Simplifying the toys in your home will reduce clutter, stress, and improve the quality of your child’s play. This is Part 1 of 2 in an explanation of the meaning of toys, their importance, and the best way to declutter them.

When kids have too many toys, they get the same feeling that we do when we have too many tabs open on our computer. It’s a feeling of overwhelm and an inability to focus, in other words, it’s overstimulating. This is the last thing we want our kids to feel, especially if we are the ones in charge of purchasing and choosing toys for them while they’re small. When kids play, their brains are hard at work growing and learning. When, however, their environment is overwhelming with too much, their brains go into overdrive. They have trouble focusing, often not knowing what to do next, or even what they’re looking for.

They get overwhelmed to say the least.

Kids jump from toy to toy, distracted, overwhelmed, like there is too much stimulation for them to process. Think of it from a different perspective. When you have one device, say your phone, in front of you with only one or two apps open, you can focus better and get your work done more easily. The same is true for our kids, as well.

The Benefits of Decluttering Your Child’s Toys 

Simplifying the toys in your child’s environment will cut clutter, reduce stress, and improve the way your children play. Here are some of the benefits and why it’s important to declutter often.

Your kids will feel less stressed.

Like adults, physical clutter creates stress and raises our cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone. This can reduce our efficiency and ability to focus, which also has an impact on how satisfied we feel in life. Toys are a major source of clutter in homes with small children. Reducing the number of toys in the home can decrease stress and improve focus and satisfaction. This is true not only for kids, but for their parents, too.

Reducing the number of toys fosters more creative and independent play.

Research demonstrates that, when provided with fewer toys, kid engage in longer periods of play with a single toy. Fewer toys allow kids to focus, explore and play more creatively.

Kids value and care for their toys more.

In general, human beings place a higher value on scarce objects and a lower value on those things that are abundant. Kids with fewer toys will value them more and may even take better care of them. In addition, once you simplify your toys, you may never accumulate them as you once did. Most likely, you’ll purchase fewer, better toys, and buy with intention rather than on impulse. 

The Difference in Types of Toys

Open-Ended Toys: These are toys that promote physical, creative and/or imaginative play. They can be played with in a variety of ways by both boys and girls and kids of different ages. These include climbing structures, dress up or costumes, balls, Play-Doh, art supplies, LEGOs and blocks. To encourage longer, more independent, and imaginative play, you’ll want the majority of your toys to be open-ended.

Closed-Ended Toys: These are toys that typically only have one function and can be completed or mastered. For older kids, this might be a puzzle or a rocket ship LEGO kit. They are good for building attention and teaching task completion, but they typically have an endpoint or shorter play experience. Most close-ended toys can be played with again but your child with either finish it or get bored and need to move on to something else.

It is important to know and understand the difference between these two types of toys so that you will know what you are purchasing for your child and the benefit of each. Next, we will move on to decluttering your toy stash to find out exactly how to go about reducing what you own.