With Dylan’s third birthday just around the corner and Christmas coming about a month later, there are sure to be many new toys coming into our home. We already have a lot of toys, and they are currently all over the floor of the playroom because Dylan enjoys dumping out the toy storage bins. Sometimes I think that he has too many toys, but I am not exactly sure what to do about it.
The other day I decided that I would like to use our too many toys dilemma as an opportunity to teach Dylan about generosity and helping those who are less fortunate. Of course, I realize that this idea is somewhat incongruous with what typical toddler thinking and behavior are like. However, kids are naturally inclined to be helpful (sometimes) and Dylan sometimes shows empathy and compassion towards others, so I think it’s worth a shot.
Now that I know what I would like to do, I have to figure out how to do it. How do I convince my nearly three year old son that he does not need all of the toys that he has? How do I inspire him to look at his toy collection and choose which ones are truly dear to him, and which ones he is ready to pass along to another child by way of donating them to the thrift store?
I have already introduced the concept of donating toys to the thrift store a couple of times, by having a couple of short and simple conversations with Dylan about it. I have also explained that he can choose which toys he will give away, and I have placed a bin in the corner of the playroom for him to put them in. My goal is to cut our toy stash by a third, and there are currently no toys in the “donation” bin. Since this is a new thing that I am trying with him, I think that it may take a while to get him to come around to the idea. We’ll see how it goes.
Photo by amann on morguefile.com.