How many toys are just enough?
As I sort through and make my way in the myriad of toys that my daughter's room contains - I curse myself for the Nth time to allow the situation to come this far. 😓
So let me be clear - Half of the toys/craft things/art supplies/board games that she owns - we have NOT bought them! Seriously!! A new parent or someone from a different generation might not be able to fathom what I am saying.. but its True!
In the 7 years of her life - she has been counting her toys on Birthdays, Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Visits-from extended family-living abroad.., friends' birthdays etc etc. Most of the times I used to shrug my shoulders thinking "I haven't bought them.. She will play with them at some time...How can I just chuck them off?" But the fact is that I should have. I just should have!!
Nevertheless here are the disadvantages that I can count of having SO MANY TOYS! -
-It's a CHALLENGE to maintain them. Excuse my loud tone in this post.. but I mean it. Think before investing or accepting so many toys for your little one. In no time a few boxes will become half a cupboard and soon it will cover an entire room!
-It COSTS too much money. Gone are the days when toy shops were just 1-2 in our vicinity with limited stuff. With vendors thronging malls and shopping outlets - it is impossible not to be attracted to beautifully crafted toys arranged oh-just so nicely in the shiny stores. We end up spending!! Whether it is for our own kid or nephew or birthday party of kiddo's friend. We are spending way too much on toys!
-Not all toys are worth the Investment. By investment I not only mean the money spent on it but it also includes the card-board box that comes with, the papers used to make its boards, manuals and plastic for its tokens, metallic batteries etc.
-Toys occupy just too much SPACE. Thanks to shifting to multi-storey buildings in metro cities we are having much less space for our nuclear families than earlier. We need pretty much everything for each individual in the 2 or 3 bhk apartment that we want to reside in. And I know most moms are nodding their heads by now - these plastic thingys take just toooo much of space in our abodes.
-Sorting & Organizing takes forever. Even if you have a designated place and multiple containers for these little space-consumers, you will need to Sort and Organize them regularly. Sometimes once or twice a day too - depending upon how old is your child. Teaching that to budding debaters is again a task.
-Bad Alternatives for Human Interaction. It might just sound absurd to many new parents.. but trust me it is. I have BTDT and learnt it the hard way. No matter how much you spend on getting the most fancy battery-operated gadgets for your child(ren) - they cannot substitute for a sibling/friend/parent willing to spend that quality time with them.
Is there anything that I missed? Feel free to add in the Comments please. 😇
No. Don't put an end to getting good quality, functional & amazing toys for your little ones yet. This was almost a rant post when I had to say it out loud to learn from it and start taking actions for it. Coming up soon is a post where I will share how I have been dealing with this and how can I get better at it. 😊
Stay tuned!