Is your child losing interest in his toys? Are you tempted to buy something new to add some excitement to the toy box? Before you pull out the credit card, you might want to take a look at what you already have on hand.
Can you help your child see their toys from a new perspective, to consider new combinations and possibilities? Think about how poets and artists use juxtaposition to spark new ideas. Wooden blocks in a puddle, dolls living in an old boot instead of a doll's house, children's games in the bath.
Don't just look in the toy box. Search the kitchen, the bedroom and, of course, the recycling bin.
What would happen if you placed blocks in the dollhouse, tissue paper in cardboard rolls or tape and craft materials at the edge of the wooden railway?
Your child would be inspired.
Unusual combinations would spark new ideas and his play would take unforeseen directions.
Your child would become more creative and resilient, better able to see the fun in everyday objects and play independently.
How to get more fun out of fewer toys?
Here's a quick way to find interesting combinations:
Take a sheet of paper and draw a line from top to bottom. On the left, make a list of all your toys. It is not necessary to write down everything, the main categories are enough. Building blocks, figures, magnetic parts, dolls, vehicles, etc.
On the right, make a list of the most interesting things you have around the house that are safe to play with. Trays, pillows, absorbent paper tubes, adhesive tape, natural materials.
Now draw lines connecting the toys to these objects. You could come up with combinations such as:
- A marble run made of play dough
- Paper costumes for rag dolls
- A duct tape road on the hallway floor for small cars
- A miniature world inside a cut-out cardboard box.
- Acorns and rocks to cook in the play kitchen
- A play curtain for a cardboard theater.
Eventually you'll want your child to come up with the ideas themselves, but there's no harm in playing together and offering suggestions to get started.
At this point, you may decide that you still need one or two toys to complete or enrich the play possibilities.
Our message is simply that it's not how many toys you have that's important, but what you can do with them.
A vivid imagination is worth a lot more than a overflowing toy box.
