Despite all your efforts to avoid buying new toys, eventually at home there are hundreds of toys that are too loud, too colorful, and at the same time are not being used. They are just sitting there waiting to be played with, but days go by and even though you still hope, deep in your heart you know that they won't be used anytime soon…
You wonder how this can happen? Children love all things bright and colorful, right? Or maybe you have only eco-friendly toys made from wood that are educational, are supposed to help child development, and etc., but anyways - they just keep sitting in the toy box?
First of all, let's not forget, a toy that is made from eco friendly, good quality materials and is claimed to help your child's development isn't necessarily a fun one. And this is where those kind of toys fail - they may be good and suitable for parents lifestyle, but they simply are not fun enough for children! As if grown ups made cool toys for themselves.
Secondly, who picked these toys? Probably it was some grown-up, e.g. grandmother, who evaluated the toy from the perspective of an adult. If you want to find out what kind of toy could be engaging enough for your child, just sit and watch him once in a while - you might notice that he mostly plays with open ended toys that he can use in several ways depending on where his imagination takes him.
According to experts, when choosing toys you should evaluate if this new toy is versatile, creative, and doesn't have very strict rules how to play with it, so leaving place for your child's imagination. Moreover, at about 4-5 years a child starts replicating grown-ups, so you might want to go for a toy that allows to play house, drive a car, become a hairdresser, shop assistant, or etc.
Last but not least, keep it simple. You probably already remember that when he was a baby, all the best toys were casual objects, like paper rolls, kitchen tools, newspapers, and etc. This stays the same when he grows up - simple things allow the imagination to flow and to fantasize, not only follow strict guidelines. This is probably why children love building blocks so much - they combine it all - they are versatile, simple, have no strict rules, and allow to replicate grown-ups by building e.g. a shop.
If you have successfully managed to get rid of the unused toys - share your experience and tips with us! We would love to hear what worked out for you! ;)