Toy Reform
My daily "high blood pressure moment": toy pick-up time. I'm blessed that I don't have to spend an hour each day in rush-hour traffic, but that doesn't mean I don't have times when I feel like tearing my hair out. They're everywhere - wall to wall toys. I am not a maniacal mother intent on keeping all joy out of her children's lives by throwing out every toy in the house. All I crave is a little moderation here.
I'm one of those individuals who feel that if a child is physically able to get a toy out, he should be able to put it away. My children can put them away, but it would take the entire day for them to do it if I made them do it all.
About a year ago I read an article by a Catholic woman named Regina Doman about toys. This mother claimed to be a "toy reductionist". While she clearly has some different ideas than I do about toys, I can certainly sympathize. And her article got me to thinking about toys in general.
The basic problem seems to be the sheer number of toys, and the fact that most of these toys have a large number of small pieces. Take for example your basic shape sorter. They're great for helping little ones learn to recognize shapes. But each shape somehow inevitably ends up in a different corner of the house, minus the few that wind up at the bottom of the toy box. Multiply that by several dozen different toys with small pieces, and you've got your basic recipe for CHAOS. Especially when I'm sure we probably have more than just several dozen different toys with small pieces. My husband has been tempted at times to bring a shovel into the house (or even a bulldozer), to clear a path through the living areas.
I suppose we could make our children keep all of their toys in their rooms, and never bring them out to the living area, but that thought just doesn't "jive" with me. I like to have my children playing in the living area. I don't want them to feel like I'm not interested in having them close to me (not true!).
Also, the mess itself is not an issue. Of course children will make messes. That's what they do best. What I'm having a problem with is the relative size of the mess. It's the zillions of little pieces. Which is a shame, because many of these toys I would consider to be educational. Legos, construction sets, Mr. Potato Head (not that I consider Mr. Potato Head educational), Legos, wooden blocks, doctor kits, Legos, puzzles, shape sorters...Did I mention Legos?
Here is what I want: I want my children to be able to clean up their toys in 10 minutes in the morning right before school starts. To that end, I have begun "encouraging" ;-) them to pick up their toys as they go along throughout the day. Then in the morning, I give them 10 minutes to clean up, and whatever they aren't able to pick up, I confiscate. It is my hope that they will figure out on their own that it is in their best interest to keep their things picked up. Otherwise they will lose them.
Lest you think I'm a complete toy scrooge: when they are able to pick up all their toys in ten minutes, they are allowed to pick one toy to pull out of the confiscated toy heap. That hasn't happened very many times yet. Pretty soon, they'll either get the idea or they won't have any toys left to play with. I suppose I would be ok with either proposition.
Ahhhh...I can feel my blood pressure returning to normal proportions already.
I'm one of those individuals who feel that if a child is physically able to get a toy out, he should be able to put it away. My children can put them away, but it would take the entire day for them to do it if I made them do it all.
About a year ago I read an article by a Catholic woman named Regina Doman about toys. This mother claimed to be a "toy reductionist". While she clearly has some different ideas than I do about toys, I can certainly sympathize. And her article got me to thinking about toys in general.
The basic problem seems to be the sheer number of toys, and the fact that most of these toys have a large number of small pieces. Take for example your basic shape sorter. They're great for helping little ones learn to recognize shapes. But each shape somehow inevitably ends up in a different corner of the house, minus the few that wind up at the bottom of the toy box. Multiply that by several dozen different toys with small pieces, and you've got your basic recipe for CHAOS. Especially when I'm sure we probably have more than just several dozen different toys with small pieces. My husband has been tempted at times to bring a shovel into the house (or even a bulldozer), to clear a path through the living areas.
I suppose we could make our children keep all of their toys in their rooms, and never bring them out to the living area, but that thought just doesn't "jive" with me. I like to have my children playing in the living area. I don't want them to feel like I'm not interested in having them close to me (not true!).
Also, the mess itself is not an issue. Of course children will make messes. That's what they do best. What I'm having a problem with is the relative size of the mess. It's the zillions of little pieces. Which is a shame, because many of these toys I would consider to be educational. Legos, construction sets, Mr. Potato Head (not that I consider Mr. Potato Head educational), Legos, wooden blocks, doctor kits, Legos, puzzles, shape sorters...Did I mention Legos?
Here is what I want: I want my children to be able to clean up their toys in 10 minutes in the morning right before school starts. To that end, I have begun "encouraging" ;-) them to pick up their toys as they go along throughout the day. Then in the morning, I give them 10 minutes to clean up, and whatever they aren't able to pick up, I confiscate. It is my hope that they will figure out on their own that it is in their best interest to keep their things picked up. Otherwise they will lose them.
Lest you think I'm a complete toy scrooge: when they are able to pick up all their toys in ten minutes, they are allowed to pick one toy to pull out of the confiscated toy heap. That hasn't happened very many times yet. Pretty soon, they'll either get the idea or they won't have any toys left to play with. I suppose I would be ok with either proposition.
Ahhhh...I can feel my blood pressure returning to normal proportions already.
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