Now that the holiday gift-giving season is over, are your children already complaining that they are bored with their toys and games? (Or were they already tired of new toys during the holidays?)
Sheknows.com offers "Tips for beating toy boredom" to help parents manage when they hear that phrases like, "This is boring" or "I don't want to play with this anymore."
"Less is More"
When possible parents and other family members try to give children the toys they want, but sometimes it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Sheknows.com wonders if buying new toys when children get tired of what they have is contributing to the problem.
Rather than continuing to try to bring excitement with new toys, you can donate the ones your child simply does not want to play with. You can also put toys into a rotation: instead of leaving every possible toy out, you can only leave out a certain number at a time and switch them out every few days or once a week. After a while, you child will demonstrate which toys are their favorites (and you will have less clutter).
"Evaluate"
If you decide to rotate toys, seeing the ones your child gravitates towards will give you a better idea of what kind of toys to buy or how to direct family members who ask what your child wants.
You should also consider how thee toys work: "Are they toys that encourage imagination and creativity? The child -- not the toy -- should dictate the play."
As part of the evaluation phase, you can play with your child. This is great way to spend more quality time together and it will allow you to learn even more about your child's interests. Perhaps you can think of a way to make an old toy more exciting and your child will follow your lead.
