What to Do with All Those Toys?
Are you bothered by toys spread on the floor throughout your home all day long? Are you the one at the end of the day picking up the toys after your children are in bed? How's that low back pain from picking up the toys, after a full day of caring for your children?
Here's a solution if your child is still a baby - so young he can't pick up toys yet. A unique tool for you would be the "Grabber," sold in department and drug stores. It's a tool for the elderly, but hey, we're looking for a good solution, and I know this works. Whatever it takes to get the job done, right? I used the grabber to pick up and organize a large playroom, sorting all the toys into categories, and it certainly saved my back from a whole lot of stooping! When your children see you using the grabber, they may want to steal your special tool and do the job themselves! So let them! It's a Tom Sawyer trick! This tool is also great for picking up sticks off the ground after a forceful wind, and I’m sure there are many other uses.
Are you bothered by toys spread on the floor throughout your home all day long? Are you the one at the end of the day picking up the toys after your children are in bed? How's that low back pain from picking up the toys, after a full day of caring for your children?
Here's a solution if your child is still a baby - so young he can't pick up toys yet. A unique tool for you would be the "Grabber," sold in department and drug stores. It's a tool for the elderly, but hey, we're looking for a good solution, and I know this works. Whatever it takes to get the job done, right? I used the grabber to pick up and organize a large playroom, sorting all the toys into categories, and it certainly saved my back from a whole lot of stooping! When your children see you using the grabber, they may want to steal your special tool and do the job themselves! So let them! It's a Tom Sawyer trick! This tool is also great for picking up sticks off the ground after a forceful wind, and I’m sure there are many other uses.
Small toys of various categories can be kept in fabric drawstring bags, and hung on hooks on a wall, in order to keep them separated. Teach your children and visitors the "One Bag at a Time" rule, letting them know they can play with each one, as long as they don't have several bags out at a time. That rule will need to be enforced by you. The children will soon associate a certain bag with specific toys, which is a good memory skill. You will soon find your children know where every toy can be found.
Toy animals, other than stuffed variety, can go in one bag; small balls in another. Puzzles, and a host of tiny toys will be kept together and not lost by using this method. Bins also work well to separate toys, can hold more, and you don't need to hold open a bag as toys are picked up, but they take up more space, and are more costly. A bag of toys can be grabbed to take along with you if necessary, so maybe you'd want to have an assortment of both storage solutions.
How Do You Get Toddlers and Young Children to Pick up Small Toys?
Recently my three year old granddaughter had a unique response when her mom asked her to pick up her toys, saying matter-of-factly to her mom, "I'm not interested," and walked away! Many others don’t say this, but still walk away.
Getting toddlers and young children to pick up toys is an issue all parents deal with. While in our home recently, my sweet two year old grandson wasn't interested in picking up his brand new colorful wooden blocks he got for a gift either. So I told him I had an idea of a fun way to pick them up. I came back with a small, clean dustpan with a matching brush! His eyes lit up and that did it! He absolutely loved that new way of scooping up his blocks, and with his mommy's help, the job got done quickly.
Toy animals, other than stuffed variety, can go in one bag; small balls in another. Puzzles, and a host of tiny toys will be kept together and not lost by using this method. Bins also work well to separate toys, can hold more, and you don't need to hold open a bag as toys are picked up, but they take up more space, and are more costly. A bag of toys can be grabbed to take along with you if necessary, so maybe you'd want to have an assortment of both storage solutions.
How Do You Get Toddlers and Young Children to Pick up Small Toys?
Recently my three year old granddaughter had a unique response when her mom asked her to pick up her toys, saying matter-of-factly to her mom, "I'm not interested," and walked away! Many others don’t say this, but still walk away.
Getting toddlers and young children to pick up toys is an issue all parents deal with. While in our home recently, my sweet two year old grandson wasn't interested in picking up his brand new colorful wooden blocks he got for a gift either. So I told him I had an idea of a fun way to pick them up. I came back with a small, clean dustpan with a matching brush! His eyes lit up and that did it! He absolutely loved that new way of scooping up his blocks, and with his mommy's help, the job got done quickly.
A one dollar dustpan saved the day! That dustpan became his favorite new toy, and he carried it around with him the rest of his time with us! And, of course, I gave it to him to take home! A larger dustpan would be a great help as well. Another idea of getting toys from the floor to a bin or box would be to put them first into a dump truck, then haul them to a bin and dump!
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