Feb 06 2007
Toys of a feather flock together?
There is a topic of discussion that has come up in our house and with some friends so I thought I would bring it up here and see what kinds of comments we get.
Toys taking over the house is a fear of ours and we think that part of the problem is the duplication of kinds of toys, or brands of toys, that essentially are the same as something your kid already has, but has a different angle or feature. Or the same kinds of toys don’t work together.
Examples: Interlocking bricks, some might call them Legos, or Duplos, or Megablocks. We have Quatros. They do not work with Megablocks or Duplos.
Or the aforementioned V-Tech toys. Leapfrog has a lot of similar things, but the cartridges won’t work in a V-Tech system. From what I can tell, there isn’t a lot of difference between the two, just some different looks and bells and whistles (some louder than others).
Another example is Little People versus Playmobile. Same concepts, different styles.
So my question is this: do you ask those who are inclined to give your kids toys, to stick to a certain brand or toy type? Do you return/ exchange something that isn’t in the same “system” as something your child has?
It’s open mic people, let’s hear what you have to say.
we knew a family that had a rule of thumb for their kids that they could not have more than 7 toys at a time. this kept down the clutter in their home, taught their kids to take care of and value their toys, and also taught their kids to give excess toys to others less fortunate.
while i can’t say we have stuck to that same rule i like the concept. i rotate the toys in jeremiah’s basket every few weeks so that he doesn’t get bored. it also gives me the chance to evlauate whether he really is playing with a certain toy or if we can give it away.
thankfully most of the people that give jeremiah gifts ask us what we think he would like so that we can make suggestions. we also have an amazon wish list that people can look at and choose gifts from.
That sounds good in theory, but I have to ask what constitutes a toy? I guess a whole “system” like Fuller’s Leapfrog Fridge Phonics set would count as one “toy?” And his bin of quatro blocks would also count as one toy unit? Eeks, and what about little girls (or boys) and their Barbies plus accessories?
It’s kind of hard to know when to stop the madness!
Toys are overrunning our house, too. And I NEVER wanted to have this many toys around. Yet, I refuse to get rid of the extras just now since we do want to have more children.
I say it’s totally appropriate to return/exchange gifts you already have and/or don’t need.
i think “toys” are in groups. so 1 toy would be a box of legos. and parents use discretion as to when one category of toy is getting to be too much.
also, when i rotate toys i don’t always give them away - i just keep a storage box in jeremiah’s closet and take “new” toys out every 2 weeks or so and put the “old” toys in. this helps keep jeremiah interested in the toys that he has. we found if there were too many toys laying around the house he wouldn’t play with any of them - too much choice.
i think that if people are kind enough to ask you what would be appropriate for your child then it is ok to tell them what specific brands or whatever you have at your house.
of course - we have also found that the “toys” that jeremiah plays with the most are boxes, toilet paper rolls, and other things around the house.
I am a toy returner/exchanger, both for things we already have and things that don’t conform to our toy standards (which are known to family) pretty much nothing that has batteries stays. (Lots of wooden toys, things that promote imagination, etc.)
I stay home with them, I have to play with the toys with them and listen to them. Therefore I think I should get a say in the toys, gifts or not. My ILs send cash and my parents comply (they had similar standards) so it isn’t that big of a deal.
We have a playroom with a great organizational system, which I should take pictures of and blog about.