The concept of minimalism has invaded many aspects of life. While originally defined around a general approach to lifestyle and material possessions it is something that can be applied to parenting. Parents overwhelmed with the amount of toys their kids own may see the appeal in something like toy minimalism. There are many reasons parents may want to pursue toy minimalism beyond reducing clutter. Studies have shown children that have fewer toys have longer periods of play that are more imaginative. Children that have fewer toys can be more creative, have stronger values around sharing, and posses longer attention spans. There are several steps to toy minimalism including intervention, sorting, removal from house, storage optimization, and considering new toys coming in.
Key Takeaways:
- If your child goes for the seemingly amorphous box over the exquisitely detailed school bus, it’s probably because the box, lackluster as it appears, offers greater scope for the imagination.
- One study offered one group of children a wide array of toys and another a much smaller set.
- The kids given the smallest selection played longer and made more varied use of their toys than the group with the larger selection.
“Minimalism, in general, refers to living with less. In other words, getting rid of all the junk that you don’t use and only keeping things that really matter to you.”