The downside of buying your child too many toys

Is your home overflowing with toys? According to knowledgeable and experienced child psychologists more isn’t always better when it comes to toys. In fact studies have ascertained that too many toys can have adverse effects. In this brief but nonetheless detailed article we explore the downside of having too many toys.

Adverse effects of having too many toys

Inability to enjoy playing with everyday objects

When kids have too many toys they lose interest in everyday objects. When they have just enough toys they still have the interest to creatively explore everyday objects and have fun. For instance a ball of yarn tossed back and forth as a playing ball is a great example of how kids transform everyday items into toys. With too many toys at their disposal, kids will not be excited to explore everyday items.

Increased sibling rivalry and fights

Most parents mistakenly assume that too many toys will kids busy and prevent sibling fights. With limited resources sibling learn to share what they have. This helps them communicate and interact better. However when each of the siblings independently has too much there is no need to interact with each other. In fact kids develop a sense of possession for their toys and will not want to share. This cause more sibling rivalry and leads to fights.

Kids develop short attention spans

Most parents use toys as a way o keep their kids busy and leads to them buying too many toys. What these parents don’t know is that the more toys you buy your kid, the less time they have to explore each toy. With fewer toys a child has the time to explore one particular one and how to play with it. They creatively make use of it which helps them develop a better attention span.

Take less care of their toys

When children know that they don’t have too many toys, they will invest their time and efforts in taking care of what they possess. Kids with less value what they have more. For instance if they have less car toys, they will value them and take care of them so that they don’t break. Its human and also applies to kids; less toys means they will be valued more.

Too many toys will spoil your children

Buying your child too many toys will not only spoil your kids but also foster a sense of entitlement. How many toys you buy them in the beginning creates a precedence and standard of expectation. For instance if on their birthday you give them 10 toys, they will be disappointed if you give them 5 on Christmas. Giving kids too many toys makes them incapable of understanding the ‘concept of enough’

Inability to find happiness and contentment in simplicity

Consistently rewarding good deeds and achievements with toys tells kids that they can only find satisfaction in material items. Every achievement and good deed does not have to be rewarded with a trip to the toy store. Sometimes a simple hug, praises and spending quality time with each other will make your kids happy and they will also feel appreciated. Finding alternative ways to reward kids helps them see value in other things that are not material.

Sensory overload

Too much too soon is not good for a growing baby whose brain is developing fast. Keep in mind that in the eyes of an infant ever single thing is completely new. Too many toys will tire your kid with too much information that their tender minds cannot handle. With sensory overload the kids can’t focus on one activity and keeps moving from one thing o another. This deters the development of important skills such as ability to focus, concentrate and focus on one activity at a time.

Conclusion

Too little or too much is a relative term. What might seem like enough for one parent can be over the top for another parent. Know your child so that you can determine what is enough and what is too much.