Is it just me or do you agree that kids here in the US are just swimming in overabundance of stuff? Namely TOYS. No matter how hard I try to limit the number of toys they have, their rooms end up being overstuffed with toys that they don’t even play with! I am not over-exagerating if I say that after receiving all of the Christmas presents from us (parents) and relatives, each kid has probably 20 presents. It is a tough situation because the kids LOVE seeing all of them under the tree and the people give them those things with love but at the end I think we are doing them more harm then good.
First of all, once they unpack the first three presents their little brains cannot take any more in; they just get overwhelmed! And second, my biggest concern of all, how can they ever learn to value their things if they have so many of them??
When I was little I would get about 3 presents under the Christmas tree. Most of them were clothes (2 sizes too big) and one thing usually ended up being a toy. And I treasured that toy so much!!!! I don’t remember ever getting rid of my toys because I had too many. My whole childhoood I played with the same toys and I still remember every single one of them. My favorite was a stuffed monkey called Kubik, whom I actually inherited from my brother. This monkey was so loved that my mom had to patch it many times in order for it not to fall apart!
How does one deal with this over abundance? And is it really as dangerous as I see it or is it just not that big of a deal? What do you guys think?
CZ: Nemyslite, ze deti v US maji nadbytek hracek? At se snazim jak chci, pokojicky mych deti prekypuji krabicemi s hrackami, s kterymi si skoro vubec nehraji! Opravdu neprehanim kdyz vam reknu, ze po Vanocich mela kazda z mych dcer o 20 darku navic. To zahrnuje nas, rodice, ale take pribuzne. Je to prekerni situace, protoze deti miluji videt stromecek obsety hrackami a ti, co jim hracky dali jim je dali s laskou. Ale myslim si, ze jim nakonec delame vic skody nez uzitku. Jak se nauci v zivote cenit si veci, kdyz jich maji tolik??
Kdyz jsem byla mala, tak jsem pod stromecek dostala vetsinou tri darky, z nichz 2 byly obleceni a ten jeden byla vetsinou hracka, ktere jsem si cenila, jako toho nejdrazsiho diamantu. Nikdy jsem zadne hracky nemusela vyrazovat, protoze se mi jich za me detstvi tolik nenakupilo. Vsechny si je pamatuji a na vsechny mam moc hezke vzpominky. Ma nejoblibenejsi hracka byla vycpana opice, kterou jsem vlastne zdedila po brachovi. Byla laskou tak omuchlana, ze ji mama musela sit na telicko zaplaty!!!
Co si o tom myslite vy? Je tento nadbytek opravdovy problem nebo z komara delam velblouda?
If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!
Loading ...
yes I agree we are a little bit excessive with giving toys to children. my nephew is 15 months old and it was technically is first Christmas where he could try to open his presents and his room looks like a toy store. my suggestion is to divide all their toys in several baskets and keep one basket on their room/play area. When they are bored with those toys switch out the toys with another toy basket. They will have forgotten which toys they have and it will be like seeing old toys for the first time. then there are organizations out there which would appreciate stuffed animals. i donated my stuffed animals to a nonprofit which gives them to abused children or to children in the er to comfort them.
Jano, that’s exactly what I have been doing for years. Put toys in the boxes and pull them out one by one, that way kids forget about them and then are happy to see them again.
However, that still does not take away that first wave of excess which happens on Christmas day. It doesn’t give the child the message, “wow, I have been asking Santa for a (specific) Barbie and here it is”; not that the child get that specific Barbie, 3 other Barbies, a Barbie car, a Barbie Ken, a Barbie house and so on…..
In the past we have told our relatives to limit the number of presents but every year they kind of forget about it :). Also, then there is a pressure on me, I don’t want to be the ‘mean’ mommy who only gets my child ONE present, you know what I mean?
I agree with you – too many toys and too many gifts under the Christmas tree. We solved the problem of gift giving this way (even though there are still too many toys around): we celebrate St. Nicholas, Christmas, and Three Kings. The kids get two gifts each from us on St. Nicholas and Three Kings and gifts from grandparents for Christmas (usually three gifts plus a gift card). Thus the kids are not overwhelmed.
hmm, that’s another way to do it! Either way, got to plan ahead so next Christmas will be less materialistic
The solution to problems like this one is simple and perhaps too obvious. If you want to quit smoking, smoke no cigarettes. If you want to get rid of excess, buy less. You kind of answered your own question in the post 🙂
Sounds easy, right? But it is not.
A/ if i give them one present and the rest of the family 15 presents then who is the lame one in the child’s eyes?
B/ it is hard to control relatives without sounding controling
C/ i have never had such beautiful toys when i was little so the longing to buy those toys is sometimes strong.
BUT i am grateful for my healthy instincts and i will try to follow them!