Saturday 17 March 2012

Children and toys.

As soon as a child arrives in your life, so do the toys and they just keep coming!

They are expensive and messy but kids love them.

My motto is a place for everything.  If toys can be cleared out of sight at the end of the day you can relax and enjoy your "grown-up time" without tripping over my little pony's and lego all evening.  A large ottoman that ties in with the rest of your decor makes a nice toy box and can also be sat on if need be.  Pine blanket boxes come in many different sizes and are readily available in antique shops these also make great toy boxes for the living room.  For toys with small or many parts look out for plastic containers to keep them together, this can be as simple as an ice cream tub or I find vanish containers very useful and easy to decorate.  make sure that your children can open them by themsleves though.

For soft items such as dressing up clothes and teddies a colourful pop up laundry basket makes ideal storage, these are also very inexpensive.

Toys can also be expensive.  If you want to buy a particularly expensive item for your child ask relatives to contribute.  For example for my eldest daughters 3rd birthday we wanted to get her a dolls house.  We bought the dolls house for her and grandparents, aunts and uncles all bought sets of furniture to fill it.  It worked out really well and although it required a little organisation to ensure we didn't get 3 kitchen sets and no beds, it was woth the effort.
Also before you invest in an expensive toy see if you can borrow one or let your child try one through a toy library or local toddler group.  I always find it useful to watch my little ones at toddler groups to find out which toys they are enjoyed most and would be worth having at home.

I keep a large box on top of my girls wardrobe full of toys for "rainy days".  On days when we are stuck in and bored we get this box down & my girls really enjoy seeing toys they haven't played with for a while

Finally a great place to get rid of toys your children have outgrown and pick up new ones are car boot sales, charity shops and school fairs.  Gumtree is also a great place to pick up new and get rid of old toys.  Sort through your children's toys at least once year, more often when they are very small and changing rapidly.  Older children can help with the sort out and clean up toys before selling them I believe this is a good habit to encourage children into.

5 comments:

  1. Sorry but don't be misguided by what children play with outside the home - having watched mine when they were younger and thinking they liked playing with various toys I'll buy one of those - to find they really didn't want one after all. Also if borrowed from wherever chances are they then don't one of their own! No guarantees with picking toys I am afraid!

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    1. Thats such a shame, I have found this has really worked for me. Buying toys can certainly be a tricky business though. Thanks for visiting and commenting.

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  2. Brilliant storage suggestions! I only very recently cottoned on to the ottoman idea but they can look so pretty and be an extra seat as you say. I get my big storage tubs from Asda (online and in store) and they are so cheap - something like £3 for a big one and £3 for a smaller one. It's the only way to keep control of all those toys! And I also find Ebay is great for getting hold of things cheaply that children like but which might just be a phase. Like you say it's great sometimes too to club together and get something you'd really like. How gorgeous to have a doll house! xxx

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  3. Clearly I meant to say £2 for a smaller one in my last comment, otherwise it wouldn't be as good value!! :D

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    1. Hi Fiona
      Thanks for the tip off about boxes in Asda I certinly use these a lot s will be checking these out!

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