Toy Overabundance: An Opportunity to Educate and Share

It is the morning of December 25th And, if you have children or adolescents at homeit is also likely that there are remains of wrapping paper and tape on the floor, and also that a race track is blocking the way to the kitchen, or that the new stuffed animals, princesses and superheroes have taken over the sofa.

in his book Too Many Toys (too many toysScholastic, 2008), celebrated picture book author David Shannon introduces Spencer, a little boy suffering from a case of excess belongings, which litter his bedroom floor and pile up in his closet, they hide under the bed, roll down the stairs and reach the living room.

In addition, it has plastic cars and a bicycle for the garden, ducklings and submersible ships for the bathroom, quiet toys that help him expand his mind, and noisy and engaging ones that “fry his brain”.

Everyone gives him toys. Until the day Daddy gets tired of little plastic pieces getting stuck in her feet and Mommy falls with all her clean clothes tangled in a car track. And the negotiations to release the house begin.

Do you know how many toys your children have? And if you wanted to cut back, could you face resistance?

Each gift represents a person

“I think the time of Christmas is a good time to teach children to give”, begins by proposing the educator Eduardo Molina. “It seems to me that parents should encourage children to make a list of people to whom they want to give a present. The key is that their children become aware that they consider these people.

In relation to the gifts that the child receives, this must be a consequence of the above. That is, parents should help children to become aware that the gift they receive means someone thought of themand you must learn to appreciate that situation.

“If I am asked to quantify, I think that one gift per person is adequate; but what is essential is that the child feels, more than the gift, that whoever offers it has him very much in mind as a person”.

Christmas is a date to share

You can not put a number when talking about toys, agrees the pedagogue Marta Ycaza Oelkhe. “Imagine a child who is very good at making puzzles and enjoys each time he receives one, each time with a greater number of pieces. It does not matter in that case that he has many ”.

On the other hand, he considers, many stuffed animals are not worth it, because “the boy or the girl will establish a bond with few. The others are to be filled with dust”. When there is a fan of superheroes, it is natural that the boys want to have a new one for their collection. “A ball is necessary for the little ones; but, as they get older, someone likes football more, another basketball…, and the number of balls grows”.

The ideal thing to give without falling into excess and without creating more accumulation for parents is know the boy and the girl well to hit. And there are ways to handle the excess. “Once a year, the boys should check their toys and see which ones they don’t use; and, if they are in good condition, donate them”. You have to take advantage of the Christmas holidays, which are the best time to do it. “It makes more sense to the reason for the celebration.”

Choose toys that allow bonding

There are too many objects when the child is not playing with them and his room is overcrowded with visual and auditory stimuli. How to know which ones no longer go? There are several signs.

As the child grows, he “migrates” from certain toys, which stagnate in boxes and baskets, indicates the neuropsychologist and master’s degree in educational psychology Sarita Jotteaux. See what things have the child’s attention, and analyze if the rest is of use and benefit to the family, and decide.

See if your child can’t pick a toy, but is hesitating between everyone and doesn’t know where to start. Another indicator of excess is that your child does not develop the ability to save-care for toys, something important for their performance and autonomy. If you don’t take care of them, you may not appreciate them, you take them for granted, precisely because of their abundance. An apparent solution is for adults to collect everything, but this does not allow one of the functions of toys to be fulfilled, which is to learn to take care of something.

A toy shouldn’t just be seen as something for the child, but as a family item, says Jotteaux. “Whether it’s a doll, a didactic object or a resource, it comes from a person with whom the child has a bond”, whether from family or friendship. “It may be a plastic bottle with rocks, but if the dad gave it to him, it’s meaningful and has a sense of belonging.”

Therefore, when delivering a gift, take care of manners. Don’t just leave it on the table. Have a meeting with the child: “Look, I have this surprise for you. I have thought about you”. Look at him, put yourself at his height, embrace him. Even if you give away teaching equipment, don’t do it from a distance or as a duty.

A child does not really need an abundance of toys. “Ideally, you should have games that stimulate the cognitive part and the language, especially those on the table, which are familiar.”

Choose screen-breaking toys

We are in a consumer society, and this can lead us to thinking of the gift as a thing, forgetting that it is an experience. Overabundance is not advisable, because the more objects they have, the more scattered children are. And the origin is in adults, says Marcela Frugone, teacher and researcher on family, disability and inclusion issues at Casa Grande University.

The family should consult with each other so that the gifts have variety and coordination, and not fill the children with paints (even if they like to paint) or dolls of a certain brand. “We have difficulty concentrating. Too many of the same things bore us, and others are needed that could be easier and sustain the child’s enthusiasm in the longer term”.

And what to do on December 25 with your children’s new acquisitions? Think family. “Behind the toy there is a useful life, and everything has an ecological impact”, especially the paper, plastic and cardboard wrappers. Even if you’re tired, have that educational moment with your kids, recommends Frugone. Talk about recycling and sort disposable materials. But also talk about how you will use the toy.

Frugone proposes to create some small rules. “You have been given this so that you can paint when you get to school, until we sit down to eat.” Also remember who these gifts come from. “How beautiful what he has given you! How did uncle think of you!” So it can be mentioned that the toy must last, not be destroyed, and that it is made to share.

How to choose gifts creatively? See its potential to integrate the family and to replace the screen. “We give the screen instead of encouraging the child to play, because when he plays he messes up, interrupts, asks…”; a good toy will make your child “break with the screen”.

What if your child received a device? With more reason, we must talk about the use. Perhaps on a long car ride or in waiting times, but not when other toys are available with which he can learn rules of coexistence, such as lending and returning, respecting schedules, organizing, working as a team.

Now that you have done a count and it turns out that there are things that are repeated or excessive, think if you know of others who have yet to receive a gift. Review together what they are using, what is in good shape and can be passed on to a new owner. And that this talk is a meeting space, for conversation, and also for education. “We teach the principles we believe in; We remind you of caring for the environment and solidarity with others. (AND)