When my girls were younger, they didn’t know the difference between $100 hand-carved wooden blocks and a cardboard box.īut as they grow up, I want them to recognize the difference between a quality item that lasts and a piece of junk that just provides a momentary diversion before being discarded.īelieve me - I know that a toy doesn’t have to be expensive to be cherished. I’m not implying that you should only buy high quality toys, just that you should buy some. I never thought I’d see the day that my daughter would willingly trash a bouncy ball and a wind-up frog, but that day has finally come! 3) Buy some high quality toys. But now that their boxes have gotten full, I’ve seen them weeding things out, trading treasures with each other, and really thinking about what they want to put in there in the first place. At first they just put everything they got into their boxes immediately. When the treasure boxes get full, it’s up to them to go through their treasures and decide what must be sacrificed in order to make room for the new treasures.When they bring home junk (aka “treasures”) that they really feel they can’t part with, they must put it in their treasure boxes.I bought each of my girls a clear plastic bin with a lid, and put their names in sticker letters on the top. If we’re going to a movie, restaurant, bowling alley, festival, show, or sporting event, I want to teach them that the experience itself is a reward. I also make a point to say “no” to junk when we’re already doing something that’s fun. Just because there’s a bowl of free plastic spider rings by the register doesn’t mean they have to take one. The kids don’t need the balloon with the insurance company logo, or the rubber wristband at the ball game that’s 10 sizes too big. It’s less about eliminating the junk and more about teaching my kids that happiness and fun isn’t tied to “stuff.”įreebies can be turned down. But in situations where I can control the junk flow, I try my best to say “no.” I’m never going to tell my kids they can’t accept a goodie bag at a birthday party or a reward from their teacher. If you gradually employ these suggestions, however, I think you’ll see a definite payoff. There’s no way that a two-year-old is going to understand the concept of “Made in China,” or that a three-year-old is going to willingly pass up a lollipop dangled in front of his face.Īnd sometimes you just need a Happy Meal toy to buy you 10 seconds of peace in the car before you lose your mind. These are not blanket suggestions that will apply to every age or every situation.
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