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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    NY, US.
    Posts
    4,826

    Default Educate me about toy rotation, please!

    What do you do if you have two kids who are at different stages toy-wise?

    DD1 (7) is into Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket types of toys. Also just starting with the tiny legos.

    DD2 (3) tries to play with all the "big kid" toys but we still have Duplos and Little People for her, as well as other "little kid" toys.

    We've always had pretty much every toy they own out because of the age spacing until they're outgrown by DD2. But the bottom line is that we just have too many toys out. Too. Many.

    So I'd like to try to set up a toy rotation so that we only have a few types of toys out at a time, but I don't know how. How do you do it so that each child has a reasonable selection of age-appropriate toys out? How long do you keep toys out before rotating them? Do you let your children decide when/if they want something new? What if one/some toys are quite large - i.e. the play kitchen, a doll house?

    We do have a reasonable amount of storage space in the basement, and I could probably set up an inexpensive shelving system against a wall, so I was thinking we could do some toy lending library type of setup with labeled (clear plastic) boxes?

    Ideas? I need some serious help recovering my house from the toys!

    Thanks!
    Sarah
    Mommy to:
    Carolyn, 10/04
    Anna, 7/08
    Matthew, 8/13

  2. #2
    Simon is offline Ruby level (4000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    4,266

    Default

    I try to take out toys that are not used at least weekly. I tend to let things go for 2-3 weeks before taking the time to box/bin them up for the basement. Ds1 is helpful in deciding what to pack away; he is pretty good at identifying what isn't a current "hit." Other toys are put away to regift to Ds2.

    Ds2 likes to play with Ds1's toys a lot, but I try to also keep some age appropriate/challenges out for him and things he likes that Ds1 does not (puzzles, art supplies, stacking blocks).

    Other toys I know would get played with if I left them out but are on "break" like the wood trains, play food, pop-up tents, Playmobil castle, etc. I will introduce these if the boys seem to be restless with what they have or there is renewed interest via a unit at school, a book we're reading, a PBS special, etc. I don't have a formal system for what goes away or comes out again and when.

    ETA: We have shelving in the basement where the toys on "break" live next to toys waiting for a holiday or rainy day to appear. I often make things suddenly appear but not as a present or gift, per se.
    Last edited by Simon; 01-02-2012 at 02:34 PM.
    Ds1 (2006). Ds2 (2010). Ds3 (2012).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    NY, US.
    Posts
    4,826

    Default

    See, I think if I asked DD1 she'd say that they play with everything and nothing should get put away. I'm tentatively thinking that since they just got Littlest Pet Shop, Lego and Duplos for Christmas (along with a few other toys that don't generate millions of pieces) those will be all that's left out until they ask me for something different or seem like they're getting bored. Though I'm trying to figure out a containment system for Lego so they're not all over the floor! (Duplos don't hurt nearly so much when you step on them.)

    Sarah
    Mommy to:
    Carolyn, 10/04
    Anna, 7/08
    Matthew, 8/13

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