and I was in the room!). I think children will turn anything into a toy.

In fact, I think describing this as cruel or neglectful is utterly preposterous.

Well i hope the poor little thing gets substitutes for 'proper' toys (pots/pans/woodenspoons) as otherwise his motor skills and co-ordination and sensory skills are going to lag - and then when he does get stimulation its going to be sensory overload because he isnt used ot it: which is what they didnt want! Plus later on if 'proper' toys are taboo they will probably gain 'forbidden fruit' status - never a good idea with chidlren (or teens). Many, many toys teach educational, concentration, dexterity, sharing, teamwork, social and a host of other skills which if i was still teaching and it wasnt late i could probably name more of... brain fog after long day!

They sound odd/ if they have read any child psychology or child development books they obviously got the wrong end of the stick. I think i'd be looking up books/websites called how children learn and sureptitiously (sp?) 'mentioning' what they say but i am ex-teacher and wouldnt like to think a child is missing out in any way.

What a load of pretentious nonsense.

I can't be doing with all this worthy parenting.

Exactly usual, my ds 3, plays with toys and plays with everyday household items as well, does not have to be one or the other.

Agree with usual. Yeah sure ds 2.8 loves playing with spoons, mixing bowl, water etc but slso loves his footballs, cars tv