What do your dcs actually play with?

[Cobweb95]

I would say that my 3 dcs have an average amount and range of toys. I don't think we're excessive, but they certainly have more than enough.

Was just thinking recently that whenever they play really well, either together or alone, it's not actually with any of their toys. Today it was dry and sunny for the first time in ages so I put bikes, scooters, roller skates out for them. When I looked out of the window to check they were ok, dd1 and dd2 were sitting under a tree engrossed in some make-believe game and ds was collecting ladybirds. Now they are inside, ds is making a Pokemon book with paper, pens, scissors etc, and the dds have taken cardboard boxes from the garage and made houses in them.

I regularly go through their stuff and donate toys to charity, but I'm thinking now, could I be really drastic about this?

Has anyone done that or does everyone else's dcs actually play with their stuff?

ds 1 (nearly9) plays with his PSP star wars lego and a trampoline

ds2 (6) plays with fiddly things like gogos pebbles, paper clips, gravel stones and the trampoline

dd (14) uses her lap top and her flip camera and the trampoline

Ds (aged 9) does play with his stuff, but it's always the same things. His top two toys are Playmobil (he is currently setting up a robbery/police scene!) and Lego. He also does quite a bit of drawing, and reads.

The other thing he is into is cricket, so he will sometimes go out and practise his fielding in the garden.

He has quite a few other toys, and he will play with these occasionally (such as K'nex, Meccano, marble run etc). He also has some games and jigsaws, but rarely plays with these except for a few Top Trumps games.

I have already got rid of a lot of his "younger" toys, but I still think he has several things he doesn't play with.

I think if all he had was paper and pencils, books, Playmobil, Lego, cricket stuff and some cuddly toys for bed, he would be more than happy. A lot of the other toys he has have been given to him as presents, but he has never been very interested in them.

If you think about it, what they actually DO play with ,you could fit into a shoe box

Haha, that's not the case with us as ds has masses of Playmobil. It does all get played with though....

DD (12) plays with Wii/PS, action figures (Harry Potter, Dr Who, Twilight), art stuff, trampoline.

DD (8) art stuff, GoGos, trampoline, bike, go-cart(she loves being outside.)

I had a massive clear out, it's surprised with how little you're left with, and they don't miss anything.

DD1 (11) loves cratfy things she "does" rather than plays

DS2 (9) likes to play out or on the PS, he loves doing science experiments but does not really do toys much either.

DS3 (6) loves everything that has to do with aliens or dinosaures.

DD4 (3) likes puzzles and anything she sould not be playing with She loves dressing up as well.

We have qite a lot of board games or cards games we play as a family on rainy days.

I am the one who gwets sentimental with their belongings but I think if I was to clear out, there is not much they would really really miss.

That's what I'm thinking. How many Barbies does a girl really need fgs????

I think if I asked them they would suddenly become very attached to it all. The alternative is for stuff to disappear in the night....?

DS 6 plays with small (and larger) cars, Lego, paper and pencils and things like gogos. If that was all he had he woukd be fine. Also soft toys which are needed in bed and played with at other times. I think he could have fewer. He disagrees.

DD 4 plays with soft animals, especially cats, ponies, dolls occasionally, paper, pencils, card, glue. Does play with aymobil a bit and her dolls house.

We also have board games and jigsaws which would be missed if they weren't there.

There is a lot of unplayed with "stuff" though .

At the moment:

DS1 (10) Lego and Nintendo DSi.

DD (8) Build a Bear and other teddies and Go-Gos in increasingly complex game with DS2. Also Puppy in my Pocket.

DS2 (6) See DD. Go-Gos have a self-made football stand and a pitch to play on.

So I guess they do play with toys. We have a lot that are rarely played with tho I do go through them regularly.

I see Lego and Go-Gos are a bit of a running theme here.

I love the Go-Go thing actually - they don't have any apparent play value, yet my 3 all play with them for ages, making them into teams, giving them names etc etc.

Mine go through phases of things. I'm quite ruthless in rehoming toys that aren't played with much and don't earn their shelf space.

Currently popular with ds1 (3.10) is Playmobil knights' stuff (other Playmobil out of favour), jigsaws, playdough, remote controlled car, marble run.
NOT in favour at the moment Lego, cars/garage, colouring and arty stuff. They'll make a come back.

Ds1 has discovered the world of computer games, wii, and nintendo ds, thanks to dh and would dearly love to do that all day long.

Ds2 (2) likes cars and making towers with bricks, and can take or leave most other toys. Currently spends almost all waking hours jumping on sofas and beds and trashing things.

Dd1 (3.6) likes dressing up, role playing schools, dressing up barbies and jigsaws.

Dd2 (1.6) likes pushing dolls around in prams, cars and garage and stealing her sisters toys and making her cry!

DS (6)

GoGos - has GoGo Land in his cupboard
Speed Stacks
Doctor Who sonic pan and screwdrivers
Pens/Paper/Pencilcases/Art stuff
Chess/Draughts
Match Attax
Bike/scooter/tennis racquet/Football

DD (3.5)

GoGos
Dolls
Kitchen and play food
Handbags
Cuddly toys - role play tea parties and putting hair clips on them
Scooter
Play Doh
Cutting/gluing/sticking

Lots of plastic crap I need to get rid of. Spring cull, when I've time. Although I do always think I should just hide the crap and then bring it out 6 months later and they will be delighted and play with it again. Normally they only do thbis for a day and then it gathers dust again so prob not worth it.

Ds (3y2m) plays with his toy story figures NON stop and his dressing up stuff also his tower of doom and fire station. Oh and his playhouse when in garden. Everything else I could probably get rid of.

The DSs (4.2 and 5.11) play with cars, jigsaws, Vtech camera and soft toys inside and balls, bike, tricycle, scooter and trampoline in the garden. They do a bit of drawing, colouring and looking at/reading books too.

Lego, toy cars, scooter, trampoline, bike,
ds is 7.

we bought him a DS for Christmas this year, he isnt interested in it.
We dont own anything like wee machines or x boxes.
He is a very action packed kid.

I was thinking about that this morning. I took DS (2.5) to the park to kick his ball around and thought that on a price-per-use basis, that ball has to be the best thing we ever bought him! Must have been £3 max and he uses it as much as he can.

I think if we got rid of everything bar his books, playdough, teddies and selection of balls, he wouldn't mind much. His favourite thing to draw with is a ball point pen.

Ds1 (8) plays with his football table, his Dr Who figures, knights, playmobil, lego, bike

Dd (6) plays with a HUGE range of things - favourites are wooden food/cooking stuff, soft toys, Polly Pocket, pens/paper/craft stuff/Hama beads, Papo figures, knitting, playing piano/cello (have included these as she spends a lot of free time doing this for fun), bike,

Ds2 (3) - Woody and Buzz, Lightning McQueen + other toy cars, brio railway

They also all spend a LOT of time on the climbing frame in the garden, kicking balls around, playing with tennis rackets etc.

Dd did play a lot with her doll's house, and ds with his plastic knights and playmobil toys, so those were certainly not wasted.

oooh...we haven't got any gogos - now I'm wondering....NO NO NO the point is to get RID of things....

Funny the differences - none of my 3 have shown any interest in kicking a ball. I've tried...

Now I think about it the craft things do get used, but the games...I'd say there are 3 or 4 that we always play - guess who, connect 4, frustration, twister. It's the old favourites isn't it?

DD aged 3.8 would be happy enough if we removed all her toys apart from:

dollies
dressing up clothes
bears
paper, crayons, pencils, paint
toy phone
handbags/shoes (although probably classed as dressing up stuff).
computer.

She is also happy with an assortment of blankets and boxes, ideally not hers

DS (nearly 3) has ONE toy chest and TWO book shelves and that's it... anything that doesn't fit in the toy chest gets removed... would consider buying him another book shelf but refuse to spend evenings picking up pieces of plastic crap - at the mo takes me 5 minutes to shove it all into toy box.

In any event, he mostly plays with my 'smelly things' (lotions, potions, soaps, bath bombs, lip balms... is he weird or what, I wonder?!)

Oh, and a few regular things like soft animals and annoying loud toys (drum, electronic keyboard).

(Am 34 weeks with Number Two, though, and patience and tolerance at all-time low....)

cushions and blankets - seemingly anything at all can be made with them. And anything on wheels.

They both have a dolls house, which gets lots of use.

One that makes me laugh is dd1's love of a rather nasty 1980s polyester pillow case - it's been a lot of things in its time. And washes really well, with no need to iron. Bargain!