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Original poster

Toys - is it "inevitable"..............

42 replies

HRHQueenOfQuelNoel · 30/12/2005 21:01

that with a (boisterous and active) 2yr old and a 5yr old that they're definitely going to lose bits and get broken, despite any efforts you go to to keep things together (jigsaw pieces, game parts etc etc)???

OP posts:
Milgestoe · 30/12/2005 21:02

Yes.

myrrhthamoo · 30/12/2005 21:02

Yes.

DoesntChristmasDragOn · 30/12/2005 21:03

Pretty much. unless you're really anal about it

I'm sure that most of the bits to DSs toys are here somewhere though. I'm just not sure where exactly...

stitch · 30/12/2005 21:04

i have a friend who probly has the least missing/btoken bits in her house. but i think its coz she is soooo anal that her kids dont actually play withthem. they just tidy them up.

myrrhthamoo · 30/12/2005 21:05

I'm pretty organised with toys. I have a wooden shelf unit with 6 large plastic storage boxes, and various other tubs/baskets/boxes but things still get muddled up, lost and broken.

flashingnose · 30/12/2005 21:06

I chuck them in baskets/boxes and then every so often (usually every school holiday) have a big sort out and put everything back where it should be. The kids then play with the toys which have previously been distributed around the house for the next few weeks, then they start to scatter the pieces.....ad infinitum.

moondog · 30/12/2005 21:07

Well..with a 5 year old and a 17 mth old most of my stuff is intact.I have a big sweep at the end of each day-anything broken is removed and kept in a box (out of reach) to be mended by dh).

I'm afraid that I can't bear wanton destruction of toys.

starlover · 30/12/2005 21:08

no, i don't think it's inevitable at all.
i can remember 2 toys i had that i lost bits of... and i was devastated. they're the only 2 i ever remember losing. a tiny plastic squirrel out of a toy tree house, and a piece of a horse jigsaw

I think if kids value their toys and respect their belongings they'll be a lot more careful with them.

i know a family who have SO many toys, the kids don't care if any get broken because they know they have more, or it'll be replaced.

flashingnose · 30/12/2005 21:08

Trouble is, I have a 5 year old DD who plays beautifully, but in a mix and match kind of way...

lockets · 30/12/2005 21:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

merrySOAPBOXingday · 30/12/2005 21:11

Mine are pretty good with their things and do keep them sorted and tidy, but we still lose the odd bit here and there.

They do get upset about it though.

I chuck all the other parts in an odds and sods box for a month or so then sort the box out. If the missing piece has been reunited then thats great, if not it gets binned!

moondog · 30/12/2005 21:11

There is a fiendishly complex Bambi jigsaw at my parents house,bought I would say in 1965.
All pieces present.

flashingnose · 30/12/2005 21:12

Never give houseroom to Bionicles or Playmobil then...

merrySOAPBOXingday · 30/12/2005 21:13

Jigsaws are all made up at the end of the day and put back in the box - so we rarely lose any pieces from those.

It is nice to be able to send them off to the charity shop with all the bits intact

DoesntChristmasDragOn · 30/12/2005 21:13

The key is (I think) keeping on top of it all. If you do it right away it's not a problem. Tuen your back for a while and all hell breaks loose with stuff everywhere.

Original poster
HRHQueenOfQuelNoel · 30/12/2005 21:14

lockets - I've just told DH that once I tidy up and chuck out a massive stack of the boys old (2nd hand) toys that I'm going to be more organised about keeping stuff together, and he thinks I'm "only delaying the inevitable" (ie thinks I'm being anal ).

But I'm like Moondog - I've still got toys and jigsaw puzzles (intact) from when I was younger (and they were 2nd hand from my cousin who's now 45) which are still intact.

OP posts:
harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 21:16

why do we give our children toys?
so that they can play and have fun
not so we can keep a tidy house
or count out the pieces at the end of the day
I don't think it is necessarily too healthy for parents to keep very tight control over children's play
that really doesn't sound like fun to me
(though I agree it is good to instil a respect for property, that isn't the be all and end all imho)
but I run a very relaxed house

moondog · 30/12/2005 21:17

You're right DCD.Constant maintenance and surveillance is the name of the game.
Fully accept however that many people have better things to do with their time......

flashingnose · 30/12/2005 21:18

Jigsaws are easy though - you just dismantle them straight into the box. I'm very tempted to package up DD1 and send her to those who pride themselves on their toy organisation though - I'd give her a week before she's broken you .

moondog · 30/12/2005 21:19

lol

Screwballmuppet · 30/12/2005 21:21

Yes inevitable, why do toy companies insist on making toys for 5's and under with masses of small bits that get lost.

ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 30/12/2005 21:22
DoesntChristmasDragOn · 30/12/2005 21:23

I would like to point out that our playroom is a disaster zone, as are the boys' bedrooms...

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 21:24

yes sometimes I get a rush of blood to the head and tidy the playroom.
then for an encore I go outside and pi88 into the wind

flashingnose · 30/12/2005 21:26

lol hc

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