Pros and Cons of Having Lots of Toys vs. Few Toys

What are the pros and cons of having tons of toys vs. having fewer toys for your kids?

First off, you need to establish how many you feel is too many. For me, we have a small cupboard close to the kid's room. If I can't fit all of their toys in there, we have way too many toys. Some moms may feel that a whole toy room full is not enough toys. Either way, what are the pros and cons of reaching that limit?

Pros of Having Tons of Toys

1. Your kids have never-ending toys to play with, so they will never be bored. It would only make sense that the more toys a child has the, less they will be bored. Imagine having a room full of your favorite products. There is no way you will have time to do anything else but look around.
2. They feel super loved by all of the money you have spent on them. Your child can never say that you don't care because you buy them toys every time you go to the store. Who wouldn't feel cared for?
3. They can show their friends how many cool toys they have. As a kid, you always want to feel super important. Well, what better way to do that than having a room full of any toy imaginable? All of their friends will love them!
4. It teaches them to be responsible. When a child is given so many toys, they must spend the time taking care of them. From picking them up, to fixing broken pieces and making sure the toys are cleaned. A child learns to take care of his or her belongings. 
5. You don't have to entertain as much. With a house full of toys, you won't have to babysit your child 24/7. Right?
6. You are helping them increase their fine motor skills by a large variety. Parents that are only giving their children a few toys are stunting their child's potential. A room full of fine motor skill toys will make your child a genius.
7. If you have two of each toy, then at least two of your kids won't be fighting over the same toy. Don't you hate when kids fight over the same toy? This wouldn't happen if you had a room full of toys that also had a double.
8. It makes you feel like a good parent. When life gets crazy, and you haven't felt like you have done your best. It will always be good to know that at least your kids have a lot of stuff.

Pros of Having Fewer Toys

1. Kids play better with fewer toys. I decided to put all of my kid's toys away for a week. They both got to choose three to keep out. It was amazing the results! All of a sudden play, time was a lot more fun. The kids played better together which, was exciting to see. Then best of all, I wasn't as stressed about getting the house cleaned up all of the time because I only had six small toys to keep track of.
2. The fewer toys the, more kids appreciate simple things. Moving into a home with a weed-covered yard has been a one-of-a-kind experience. In the morning, when I go out to work in the yard. It is interesting to see how happy the kids can be for hours as they play with a single toy, small stick, or a pile of rocks.   
3. You really can't buy love. No matter how many toys you give a child, it won't change how they feel about you if you don't spend time with them and show love in other ways.

Cons of Having  A Lot of Toys

1. Kid's brains become overwhelmed with too many things. I have heard of a few studies about how children get overwhelmed with too much. They really don't need to be entertained. They need to work on developing their brains to become a child full of dreams.
2. Too many toys bring nasty bugs and spiders. I remember going to play with one of my cousins. As we started pulling out all of her buckets of toys, spider after spider kept appearing. It was a little freaky, and I quickly realized the spiders love messy places. To this day, I fear large toy buckets!
3. Big loud noise toys hurt playtime more than help. Big, bright, music-playing toys kill playtime! I know that if we are given a noise toy, it might be played with once, then I shoved it aside 90% of the time. Kids like coming up with their own games! Have you ever given your child a bag of wooden blocks? Magic!
4. Lots of money is spent on something that doesn't create lasting joy. If a child is given a toy that is not creating memories and is never used. What is the point of buying it in the first place? Being picky with what they have in their toy box will save you money and make them happier.
5. Too many toys lead to carelessness. As the oldest, my little girl was given a ton of toys! Every other day it felt like a friend or family member would bring her a new something or another. Quickly she learned that if she broke a toy, she would get a new one. She would often tell us in her two-year-old brain, "If I break my toys, someone will just give me a new one." This is not a good perspective on life! 

Cons of Having a Few Toys

1. If you don't have enough toys, it is hard to have other kids over to play. As I mentioned before, we really cut back on toys after doing some experiments. This worked out great until I realized it was hard to have a few friends over when we only had three toys out that week. Keep this in mind as you start cleaning.
2. By not having enough as a child, an adult may feel like they need to make up for the lost time. For example, a child that doesn't have enough food growing up may become a food hoarder. This same thing may happen to an adult that doesn't feel like they had enough growing up.
3. Fewer Toys could lead some children to being board. No one likes hearing, "Mom, I am so board." At intervals 90 times a day.

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah