Fewer toys better?

[theotherfossilsister]

I have read several places that fewer toys are actually better for imagination/development etc. I’ve already got a few bits off Vinted for Christmas and my ds who is two loves his toys, but beginning to wonder if I’m holding him back? Just interested in how it impacts development etc. Should we really just be buying him books, or expensive Montessori toys?

His favourite things are his bike and his toy cube but he mainly likes posting things in that. He has a bit too much screen time when I need to get things done, and goes the nursery three days a week l.

I don’t have a view on number of toys generally but I do know from experience that opening the first 4-6 presents with both mine at similar ages was magical. The rest they were overwhelmed and barely looked at them.

I now purposefully only give a small number on Christmas and birthdays and may add in others ad hoc throughout the year if they’re ready for something else.

I think the type of toy makes a difference rather than quantity. Toys that can be played with in different ways are great for development eg. Roleplay etc. Pretty much anything can be a toy if you want it to be (just think of all the things a cardboard box can be!). A lot of people say that it's good to let a child get bored as it encourages them to be creative and I agree with this.Toys that provide entertainment are fine but not always necessary, and you certainly don't need an abundance of them. I find it crazy that some children have so many toys they forget what they actually have!

Generally, yes.

More toys definitely isn’t better. And they can get expensive and you have to store them somewhere. For Christmas morning, specifically, yes, a few special exciting ones are better than 20 that is just plastic tat. They do lose interest after the first few.

Some toys, but not loads and loads. If you have too many try packing half away and rotating them so they stay fresh.

The main way to limit imagination and self-sufficiency though is not amount of toys, but always turning to a screen when you're not actively entertaining them. They need to learn to play by themselves. They need time to lead and create their own fun outside of adults led activities/classes/days out and screens.

@NuffSaidSam the reason for so much screen time when I’m doing housework is that he’s spectacular at injuring himself. We needed a trip to a and e two weeks ago when I let him play independently thinking he was safe, as he climbed his buggy and then tumbled over with it from the top handle bars and hit his head on the floor. I thought there were no risks in the area and it was like, one minute. Poor boy narrowly avoided stitches and they said he was lucky it wasn’t worse.

We don't have many toys because I think an explosion of toys everywhere isn't good for kids. I don't put a number on it, and I'm more interested in the quality of the toys. I don't give any consideration as to whether or not it's "Montessori". The most important thing is does your child actually play with it. If a toy isn't played with or just gets chucked around, get rid of it.

I think if you have something from each of these areas you have plenty...

A construction toy: magnet tiles, duplo, lego, building blocks. Something they can build with.

Something they can look after: a doll or teddy bear that they can roll play nurturing.

Small figurines: can be anything. Peg dolls, duplo or Lego figures, character figures, toy animals. Whatever helps them create small world play.

Toys that move: vehicles of some sort. A ball. Bike. Scooter. This sort of thing.

Fabrics/blankets: for den building

Something crafty: play dough, stickers, paper and crayons.

I'd say if a child has at least one thing from each of these categories then they will be absolutely fine and have tons of play opportunities.

Our home is small and our 3 year old has the following:

Brio train set and trains
Duplo
Magnet tiles
Brio builder set
Basket of vehicles and garage
Little basket on wheels for carting things about the house
Torch
Blankets and big clips for den making
Basket of teddies
Sand table
Mud kitchen
Swing
Bike
Scooter

Books are only limited to what can fit on our bookshelf and we make good use of our library.

I think so yes, we tended to rotate toys when ours were little so they weren't overwhelmed and got a "new" one to play with every few weeks that they'd forgotten about.

Don't stress too much about getting the right toys for "learning and development" - imaginative play is the most important thing anyway and they can do that with any toy.

Mine played most with their toy kitchen and food, and duplo

Thanks all. He does really like his
magnifying glass and he loves pulling out books and spreading them all over the room. I wish we had a garden but I do try to take him to the park for an hour on none nursery days and I’m summer we went after dinner too

I've found "fewer toys out at once" is certainly a good system. Keep the majority of toys out of sight and reach. Then rotate the "active" toys. There are some toys so good they never go away - for us these have been the creative construction toys: Lego, magnetic tiles and marble run. Particularly the magnetic tiles as they combine playing with these with whatever figurines / cars they are otherwise into at the time. Also Yoto (from about 3+). They also obviously have some favourite soft toys, small cars, colouring and "special things" (agree with PP torches stand out for some reason) out almost all of the time but the selection may vary. And something to push along - ours have had a wooden scooter with a little box to put things in that has been consistently played with for about 4 years now. But a pushchair is great too. Lastly I find they love to pack their current preferred toys into a small bag and carry it around, that particular obsession seems to last for several years.

Having fewer toys out at once means less mess and they also play with and enjoy their toys far more. I agree with others that too many toys to open actually spoils special occasions and it is better to introduce new toys (or reintroduce old toys!) a bit more throughout the year, saving up a smaller number of special / expensive toys to be received on birthdays and at Christmas. If there are siblings, this also means that toys introduced throughout the year can be for everyone which means it's a bit easier for them to be shared on equal terms.

The really difficult thing is family who will want to continue to shower them with tat, especially at Christmas. But then you can also say to them, actually if you love to give the children gifts, give them something small each time you see them (which can usually be negotiated to remain at the grandparents house!) and then please just give them one present only at Christmas.

Despite best efforts I am forever using marketplace / eBay to offload excess toys that aren't played with. I find the waste upsetting but have to accept it's not something I can easily control (but I refuse to have a house cluttered with rubbish toys that aren't played with!). Only having a few toys out at once makes it easier to move on the rubbish toys they don't play with without them ever noticing.

The toys that have had hours and hours of play by my two to three year old are- the play food, the duplo, the brio style train set, the indoor ride on trike, the bath stickers and the water pouring bath toys.

If they have these then I'd buy a set of felt pens and a pack of 500 sheet printer paper. My son just loved to mark make.

I think fewer toys helps them focus more on playing imaginatively with what they have. They have to entertain themselves for longer with what is available rather than moving onto the next thing after a few minutes.
I achieve this by doing a toy rotation so every week I rotate between 3 sets of toys/books - sometimes a current favourite stays out for a few weeks though

Neither of my children is particularly into toys. They both much prefer social interaction. role play etc. They will do craft and making - but once the object is made it never gets played with. I've come to the conclusion that most toys are just reasons to part parents from their money.

Surely that depends on the child. My son treasures his toys and will spend hours playing with his train set or his cars and garage.

I find it's usually the kids who have too many toys that don't know how to play with what they have.