Before I move along to a post about the time we spent in London, I have to get some stuff out of my head about toys.
I've been thinking a lot about toys lately; wondering what to get The Boy for his 2nd birthday, thinking about what kind of outside toys would work on our little patch of concrete out back, debating the next level of educational toys to move to. That was all stuff I was thinking about before we went to the UK. Now I'm just wondering if we're depriving The Boy. I've never liked the idea of raising an over-indulged brat with a bedroom/playroom/house bulging at the seams with the latest and greatest of toys available. I've been thinking that he's got just enough, but not too much to be spoiled.
That was until we visited The Boy's cousins in England. Talk about toys galore! Toys all over the place. Outside toys, inside toys, kitchen toys, cleaning toys, train sets, tea sets, dollies, motorcycles, keyboards, pretend towns, blocks... I could go on. The Boy was in Heaven, and I was feeling like a miserly grump who only gives her kid lumps of coal to play with. And the kids we were visiting don't belong to particularly indulgent parents. Oof!
So does that mean I'm more of miser than a cool minimalist? Who knew toys could be such a cause for neurosis?
I absolutely relate to this.
ReplyDeleteWe have a shelf on our bookcase dedicated to kids' books, a little six-cube dealie from home despot to store most of her toys, a rubber ducky bathtub full of plush, and a kiddie pool. I go to our friends' houses and feel like the Grinch. She seems perfectly happy, though I do want to get her a little kitchen, a riding toy of some kind, some duplos, and more books for her next birthday...
Goodness, Ada has plenty of toys - an amount I'm comfortable with. Still, she would rather play with the cat toys, the long black ribbon I use for a belt, the mixing bowls and basting brush, a dull pencil nub, or running after the cats. My mom used to laugh about how I would take the toy out of the box and then play with the box! Don't worry - imagination and ingenuity are valuable!! These qualities can't develop if the kids are entertained with pre-fab fun all the time.
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