Did you know too many toys in a play environment can have adverse effects on children?
I have written previously on this topic, based on research from 1999. But a new study, being released early next year, confirms the original findings and continues to expand on its conclusions.
Researchers from the University of Toledo have just published a study in The Journal of Infant Behavior and Development called, “The Influence of the Number of Toys in the Environment on Toddler’s Play.” The research is important.
According to their study, young children who play in environments with fewer toys tend to display sustained levels of attention, increased imagination, perception, cognition, and motor coordination.
In their words, “fewer toys may allow for deeper, sophisticated play, because of the opportunity to become creative with each object in the environment.” Too many toys, on the other hand, act as a distraction to focused play.
The researchers point out why this finding is so important. Through play, children learn to interpret the world around them, enhancing their development. As cognitive, language, and motor skills develop, these skills form the foundation for more age-appropriate tasks in the future.
In their study, children were provided extended play time in environments that contained four toys, and environments that contained sixteen toys.
As you might expect, children who were placed in the environment with only four toys showed a significant difference in quality of play: sustained attention, increased imagination, and increased exploration resulting in improved coordination, pretending, problem-solving, and learning.
These are important truths for us as parents to consider—but also for us as guardians, grandparents, caretakers, teachers, and childcare professionals.
The number of toys in our homes matter. Too many toys in one environment often act as a distraction to the various stages of development we hope they encourage within our children.
In the United States, toy sales amount to $24 billion annually—$3.1 billion from infant and preschool toys alone. The U.S. represents 3.1% of the world’s children, but 40% of the toy market. The typical 10-year old in Great Britain owns 238 toys and the average child in the US receives 70 new toys annually!
Those statistics stand in sharp contrast to the study above. Remember, children placed in environments with only 16 toys displayed significant levels of distraction keeping them from quality, focused play… now, imagine the impact that hundreds of toys in our homes may be having on our kids.
I’m not in the business of making specific recommendations on how many toys is the correct number for your children. That’s not what I do—no matter how often I am asked to do so. My goal, only, is to raise the level of awareness and observation of the burden that excess possessions may be having on our lives—or in this case, the lives of our children.
You, as parents, will ultimately decide what is the right number of toys for your kids. I just want to encourage more intentionality around the conversations we are having about it.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy any gifts for your kids this holiday season. But I am saying we should work hard to create play environments for our children that encourage healthy development. And sometimes, that means less toys rather than more.
Before buying your kids a whole bunch of toys this Christmas, ask yourself if that’s really the best you can give them this year.
Tim says
That’s a great post. My wife and I have 7 children and have had to give so many toys away over the years simply because they were accumulating too many toys. Recently, we removed all of the toys out of our living/play room except a toy kitchen set and LEGOs and have been providing colored pencils and paper to our children to draw and create. They’ve been much happier and calm. It’s easier for us to keep things clean too! I think that the folks at the University of Toledo are on to something that so many parents have suspected for ages. I love it when research can validate our hunches! :)
Sunshine says
I love this! Thank you for sharing! Legos are a hit here too! We got rid of the play kitchen but kept some play food in a basket. They like to have play picnics.
Kathy says
OK, this is my last comment…My grandkids (3 and 7), have a whole basement of toys. All they do is make a mess of them–rarely play with anything. Too distracting, just like Joshua says! I told my son that this year I don’t want to give them any toys for Christmas–maybe one big thing they can use (was thinking a play structure, but still thinking about that). I like the book-of-the-month club that Sara mentioned above. I’ve gotten a few educational catalogs lately, too. There ARE alternatives to the “buy toys just to buy toys” madness that has consumed our culture.
Oh, one other comment. Sorry! I am in charge of our (Boonsboro,MD) Green Fest Christmas party. We always have a “Reduce, Reuse Recycle Raffle,” where we bring gently used (nothing new!) items from home and have a silent auction-type thing (no $ exchanged). It is always popular–one doesn’t have to take anything home if they don’t want. As per Joshua’s post a while back, I’m doing something new this year–bring gently used Christmas ornaments/decorations and swap them. Joshua’s idea was to get rid of 50% of your decorations. I really cleaned out as I had a lot that I never use! I’ll be anxious to see how it goes.
Chris says
While I respect the thoughtfulness in your post, I will admit these studies that always claim over indulged Americans raise my blood pressure. My grandsons play at our home with the same Made in America Fisher Price toys that their father, uncle and aunts played with 30 years ago. Well made toys that never had to be recall like the current toys from China do. We always preferred quality over quanity. The idea that ever American child is getting 70 new toys a year is laughable. Our grandson turned 7 yesterday, and his gift from us was his own baking utensils and cookie and cake mixes. We do buy Legos because they are quality and challenge their creativity. My daughter in law wouldn’t be able time move in their little 1850s farm house if the boys got 210 new toys a years.
Jan says
It doesn’t say every American child, it says the *average* American child. There are always outliers. Sadly, I have no difficulty believing that the average American kid has this much stuff – I see it regularly from my kids’ own friends, my coworkers’ families, even my own extended family.
It sounds like you and your family are an exception, and have done a wonderful job of keeping things in check, much better than most Americans. Nice job!! I am striving to do the same! :)
Kathy says
Good job, Bev! We, too, have grandkids (3 and 7). I always wished my grandparents had ANYthing for us to play with. Paper and pencils or paints would have been wonderful! When my own kids were little, my dad gave us a huge box of odd-sized left-over wood pieces (he was in construction). My kids LOVED playing with those blocks! And they were free! (Wish I had kept them now for my grandkids. :) ).
Bev Patrick says
As a grandmother to 5 and 7 year old grandsons, I was fretting about not having an abundance of toys for them to play with when they came to visit. Then I noticed how creative they were with the few toys we do have, especially with building blocks . They actually play/ build together to create a new and different imaginative world every time they visit. And as long as I have plenty of paper and colored pencils, they are happy. This article just confirmed the behavior I saw in my grandsons. No more fretting.
Sunshine says
Beautiful! I am taking notes, looking forward to being a grandma. I’ve already been thinking the one toy I will save (a little of) is Lego (and Duplo for the little ones). And there will always be a few good books from the library and art supplies and good music.
Dads dollars debts says
We have a number of toys for our son but only allow a few out at a time. That way he is focused on those toys and his creativity. It is a nice in between for our family.
Sara says
Since before our daughter’s birth, almost 6yrs ago now, I stressed to our family to please consider our square footage when it came to gift giving. Living in NYC is plenty reason to beg our loved ones to keep gifts to a minimum, or avoid them all together because we don’t take it personal. Many close to us mean well, and we receive with gratitude, but having minimal space as a reason is helpful in our case because it’s true. We have to be extra particular of the things that take up our day to day lives and routine. The tradition I kept with our daughter, as far of receiving gifts, is that on any celebrated holiday she is allowed gifts that are educational, can be used within that year, clothing she’ll wear on the daily or dress up clothes she can play with, or even perishable/recyclable gifts. Fortunately, most family/friends will ask because they want to be certain they aren’t just spending to spend, too. We have also used Holidays/Christmas as a reason to bring in other traditions like gifting an ornament instead of toys, or gifting a holiday tour with a celebratory meal, etc. In the past we’ve had much success with our suggestions, fortunately for those around us who understand and are supportive. Experiences definitely outweigh stuff and I think this message has sunk in for them when we remind them gently of our need for less (stuff). Our daughter has received garden kits, science kits, books, clothing, and other gifts that are enjoyed. My mother-in-law has subscribed our daughter to book clubs, which we TRULY adore and also pass along if any are books she outgrows to younger cousins, and she has also subscribed her to other kits that have educational value – we go through them and they serve a positive purpose. Every month she gets to unwrap this gift and think of her grandmother, and it’s a win for us because it’s something we’ve encouraged that adds value without taking up space. As for us, the adults in this family, we always beg “no gifts!” We stress the lack of space, which helps get the message across, and we stress how much more valuable it will be to US to have them save their money for better adventures and experiences. As a family we prefer “thoughtful” gifts we’ll use or go through so the focus is on spending more time with loved ones, taking in the experience and cheer of the holiday around us, and spending our funds where they matter most. We find our daughter is far more creative without the clutter of a lot of toys. And even though we clean out her things every quarter to make room and to teach her to share her toys with other families who will use them when she’s moved on, there is always room to clear out more so she can find within her the ambition to create and enjoy what she does have around her. I keep more crafts in our home than toys. We enjoy building and creating, and for 5yrs old she’s quite the clay artist. :) We feel, gift giving should be something enjoyable, and the receiver should feel the love and joy put into such consideration….that is what makes it thoughtful. We try to teach our daughter these qualities because there seems to be a “grass is greener on the other side” mentality in our society and we don’t wish for her to be sucked into that mindset. It’s unhealthy and unnecessary, and untrue in most cases. Holidays are meant to be spent relishing in time with family/friends and holiday cheer. And most of that is free if you walk out and make those memories happen wherever you are. Thank you for this post, I love the gentle reminders of truly keeping on the path of ‘less is more’.
Kathy says
Well said, Sara. We don’t live in NYC, but what you are doing sounds perfect. Good job!
Kristine says
I love your thoughts about living in a small space and needing to be mindful of what you bring into it! It’s so true even in bigger spaces. Great ideas and suggestions for really meaningful gifts. Thanks for sharing!
littleblackdomicile says
As a Mom, and now Nana to adult grandkids, I can say that the memories they have of holidays has nothing to do with the tangible gifts. Makes my heart sing!-Laurel
Scotty says
We never BELIEVED in giving our child a ton of toys, but we’ve since adopted much more of the “minimalist” philosophy, although we’ll probably never be accused of being true minimalists. I sure wish we could go back and actually apply some of our previous beliefs and attempts to do so to a much more PURPOSEFUL application. In a time, now, where having things everyone else has and kids often growing up “entitled”, understanding the benefits of purposely having less is gold. Thank you.
Yasna says
Thank you very much, This is very helpful article. We can take decision to buy toy for my kids.