How many toys should a child have?

thescouselander

With the impending arrival of a baby scouselander I've been contemplating all things children.

One thing I've been thinking about is toys. Many of your friends with children have acquired inordinate amounts of toys for their children and its not unusual to see rooms stacked floor to ceiling with toys. Unfortunately in our house this just isn't going to work as we dont have the space to spare.

So this got me thinking, where does the balance lie - how many toys should a child have?

ddebski_us

I thought the same before I had my baby. Unfortunately, toys just seem to accumulate.....

And we don't have the space really either, and so our front room looks like a toy shop....

xDx

Imp

They don't need any toys; they will use what ever they can find as a toy - your mobile phone, best china, coffee tables, kitchen knives, ipad, electric drill. Our's loves my retractable tape measure.

thescouselander

ddebski_us wrote: »

I thought the same before I had my baby. Unfortunately, toys just seem to accumulate.....

And we don't have the space really either, and so our front room looks like a toy shop....

xDx

Yes, this is just the scenario I fear. I was thinking of getting a container of some size and making a rule that the number of toys allowed is what will fit in the container. If there are too many toys to fit in the container they will have to be rationalised.

I remember back in my day, all we had to play with was a block of coal and we thought ourselves lucky.

ddebski_us

Thing is, as babies grow, their toys get bigger....

And, when you start to get ruthless and want to clear out some toys, they want to play with them all again and so you end up getting rid of none....

Don't worry about it - nothing more fun in life than watching a child play happily while you enjoy a hot cup of tea in peace

xDx

rachbc

I see friends pics on facebook for huge piles of christmas stuff that will be piled on top of the mountains of plastic fantastic they already own, most of it rarely played with.

We are fairly strict with no of toys - dd has a ikea storage unit with 16 cubby holes - this holds all her toys except art stuff which is not kept in her room and dolls etc who live in her old moses basket! 3 of the cubbies are books, 1 her ipod and charger. There is a box of lego, 1 of dressing up, 1 of play mobile, another cubbie full of sylvanians, another or puzzles and various games, 1 of crafty bits etc etc.

She has the were with all for building dens and within reason is allowed to use household stuff in her play too - she builds obstacle courses with the sofa cushions, makes potions in the kitchen etc. She's 6 as so far doesn't seem to have suffered from never having had the latest shiney flashing bit of electronic plastic 'must have' nonsense

twigpig

We have a bay window and try to keep everything in that space, so when the baby's asleep, toys aren't taking over the whole room. We're also selective in what we send to the grandparents house (as they have a bigger house). They get a lot of the big toys and some of the noisy annoying ones cos we're just mean! :rotfl:

notanewuser

thescouselander wrote: »

Yes, this is just the scenario I fear. I was thinking of getting a container of some size and making a rule that the number of toys allowed is what will fit in the container. If there are too many toys to fit in the container they will have to be rationalised.

I remember back in my day, all we had to play with was a block of coal and we thought ourselves lucky.

:rotfl: I did this last Xmas. Had Toybox made for DD (then 14 months) and ruled "no more than will fit in here".

Fast forward 6 months and there's a playhouse in the garden full of outdoor toys, and by this Xmas the whole of the back of the living room (not small) is full too. There's barely room for her in her (full sized single) bed there are so many soft toys on it.

And that's before you include my pots and pans, iPad, phone, colouring and paints, books and duplo!!!

I have a cull once a month/6 weeks, but the toy mountain just keeps growing!!!

Brallaqueen

3. One musical, one creative and one silent one that doesn't do your head in.

Alikay

It depends on the child: Some will get out lots of toys and get involved with lengthy and intricate play, others will have a favourite which they play with over and over again. One of my foster children's favourite game is stuffing things in carrier bags, and carting them from one end of the room to the other!

I think it's reasonable to limit the amount of stuff they can have around, though, and rotate things if you have room in the loft or garage for storage.

Brallaqueen

how much of the toy mountains you see are toys that were for the children, and how many were toys for the parents to prove to themselves and others that they are good parents?