Being someone diagnosed with an OCD I try my best to keep everything in it’s place. But this isn’t always successful as I have a hyper active toddler who keeps me running the whole day. Since a few days I started noticing that my daughter’s room was actually running out of space to keep her toys. It was then I realised why kids need fewer toys. Finally after a month I decided to declutter a little.

I sat down and within a few minutes was actually wondering where did all these toys come from. Occasionally, be it friends , relatives or our own family members bring gifts for the little one which in most of the cases are toys. It is actually like giving them endless options which isn’t always good. The question here comes how much is too much?

Well, I feel that where one one hand toys are something that every child has the right to play with but on the other hand the amount of toys should be limited. Kids don’t always need a cupboard full of toys, they will be equally happy if the number is somewhat less. My little one anyway gets bored of a particular thing very easily only because she has too many options. I decided to giveaway a few toys and noticed a little change.

THINGS YOU WILL NOTICE WHEN CHOICES ARE FEW

• They look after things – When a child knows that he/she has endless options they will never take care of their toys but on the other hand knowing they have fewer options they will always try to take care of their toys and maintain it.
• They explore more – Their imagination is limited within a room full of toys with too many options, with a fewer options they might want to do some other activity or go out which obviously helps them explore much.
• Every new addition makes them happy – Adding a new toy to a room full of toys won’t make much of a difference but adding a toy to a hand full of a collection definitely will. The will be much more happy to receive a new toy and value the same more.
• less clutter – Of course fewer toys means less clutter and a lot more space around the room.
• Child becomes family oriented – Just like adults are always stuck to their phones, kids too spend a lot of time with toys. As I said earlier too much of everything is bad. Kids should know the value of family time and learn how important it is to spend time with the members of the family.

I have been noticing these changes in m daughter. We have more to talk about, she wants our attention, she wants to explore more and is very inquisitive. There is much more space for her in her room. After she was done playing it hardly took me any time to clear the mess as the toys were limited.

Fewer toys means less clutter, less clutter means less waste. When a child is not spoilt for options he/she knows that if a toy is broken it is gone. Fewer toys help them gain an accountability for their actions.

Have you tried a similar approach with your kids? If yes then do let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check out my blog on activity ideas for toddlers.