The last time we were at the library, I picked up a copy of "You Are One," a board book by Sara O'Leary. Elliott loves looking at the pictures of the babies, and listening to the list of all the things he can do: walk, point, use a spoon, clap his hands.
I must have read that book ten times before one line -- "You like to play with your toys. Or sometimes with the empty boxes they came in." -- suddenly struck me as resoundingly profound. Haven't all parents commented that their silly baby likes playing with the box more than what's inside?
Since having my second child, I've become more and more disillusioned with a lot of baby toys. (Honestly, I've become pretty disillusioned with the entire baby industry, but that's another story.) Babies are surrounded by new experiences every day just by being alive, but we think we need to entertain them by placing them in front of more and more things! The world itself is toy enough for a baby, which the Baby Toys vs. Random Objects video on YouTube makes pretty clear. It's hilarious to watch that baby gravitate towards real keys instead of a plush bear, but isn't that telling how much the baby toy industry is just such a waste?
As they grow, children are learning to be human. They're learning to have a place in the family and in the world. They learn through play, lots of play. Pretend play, imaginative play, run-around-outside-and-jump-in-the-creek play. We don't need to spend $36 a month on a fancy wooden play kit, $90 on a block kit, or get any of the sensory-overloading electronic "learning toys" for our kids. (Electronic baby toys lead to decrease in verbal skills, and most "Montessori" toys are too expensive, so we don't have either.)
Most parents probably have a playroom full of toys that their children never play with. And the problem isn't that the child hasn't found the "perfect toy" yet: the problem is that they have too many to begin with. Studies show that having too many options is bad for toddlers, and all those things sitting around just clutters up our houses and will eventually spend eternity in a landfill or in the ocean. Fewer toys are better for the child and for the environment.
I'm not anti-toy. I'm just anti-toy overload, especially for very small children.
After playing at a friend's house the other day, my three-year old came over and said to me, "Mama, I'm ready to go home. She's got too many toys." And when we finally walked in the door, he breathed a sigh of relief, said, "I'm glad to be home," and went to play in a box.
