Monday, November 2, 2009

A box-full of 'new' toys, without spending a cent!

Do you know how to provide your small child with a whole lot of fresh toys without having to go out and buy them?

Just do as I did this morning and have a big toy-cleanout. Whether you are putting them away for the next child or taking them to another family or a charity (I was planning all three), pack up your child's most neglected toys and put them in a big box or bag. Or just get them out of their old dusty hiding-place and shine some daylight on them.

If your child is like my three year old (and I suspect they are), they will immediately grab the toys and start avidly playing with them. They will declare undying attachment to the said toys, and absolutely veto your taking them away :)

I had one particular pull-along wagon of unpainted blocks, of strange shapes which didn't really lend themselves to any particular building task, that I picked up at a charity stall. Torsten has never ONCE played with it. Today, 'rescuing' it from the throwaway heap, he found it fascinating!

Anyone else witnessed this phenomenon?

It kind of shows that it's not the toys, but the child's interaction with them (depending on his stage of development) that makes the play.

2 comments:

  1. Around here I try to 'rotate' the toys in batches ... put some away for a month and pull others out. Keeps them all fresh (and by that I mean of interest).

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  2. Absolutely! That takes time and effort, of course, but so does sourcing new toys!

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