“The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” – Ray L. Wilbur
Toys are not merely playthings. Toys form the building blocks for our child’s future. They teach our children about the world and about themselves. They send messages and communicate values. And thus, wise parents think about what foundation is being laid by the toys that are given to their kids.
Wise parents also think about the number of toys that children are given. While most toy rooms and bedrooms today are filled to the ceiling with toys, intentional parents learn to limit the number of toys that kids have to play with.
They understand that fewer toys will actually benefit their children in the long-term:
- Kids learn to be more creative. Too many toys prevent kids from fully developing their gift of imagination. 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 three 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 playing.
- Kids develop longer attention spans. When too many toys are introduced into a child’s life, their attention span will begin to suffer. A child will rarely learn to fully appreciate the toy in front of them when there are countless options still remaining on the shelf behind them.
- Kids establish better social skills. Children with fewer toys learn how to develop interpersonal relationships with other kids and adults. They learn the give and take of a good conversation. And studies have attributed childhood friendships to a greater chance of success academically and in social situations during adulthood.
- Kids learn to take greater care of things. When kids have too many toys, they will naturally take less care of them. They will not learn to value 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. He will quickly learn.
- Kids develop a greater love for reading, writing, and art. Fewer toys allows your children to love books, music, coloring, and painting. And a love for art will help them better appreciate beauty, emotion, and communication in their world.
- Kids become more resourceful. In education, students aren’t just given the answer to a problem; they are given the tools to find the answer. In entertainment and play, the same principle can be applied. Fewer toys causes children to become resourceful by solving problems with only the materials at hand. And resourcefulness is a gift with unlimited potential.
- Kids argue with each other less. This may seem counter-intuitive. Many parents believe that more toys will result in less fighting because there are more options available. However, the opposite is true far too often. Siblings argue about 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 learn perseverance. Children who have too many toys give up too quickly. If they have a toy that they can’t figure out, it will quickly be discarded for the sake of a different, easier one. Kids with fewer toys learn perseverance, patience, and determination.
- Kids become less selfish. Kids who get everything they want believe they can have everything they want. This attitude will quickly lead to an unhealthy (and unbecoming) lifestyle.
- Kids experience more of nature. Children who do not have a basement full of toys are more apt to play outside and develop a deep appreciation for nature. They are also more likely to be involved in physical exercise which results in healthier and happier bodies.
- Kids learn to find satisfaction outside of the toy store. True joy and contentment will never be found in the aisles of a toy store. 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.
- Kids live in a cleaner, tidier home. If you have children, you know that toy clutter can quickly take over an entire home. Fewer toys results in a less-cluttered, cleaner, healthier home.
I’m not anti-toy. I’m just pro-child. So do your child a favor today and limit their number of toys. (Just don’t tell them you got the idea from me.)
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I think TV and toys are actually beneficial to childrens oral language development which is vital for reading and writing at a later stage. Toys can be used to increase a child’s inventory of mental images, people, places and events. Toys help build vocabulary because the more talking a child is doing the more they are able to comprehend. I would agree with the author that few toys are good rather than too many, but I do not agree with comments about TV. I agree there is alot of rubbish on TV that children should not see, and cartoons are increasingly violent, therefore we should monitor what they are watching. However if children cannot access books then TV is the next best thing because it helps bring characters to life and gives insight into peoples experiences, it helps children to familiarise themselves with the five domains of language, given that they are also socially interacting with others. :)
lulu, you need to read Jerry Mander’s Four Arguments For The Elimination of Television.
I can’t really talk; we have the TV on too much in this house. It was not, however, what I originally intended for my child. It would have helped if other adults had respected my wishes and not piled me down with this stuff, but I wasn’t mentally ready to fend it all off. So here we are.
And, well, my daughter’s seven, will be eight in November–and while she can communicate with people around her, there are kids younger than she who can speak a lot better than she does.
Part of it is that we hardly know anyone in this town–but that is exactly the point. TV does *not* teach verbal skills. Research has shown that watching someone on a TV screen is *not* the same thing linguistically as watching a person talk who is in the same room with you.
Content doesn’t matter. The structure of what TV is, is the main problem. If you want to increase your child’s mental inventory, get them out of the house and experiencing things.
If you’re not ready to do that, fine, but at least admit that’s what the problem is.
And read simplicity parenting by kim john payne. Exact same message! I love this article!
I read Simplicity Parenting and found it to be a wonderfully insightful read. TV and toys will NEVER be considered superior to imaginative play, nature, and real social interactions. I vowed to keep toys simple and few and TV only as a maybe once a week treat. I personally as an adult to not watch ANY TV. Not because I don’t have time, but I’d rather do something productive with the time I have. This society that thinks TV is educatnal is also the same society that is obese and unhealthy. Just food for thought.
I am a professional in the early childhood education field with an education to back it up. I don’t want you to take that statement negatively, i simply say it so you might take what I say seriously.
Television should NEVER be a substitute for books, nor is it “the next best thing”. Research shows that even quality TV (Sesame Street, Arthur, Blue’s Clues were some in the study) has a detrimental effect on children’s language development in the earliest years (under 2). Good quality television can have a positive effect on language development for older children, but its meager.
They are definitely not “socially interacting with others”! The only way that is possible is face to face with another person, not on a screen.
There is also no way that children cannot access books, unless their parents and caregivers do it intentionally. Books are available for free at the library (a magical place that children love) and dirt cheap at thrift stores (I got 5/$1.00 yesterday). Besides interaction with caring adults, books are just about the most important thing to provide children.
Replace the word “toys” with “books” in your second sentence and you have it exactly right. Open ended toys (art supplies, recyclables, blocks, fabric, dress up and dramatic play clothes and accessories, instruments– anything that doesn’t limit the child and tell them what or how to play with it) are great and necessary for optimal development.
Children are made to play and will turn anything available into a toy. Example- this morning I was pretending to be a “super robot” with a 2 year old, with a colander on my head and a blanket tied around my neck for a cape. He chose the outfit and invented and directed the play, and was also wearing a blanket cape and had a play dough bucket on his head.
You seem intelligent and your intentions are good, but you are severely misguided about TV.
Maybe you think that Lulu because you have no other context beyond toys and TV for kids. Do any of us?
I learned about a boy being raised with NO TOYS. You’d think his childhood would be marred in some way, but after reading it I see that he’s growing up richer and wiser than his more affluent peers. It’s remarkably, really. Want to see the effect?
http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/02/20/the-boy-with-no-toys/
I have to say.. I never understood the point of having a child watch tv. It never biologically made any sense to me – I couldn’t understand the point of setting my child down in front of the tv, even with childrens’ shows playing, even with baby shows playing – with the intent of him watching it. He’s always been perfectly happy crawling around and otherwise amusing himself. He’s getting a very good grasp on language, but then again, we teach him American Sign Language so I can’t really speak on either side, either. Meanwhile, I have friends who’s mere months olds infants get angry if their favorite tv show gets turned off. Personally, that saddens me. Tv should never be that important to anyone, especially not mere months olds.
So, number of toys should be less.But what type of toys?Where to get reliable and researched out resources about them?
But at this point of time my most urgent need is a way to reduce the TV time for my kids-one 9 years and 2yrs and 9 months.The fact is that I cannot keep my younger one outside home for long time because of his asthma.I neither can send him school because of the risk of asthma attack due to exposure to AC.So,being confined at home most of the time, he has developed a habit of viewing TV cartoons.I am in a dilemma.
So,I request you all for suggestions please.
As far as what type of toys….Montessori inspired toys are the best. We didn’t allow any TV for my daughter until she was 2. Then I took a part time job and…well you can guess what happened. Now I am having to tame the TV beast:-). We have a set of wooden blocks, puzzles, dress up clothing, crayons and paper. When we can’t go outside we build or color. It wears on my nerves at times because it would be so much easier to get things done if only I would just turn on the TV. So we worked out a deal, I will take the time to begin an activity with her, then I tell her that mommy will go and do some things and she is welcome to show me what she has done. So I get some things done and then come back to play for a bit or take a story break. It has taken a couple of weeks but she has stopped asking for the TV. It takes time to break habits but kids actually enjoy imaginative play and interaction WAY more than TV, they just have to be exposed to it:-). Checkers and tic tac toe and other board games are fun for older children. Books are always a winner. Once they develop a love of reading, take them to the library and let them pick out what interests them. Hope this helps. Good luck.
i had the same problem with too much tv. i simply turned it off and made a rule that there would be no more children touching the tv. then i got my kids interested in books, toys, games, and anything else i could find that held their interest. family time is a great one to employ if your kids have a favorite game or book. the first week is so hard you think you will fail but after that the kids dont seem to miss the tv anymore.
He still needs to go outside, even if he has asthma. You can’t make excuses for him, and if you continue to do so, he will grow up scared and weak and other children will pick on him. Going outside and playing builds self esteem.
Give him the proper asthma medications, and employ locally bought honey as a natural alternative to allergy shots. Then make him get out and play.
This is actually a very interesting discussion for me. I am in the process of trying to embrace a more minimalist lifestyle for our family, and that includes paring down on toys. I wrote about it here: http://thegreatfulmom.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/way-more-than-i/
What I’m struggling with is the comments about TV. While I do not think TV is good for children and I’d prefer that our kids learn from life and from us, we do let our children watch TV. Part of our simplifying process will include getting rid of our cable, which I’m excited about, because I know my three-year-old watches too much television.
However, I know that he also learns from it. He picks up words and phrases from the shows he’s watching. Some days he’ll just start saying certain phrases, and we’ll have no idea where he got it from until we hear it on Dora or Cat in the Hat, and we realize that’s where he got it. He also answers the questions on educational children’s programming. The charaters will ask “What shape is that?” and he’ll answer. Of course, he learned his language skills and his knowledge of shapes, etc, from us, but I know he has definitely picked up knowledge from shows. He has even picked up whole new areas of interest from TV. From watching shows about space, he has become very interested in the moon, stars and planets. We’ve jumped in that opportunity to expand his knowledge by taking him to the Science Center, buying him books about space, etc, but I assure you, he has NO idea what the solar system was until he saw it on PBS kids.
Yes, if I were a better mom maybe that wouldn’t be the case, but I work from home and sometimes the TV is a necessary evil. It is what it is.
Wow, that’s a lot of typos. Pardon me, I have a baby in my lap.
Since last year, I started to donate my kids toys, so far I think 95% are out. I still keep getting free toys of people that wants to get rid of them, most of the time I accept them having in mind it will be temporary and I will donate in a few months. Sometimes I hear from the older girls (6 and 4 years old) “where are our toys?” Right there… and I point to the closet space with (very little space) for the toys and change the subject fast, just in case. I buy them a few used books at the library, some used board games and puzzles. They are fighting a lot less. They play pretend more. Last week we have an improvised party that lasted 45 minutes were we close the windows (we want the neighbors to still like us), light some candles, turn on the volume up (way up) and we sing loud, danced, jumped (no to kids music, but to something the kids can listen). And in all that time we did not have to stop to pick up any toys from the floor. To me too much means that they are in a fantasy world and they do not participate in the real life. I want them to be present, I want to teach them about the daily stuff and I want them to learn from reality not from a drawing in a card that shows them how the clouds are, I want them to see the clouds. I have seem the 6 years old face and the feeling of how proud she feels when she is able to make herself a grill cheese sandwich that I have not seen when she is playing. I have hear my 4 year old telling me she loves me right after I teach her something… that I can not buy in the store.
I have always thought of this and knew that kids doesnt need too many toys.Plus toys are a waste of money once kids grow up those toys goes in the garbage or donated..Waste,waste of money.I rather my do different activity like drawing reading or putting them into sport,something that will keep their active..
I’m wondering, if you only had 5 toys for your daughter age 5 and 5 toys for your son age 3, what would you have?
If you believe toys and television further a child’s linguistic skills, watch the documentary “Babies”. Four babies from around the world are tracked throughout their first year of life. The American baby and the Japanese baby are inundated with toys and stimulus while the African and Mongolian babies have virtually no toys. They all appear to be at the same linguistic milestones by their first birthdays. The African baby specifically seems to interact well on a verbal level with his mother, yet his only playthings are old bones and sticks. Very interesting and may actually be a cause for concern that we in North America are overstimulating our babies. Perhaps this might explain the high numbers of ADHD kids?
I believe it. We told my parents and in-laws no toys when I was pregnant, because I was reading up on how they weren’t even necessary and kids derive more entertainment out of natural materials like sticks, pine cones, socks, whathaveyou. Of course, they didn’t listen. I don’t even open the toy box now; and am in process of boxing all his toys up to donate. Since our child is walking, he’s become much more interested in exploring and finding his OWN things to play with. I have a theory that “temper tantrums” are a child trying to say he’s bored and NEEDS mental stimulation. Our child walks around, finds something to entertain himself and actually sits down to play with it. If we take it away, he clings onto it and cries. I feel like he’s saying, “No! I’m learning about this! Please, don’t take it away! I’ll be bored without it again!!” All animals, human included, were designed to be born, and live, outside. To explore, learn, play, and interact with their environment with other kids their own age. Modern lifestyle has kids living in the same four walls day-in, and day-out, by themselves unless they have a young sibling, and we expect them to be completely entertained by handing them toys. ..It doesn’t appear to be working.
i blame tv. in the middle of a show it suddenly stop and jumps to a commercial, then another one, then a different one after that, then back to the show. it teaches kids to be scattered in their attention. i have cut out tv over the last 3 months and my boys have suddenly developed an incredibly long attention span. they can actually play with a given toy for hours when previously it was only a few minutes before they lost interest. i dont think its toys at all because my boys have loads of toys. and the kinds of toys matter too…things that stimulate creative play are best over battery powered things. as far as the verbalization, interaction does alot…play with your kids, not only is it fun, but they learn from you as well.
Balance is key. Kids will watch TV, they will play video games but if you are an active parent that will play with them, take them outside and turn things off once in a while they will be fine. I am fortunate enough to be in that age group remembers 3 TV channels and when Atari first came out but when the internet first came to our school (93) . I love both worlds and I am trying to balance both for my boys. (7&4) Its harder today but a good parent can do it.
I almost have to agree. I have a 5 year old boy for the first 3 years of his life he was spoild rotten we didn’t go into a store and come out without a toy. When he turned 4 I noticed he wasn’t playing with his toys anymore a lot of them was educational but never the less. I told my husband he said well he is bored with them I. Replied no I think he just has way too many and can’t decide. So make the long story short I filled 3 trashbags full took and donated them to womens abuse shelter and packed up two boxes to put in storage for younger siblings. Guess what he wasn’t happy about it but instead of running through the house screaming he sat down and played. Now I have an angel child and a lot more room. If only I could keep my husband from wanting to spend $800.00 per child @ christmas it might be alright.
:) I believe that this here article and all of your comments and stories, have just answered my every question!! Thank-you all so much!
Hmmm… I have to take exception to this comment: ‘Fewer toys results in a less-cluttered, cleaner, healthier home.’ In our home of little inventors, the house is covered in scraps of paper, boxes in various states of disrepair, bits of wire, pens, scissors, recyclable containers of all materials… Oh, they are ‘more resourceful’, for sure, without a lot of toys. But not less cluttered!!
Ha! I have to agree! i do have a few too many toys right now but my seriously inventive kids play with every single one, all at the same time, creating intricate imaginary worlds, and if they don’t have the toy they use something else. my 4 year old has recreated his own version of Big Ben (the clock in London) in our family room using a mini-trampoline turned on it’s side and a fly swatter and a drum stick and various other articles. Even without toys my house is a mess! i have several little inventions like this at different points all over my house. I am trying to declutter to prepare for a new baby and new stress but let’s be realistic: it’s always going to be a mess! Just, I hope, a little less of one :). Three boys, winter, seriously limited tv time, and imaginations…it’s going to be a mess!
I loved the visuals of inventions all over the house and especially Big Ben!
I agree with everything said here. I’d just like to add my 2 cents about the television issue. While I do think that TV and pop culture can have a massively negative impact on children ( particularly memory and attention span, but also in increased aggression and decreased empathy.) It can have its place.
My brother and I were homeschooled. My parents always made an big effort to make sure we socialized with kids our own age. The thing is that we already felt a bit like outsiders. The local kids didn’t really read, or listen to music, so TV was one of the things we had in common.
It was great that we had the same reference points as our friends and we could geek out together about Star Trek, The X Files or whatever. I think it’s something worth thinking about if you homeschool. Especially slightly older kids or teenagers.
I do agree there is a place for it. you can go overboard with anything, including tv and lack of tv. for me being a homeschool mom going through a stressful time, i ended up going into tv too much, then I realized that once a week, as long as it’s not all day, is not a bad thing to help everyone relax. it’s not a babysitter when your son asks you to sit with him through the wiggles so he can enjoy it with you. tv can be a way to relate to people and share something, just don’t go overboard. but thank you for this article for those who are always tv and don’t realize the need for kids to be out in nature and have hobbies, etc.
A little TV isn’t so bad, but I would prefer to record certain shows and then pop in the DVD instead of exposing my kids to ads.
After all, you always hear about the occasional horror movie trailer that makes it onto a family program!
Yes, it’s the preschool age programming you have to worry about though.
I haven’t any of my own yet but I’ve always marveled at the joy they bring and how underrated the importance of careful parenting has become, particularly of young kids. Over the past few years and this Christmas, I’ve looked on in despair at the increasing number of computer based toys my nieces have received. No one can convince me of the benefits of allowing 1 – 8yr old kids to spend hours, in most cases the majority of their day, heads cocked in all sorts of awkward positions, fingers and wrists bent unnaturally whilst staring at a screen. And yet despite my fear of the addictive nature of these devices on my nieces’ developing minds, they surprise me time and again. I can’t tell you how much their eyes light up and they band so eagerly together when I suggest various arts and crafts. http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys.html —- this website has been an amazing resource and a great source of fun and learning for us.
I was a kid just a few years ago and I remember learning to love reading, exploring, coloring and creating things on my own because my parents refused to use toys and the television as a distraction and a substitute for teaching/parenting. My resulting creativity continues to set me apart from my peers at college, even when it comes down to using the technology that they’ve been exposed to throughout their childhood. The more images and toys children are surrounded with, the more likely it is that their creativity will be suppressed. How are they supposed to learn to come up with their own ideas and develop independent thinking when they are bombarded and distracted by programs and toys carefully designed by others who in most cases have only one ultimate goal – to make your kid want to watch/play more and you, ultimately contribute to their pockets. I feel like I’m ranting so I will stop here.
Anyways, your presence on this blog shows that you want to do what’s right and as a young adult I’m saying THANK YOU on behalf of the future adults you will have raised. Equip us with these vital building blocks so that we too can pass it along to our own children, your grandchildren… Think of the kids people, it should always boil down to what’s best for the kids.
Check out the website and go re-learn the joy of playing.
Shalom
Wow!!! My 20 month old son has a lot of toys, my friends 35 month old does not. My son plays by himself a lot when we are at home. He takes toys from one set and play with them with another set for about 20 minutes at a time (that’s about the normal attention span for a child his age) before moving onto the next thing. He never intentionally breaks his toys and I can assure you, if Bert or Ernie were to break, there would be NO moving on to the next toy and just forgetting about them. When he can’t figure a toy out, he brings it to his daddy or I and asks for help. He DOES NOT just move on to the next toy. He goes to daycare and plays very well with other kids. Before bed, we clean up his toys together. We do allow him to watch tv, however, the only show he will watch in it’s entirety is Thomas, and that’s only 15 minutes long. My son knows over 200 words and is eager to learn. He loves to be read to, is recognizing letters and learning to count. And now I’ll tell you about my friends son. He is in daycare as well, but he doesn’t play well with others. He is always grabbing toys from other kids and would much rather play on his mom’s iPod or watch tv. His main toys are cars and blocks. He’ll build a tower, knock it down and then complain about being bored. He has very little imagination and is more interested in watching tv than playing with the very few toys he has. He won’t play with his toys for more than about 10 minutes at a time. As for you saying kids will want to play outside more if they don’t have a basement full of toys, my little guy asks to go play outside numerous times a day and happily stops playing with toys if we ask him if he wants to go outside. A child having a good imagination and social skills has NOTHING to do with the amount toys they have!!! Instead of taking your kid’s toys away, try sitting on the floor with your kid and showing them that his dinosaurs can go for a ride in the school bus, or that his shape sorter makes a good hat, the animals from his toy zoo can visit sesame street, or that some blocks and empty paper towel rolls make a pretty cool place to play with cars. In other words, try parenting and interacting with your child, that’s how they learn!! And, for the record, I work full time, so don’t go thinking I’m unemployed and have a bunch of free time. I MAKE time for my boy!!!
I find your comments about your friends child very hurtful. We have different points if view but there’s no place in this world for speaking hurtful words about a child. I’m sure your friend would be pained to read your comments. I’m sure you could have got your point across without resorting to put downs.. Of a child
Toys and games can often enhance any child’s catalog involving emotional photos, people, spots along with activities. Toys and games help build vocab because the a lot more discussing a child is progressing greater they could understand.
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LOVE this. Sad when kids lives are loaded with stuff, it’s nice to have a favourite toy and back ups but the more kids have the less valuable everything is. For me the real world is more exciting, interesting, mind-boggling and educational to a child then anything made in China, and it’s up to us parents to empower our kids by teaching them that!
We believe that less is better. We try to Donate at lease twice a year to maintain space.
I am new to your Blog love it Thanks for sharing.
I fell sorry for your kids
Vanilla, are you questioning the idea that kids have too many toys? I can’t believe how spoiled kids are these days. The idea of giving children the tools to play with their imaginations is a far better concept in my opinion.
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I think it comes down to the quality of the toy. If you’re giving them nothing but mindless play then you’re teaching them to be mindless but if you give toys that inspire imagination, milestones and a love of education, I think toys are a vital part of childhood.
I do agree though, some kids just have too much rubbish!
Puzzles can be a great way to develop and improve motor skills since they require a toddler to hold and manipulate a relatively small object. Try a peg or block puzzle which both have pieces a child will need to grab and hold on to in order to complete the picture or game.
I’m one of those people who would buy my children the world if I could. However, I think it is best to limit their number of toys even if I want to spoil them. Number one- it’s easier cleanup. I want to teach my children to clean up after themselves from a very young age- asking them to put toys away as soon as they can walk. That way, they grow up knowing that it is normal and expected to clean up after themselves, though I plan to help them until they want to do it all by themselves.
My kids won’t get any toys except on their birthday and Christmas. If we are in a store, I will keep a pen and paper and if they want a toy, I will tell them I will write it down for their Christmas list. Chances are they’ll forget about most things, except for the ones they REALLY want. It will teach them patience.
I grew up with tons of toys. However, it was all things like dollhouses, stuffed animals, a toy kitchen, puppies in my pocket, barbies, and lots and lots of books. I didn’t get all those weird little Vtech games, toys with complicated assembly instructions, ride-on toys, or a playhouse. My toys encouraged imagination- which is probably part of the reason I ended up wanting to be a fiction writer later in life, and part of the reason that as an adult I never get bored. Being an only child, I had a lot of hours to fill by myself. I’d always choose to play outside rather than inside, but on rainy days it was nice to make up stories with all of my toys. There were days when I played outside and didn’t even need toys. I always used my imagination.
I hope my kids can have a childhood like mine. I hope they are imaginative and fun and resourceful.
I don’t plan to let my kids watch any TV until they’re older. Personally I don’t like that mainstream television is forcing Spanish down their throats and I’d rather them learn other languages. I want to be the one to teach them things and I don’t like the idea of using TV as a babysitter. Also, I don’t want them bugging me for toys and backpacks with whatever the fad character of late is.
I think kids should only have the amount of toys they are able to reasonably put away by themselves without feeling overwhelmed. If the toys aren’t able to fit in a toy box, cubby, or closet in their bedroom, there are too many. I’ve seen way too many families whose toys take over the whole house. I had a special playroom for my toys because my parents got an excellent deal on a large house back in the 90′s, but these days the average young couple can’t afford a spare room because houses are way overpriced.
Bottom line- keep it simple.
the way toys are made so cheaply these days the break on thir own
TV is good. TV is bad. Toys can be good. Toys can be bad. Parents MUST be involved, and interact well with their child. They must pay attention to what is going on, with the child’s development and interaction with their world.
So – Parents can be good or parents can be bad.
“You can’t spoil your child with love.”
Fewer toys actually benefit children in the long-term. TV and toys are actually beneficial to children oral language development which is vital for reading and writing.
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