To have toys in the living room?

[ColaOlaLa]

I have 4 children so we have a lot of toys, they are mainly in the living room as the kids don’t play upstairs, my mum thinks it’s awful to have toys in the living room and says it makes the house look messy and toys should be kept to bedrooms. I don’t mind it and we are not lucky enough to have a play room, does anyone else have them in the living room?

Omg, just read about throwing away the tatty old teddy! Your mum would definitely disapprove of DDs mangy looking 45 year teddy (inherited from her daddy)

We’ve had various support from early help/support worker type services and we’ve had a few comments about them being pleased to see toys and books in the living room

We have toys in the living room, I don't really think of toys on the floor as mess, they're being used and played with which is what you're supposed to do with them.

When the kids chuck my neatly arranged cushions on the floor though.... that's another story

I long to shift all the toys out of the living room but there's nowhere else for them to go (DS's bedroom is the smallest in the house and he already has some toys up there) and we don't have space for lots of toy storage. I have insisted that our next house has a playroom so I can close the door on it all and have a nice grown up sitting room!

I had a playroom so toys weren't really out in the living room when I was growing up. We have a playroom now for DS but it's 2 floors up and I prefer to look after him downstairs with access to a kettle! So he has about half in the living room and they get put into plastic bins and lined up along one wall in the evenings. This includes things like his little drum kit and a big box of Duplo.

If you don't mind it, literally no one else's opinion matters.

My stepchildren were never allowed any toys downstairs at their house . One thing at a time which then had to be put away before getting another. They used to leave my house like a bomb site as I was more relaxed . They moved out of home as soon as they were able as mother was anally tidy . She went away in holiday and left teenage son . He was very well behaved. No parties or mess but she still moaned he hadn’t wiped the fridge door handle ! They are young for such a short time I could never get too stressed about a few toys .

We have roys in their bedrooms and so tend to play upstairs, I like my living room to be clutter free normally. However we are expecting again so there will be a crib and a baby mat, baby swing in the living room until the baby is old enough to no longer need these things. We don't have a play room so it has to to go somewhere. Tell your mum in a nice way, your house your rules.

@ColaOlaLa

Mind you growing up we weren’t allowed pens, paint, play dough, slime etc we got told “that’s what school is for (drawing/painting)” so maybe it’s just my mums issues!

Slime is banned from the inside of my house

and if I was renting a place with carpet, I would probably have had issues with paint and play dough too!

Yes, it's DDs home too! We just tidy them up at the end of the day.

I don’t think I would buy slime again tbf it was a nightmare!
But pens weren’t allowed as we would “draw over the walls/sofa” apparently

His teddy was from his aunties house he is obsessed with turtles and yes it’s looking a bit old and tatty now but it wasn’t new when he got it, he would be heart broken if I threw it away.

Our house has a child in it. We have room for a playroom but she doesn't want to play in there, she wants to play in the living room where everyone is. Hence it is a living room slash Schleich Horseland

Haha @ParadiseLaundry I’ve given up on that one too. I decided I treat myself and bought all new nice coordinating cushions and throws for my lounge, that lasted 5 mins before they were being used for the floor is lava. After telling them my new cushions weren’t to be jumped on I then walked in the room to a giant tower of cushions, I finally gave up when they became the new den 🤷🏼‍♀️

I missed out
"Our house has a child in it and therefore it has toys - it's her home just as much as ours"

Without that the post looks oddly clinical 😂

I celebrated last year when I realised the bath toys hadn't been used for ages so there was one toy free room in the house.

We seemed to have a permanent car race weaving its way round our lounge for years, together with a number of lego creations. DS knew he had to keep them out of the way of the doors and ensure we could walk through without tripping over. His bedroom is small so didn’t have space to play with some things in there. It kept him amused for hours and was lovely to watch him play. We would have a big tidy up every so often if we had relatives staying, but I got used to it being there. Miss those days, now he is permanently glued to the PS4 (which is also in the lounge so at least we see him!)

Yes absolutely we have toys in the living room, LOADS as DS doesn't have his own room yet. We have quite a lot of wooden toys so they're much more aesthetically pleasing however my house is not just for show. We have a dinosaur play tent up almost permanently and a triclimb hanging on the wall too!

Sometimes I don't even tidy at the end of the day (shock horror)

We have toys in the living room. I couldn't be running from room to room every time they wanted to play with something else.

I prefer having DDs downstairs playing than in bedrooms.

I would happily banish DHs Warhammer elsewhere though (in factI have now, he keeps it in his bedroom at work so he has something to do in the evenings)

We had toys all over our house when the kids were small. Most toys in the living room, easel/paint/play dough in the kitchen, a Lego area in the hallway, very few toys in bedrooms. As they’ve got older, now almost everything is in the bedrooms because they are able to play by themselves upstairs. When they were little they needed supervision close by. It wasn’t a mess - everything had a home. Stuff was tidied away into boxes/shelves/corners. But yes there were toys visible everywhere. I think kids need a home to be full of their things.

I hate toys in my living space. Love my kids but when its 7pm I like to get tidied up then put a candle on and relax in my lounge without looking at toys. We have a playroom and most goes in there.

Recently bought IKEA smastad bench and I LOVE it. They are big enough for big fire engines and lego boxes and stuff can just be chucked in.

Toys are out in the living room. Mostly because it means they get played with whereas if they are tidied away the kids forget about them and want to watch the tv all the time.

I don't really care what anyone else thinks about it to be honest. The kids play with their toys which is the while point of toys. Plus the kids live in the house so I don't see why their stuff has to be hidden. A pile of hot wheels tracks and board games doesn't stop me from relaxing or enjoying some kid free time in the evening.

What a rude thing to say! Kids have a lot of shit! We have a playroom next to the lounge but still keep stuff in the lounge as it's just a nicer area to play in and be together! X

OP, just ignore your mum, it's your house and not hers, so none of her business.

It's only a few years and it is very much your choice. I know some people who won't have toys in the living room, or only 1 toy at a time because they cannot stand mess, but it is each to their own.

My mum gave away one of my favourite toys when I was about 7, and I never forgave her for it . I remember a boy at school buying it at the summer fayre and I begged him to give it back to me but he wouldn't .

Unless your mum lives with you it’s got sod all to do with her. When my children were little all their favourite toys were downstairs as that was where they played. Racking my brains and I think when we visited other people with young children they had all their kid’s toys downstairs too. Your mum is the oddity here.