The following is a guest post by my 8-year old son, Salem Becker.
Buying an 8-year old a toy can be tough. It can be a difficult choice for them because there is a lot of new stuff in the toy stores everyday. A kid’s mind changes a lot. We like something one month but something different another month. If you don’t give away toys you don’t need or want, you’ll end up with too many toys.
And having too many toys can be a little bit of a problem. Because…
- It takes too long to pick them up.
- You forget where some of them are.
- You might not have enough room to keep them all.
- If you have too many toys, you might not have space to play with them.
If you need help finding good toys, here are some things you might like…
- Don’t buy really cheap toys. Because they just might break right away like the things that I get with tickets at Pizza Putt. Those toys usually break right away.
- Don’t always buy small toys. Because it’s really easy to lose some.
- Only buy things you really want. Just because your friends have it doesn’t mean you really want it.
- Only buy things you are interested in. For example, if you are going to get a couple of cars, you should get the cars that interest you. If you don’t like tractors, then you shouldn’t get a tractor-car.
- Buy toys that you can play with other people. If you don’t like playing by yourself, get toys that you can play with other people. If you are an only child, you can always play with your parents.
- You should probably buy some video game that you would like. Because if you are by yourself, you can play it by yourself. And if you are having a play date with other people at your house, you can play it with them. But only play it for a certain time – not too much.
Having too many toys is a problem, isn’t it? I hope you find this helpful.
I hope as well that you found his view of the world to be both enjoyable and helpful. And I’m sure he would warmly welcome any comments you might have…
Congratulations, Salem, on a well written post! I enjoyed reading your view of toy ownership and liked your list about how to choose the best toys. I will share this information with my grandson when he is old enough to understand. Be sure to thank your mom and dad for giving you wise advice and being great parents. You’re a most fortunate boy!
Dear Salem,
I translated your post to my son Luca (we live in The Netherlands) who is also 8 years old and he totally agrees with you.
As a result, he insisted we clean his room and donate all the toys that he has outgrown or no longer plays with.
He wants to keep only the toys that are meaningful to him.
I think your post changed his views on toy ownership and made it possible for me to start talking to him about “things&stuff”.
Nelly&Luca
This is really wonderful. And I think it applies to all ages!
This is amazing. I wish our son will can think like that. What have you been teaching him?
I usually hate hard-copy of anything, but I will make an exception for this article. I am printing this and giving it to my eight-year-old son whose birthday is coming up next week. Maybe it will help him to make some good decisions this year when asking for gifts.
Congrats Salem
I’ll be putting your article under the nose of my 7 year old son.
Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts
Hi Salem! ( I live in a town with the same name!) You wrote a great post. Grown ups can get as much out of it as kids can. Thanks!
Very well thought out, Salem. You proved your points well.
It is good to know there are smart and responsible young people out there.
Thank you for writing to help others understand.
Hi Salem! I am so impressed with your writing! This is an excellent post. It is informative, concise, and persuasive. Keep up the great work! I am definitely going to show this to my kids when they get home from school. I know it will be very inspirational to them. Thanks again, and kudos to your parents for raising such a great kid!
Salem, thank you for posting! My son, Dominic, is also 8 years old and in second grade! I will let him read your post when he gets home from school today. After he reads what you wrote, I’ll give him a chance to comment, himself!
Love the 8 year old perspective, and I really love that his 1st reason for not having so many toys is that it takes too long to pick them up. Definitely wise beyond his years.
Hi Salem, Thankyou for your insightful checklist. I have a 7 year old son who rarely asks for toys- almost never. However, he recently asked if I could buy him a plasma ball. I was very hesitant as I wondered how long would he actually play with it. It would feel wasteful if he only played with it for a few weeks and then it lay ignored afterwards. At the same time, I felt that it was so rare for him to ask for something that he really wanted. Do let me know if you have any advise. Thank you.
If only my 8 year old son thought like this! I will be showing this to him later.
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Great article Salem !!!! Your Dad must be so proud of you!! I think this article could be applied to grown up type toys and “stuff” too. Thank you so much! Congratulations!
Great post Salem! I agree with everyone else on here. I think these principals can be applied to adults too. Great advice!!!