As parents, we all want our children to be happy and engaged in play. We spend hours scouring toy stores and online marketplaces to find the perfect toys that will stimulate our child's imagination and provide hours of entertainment. But what if we told you that fewer toys can actually lead to more meaningful play for your child? It might seem counterintuitive but research has shown that children play more creatively and learn better when they have access to fewer toys.
So, how can you make the most of your child's toy collection? It's all about being intentional with what toys you leave out and how many you have available at any one time.
Toy rotation is a simple and effective way to finding this balance. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. What you'll need
To start a toy rotation system, you'll need:
To decide on a space where you will store toys that are out of rotation
This can be in a closet, on separate shelving or even under your bed. Wherever you decide, it should be out-of-sight for your child but easily accessible for you to make rotating toys a stress-free and seamless experience. I emphasise easy access because you won't want to unpack an entire closet of containers each time you want to swap out toys.
Containers, baskets or boxesThink clear containers, deep baskets that you can see through or stackable boxes that you can clearly label. Choose storage that will make the most sense for the space you have chosen, making the most use of vertical space.
Elevate your organisation by using smaller containers within larger containers.
Label tags or stickers
Labels and stickers will make things easier to categorise and find. They also give a satisfying finish to your orgnanisation system.
2. How to categorise the toys and materials
There are no rules for categorising toys and materials that are out of rotation. Choose a system that works for you, considering the ideas below:
- topics of interest such as animals, space and nature discovery
- age-specific categories such as toys for infants, 1-2 years, 2-3 years
- different subjects such as maths, geography and reading
- schema specific categories such as objects and utensils used in exploring the schemas of enveloping, trajectory, enclosing, rotation, transporting and connecting.
3. How many toys should you leave out?
We suggest 6-8 toys be made available for each child, starting on the lower end while your child is younger and increasing the number as they grow older.
If at any point, you feel frustrated by the amount of mess, or how your child is engaging with the materials, it’s a sign you have too much out or that the toys are not correctly matched with your child’s interests at this time.
4. How often should you rotate?
Rotate when you feel your child’s interests and level of skill change. It’s good practice to review the toys in rotation each week to see if they are still of interest to your child but there is no need to rotate out any toys that frequently.
Sometimes a child is so engrossed in developing one skill that they haven’t turned their mind to the other displayed activities. Often, all it takes to pique your child’s interest in an activity already on display is to change how the activity is displayed and its location.
A cheeky way of testing whether your child has played with an activity, if they're great at independent play and are putting activities back in place, is to hide a little wrapped treat inside the tray. If that treat is still there when you review for toy rotation, it means you can:
- change location
- change presentation, or
- rotate out the activity.
5. Decluttering toys
This is also a great time to declutter your toys. Sort all toys into three piles: toys to keep, toys to donate, and toys to discard. Depending on the age of your child, involving them in this decision-making process can build foundations for respecting their belongings, empathy for those with less, and letting go of things.
In our home, we have a dedicated donation bag that the children know they can put things into once they lose interest in a toy. Their ability to do this was formed through habit from my routine questioning of whether they were ready to let go of certain items, and explaining (without placing pressure on them to decide either way) the flow on effects of their decision.
Being intentional with the number and type of toys you leave out for your child can have a significant effect on their learning and behavior. Toy rotation is a simple and effective way to find this balance. By following the above tips, you can create a stress-free and seamless toy rotation system that will lead to more meaningful play.
* 'Toys' includes anything your child plays with including activities and materials that are both closed and open-ended.
