Kids are bored? Buy them a new toy. And when the newness wears off? Rinse and repeat. You have just one-click-online-order your way out of dealing with boredom in a child. We all desperately want to find the “perfect” toy to keep our child engaged and happy. We may feel as we have found it briefly, but the newness passes with time and we our way right back to online shopping cart.
The bad news is actually kids don’t need toys to play. Most kids spend less time with toys, if you observe closely. They get bored soon. They are busy tiny bodies which needs more into exploration with the things around them. Believe it or not when the child has fewer toys, their creativity and innovation are just abounding. If you see-- children often sneak out of their designated play space, they find their way either through the kitchen, unreachable cupboards, flutters through the backyard, or lands up in forbidden drawers. Kids are creative. When kids have too many toys, they will naturally take less care & value of them if there is always a replacement ready at hand. If you have a child who is constantly damaging their toys, just take a bunch away. When too many toys are introduced into a child’s life, their attention span will begin to suffer.
Many parents believe that more toys will result in less conflict because there are options available. However, the opposite is true often. Siblings fight on toys. And every time we introduce a new toy into the relationship, we give them another reason to establish their “territory” among the others. On the other hand, siblings with fewer toys are forced to share, collaborate, and work together. Kids who have been raised to think the answer to their desires can be bought with money have believed the same lie as their parents. Instead, children need encouragement to live counter-cultural lives finding joy in things that truly last.
How Wondrous Nature helps:
Our bodies & mind need Nature to thrive. It doesn’t always have to be a planned trek in woods; it could be just breathing the fresh air and watching a colorful tiniest bird fluttering on a fragile branch or might be a sudden feel of the gush of wind. These all count engaging and enjoyable experiences in a human. Play in nature for a child can look like balancing on a fallen tree, discovering sizes of leaves, collecting twigs, walking on rocks, digging mud and exploring various species on it, or just building a castle in sand, collecting different pebbles or shells. Regardless of how your children are spending their time outdoors, it is valuable. It helps to level up their Vitamin D, improves overall health, self-esteem, muscle strength & the child learn the sense of self, confidence, problem solving skill & definitely their motor skills.
Household items & values:
Playing with ordinary household items like paper cups, towels, and utensils can provide incredible options for open-ended play in childhood. It allows the child to explore, discover and learn. Parents can focus on introducing skills and giving responsibilities that stimulate curiosity & their interest is because the Child observing & imitating us all the time.
Read, read & read:
By reading or saying stories you are connecting with your child. It helps in stimulating their imagination, exercising their brain by developing concentration, their general knowledge & the ability to ‘focus’. Stories teach to relate child in experiencing realities via fiction. Children’s play involves ‘pretend’ through acting out the scripts they hear in stories. When we keep them surrounded in good books instead of toys, we are enhancing their literacy skills & giving them a voice. Children develop interest & love for reading, writing, and art if we keep the practice. They develop interpersonal relationships; appreciate beauty of emotions with adults, other kids & animals.
[Two German public health workers (Strick and Schubert) conducted an experiment in which they convinced a kindergarten classroom to remove all of their toys for 3 months. Although boredom set in during the initial stages of the experiment, the children soon began to use their basic surroundings to invent games and use imagination in their play.]
Article By
Tumpa Datta Gupta
Educator (ECCE)
Green Wings Pre-school Educational Network