Society has mades us believe that our children need (even want!) a lot of toys. Shelves are filled with hundreds of toys, all with bright lights and sounds to attract children. It has gone way overboard, sucking kids in and putting guilt on parents who don’t buy their kids 10 toys for Christmas. The truth is, kids are pretty simple. Give them a bowl of water, some stickers or finger paint, stacking toys or a race car track, blocks to build a castle or sand to make a tunnel and they’ll be entertained.

My son just turned one, and even still, he very rarely plays with toys. We don’t have a lot to begin with, but he finds that tupperware, utensils, and random day to day objects are much more interesting. He has 3 baskets of toys that aren’t even all full, and one ride on truck toy. I plan to keep his toys to a minimum and I’m going to try very hard not to get roped into buying him every gadget out there. I simply don’t think having a lot of toys is necessary.

Sure, our children do need toys. Toys aren’t bad at all. Toys provide learning opportunities, a creative outlet and plain ol’ fun! But an entire playroom devoted to toys plus the corner in the family room plus the bedroom? Too much in my opinion...

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