Playing with Toys? Child’s play, you might say!
For a child, playing is more than merely Having Fun. It is Work!
Playing is how children learn more about the world. Those toys that our children play with, are not mere Playthings. They are in fact their Channel to a world of Creativity and Imagination.
One of the hallmarks of Creative Children is, they don’t need a plethora of toys to stimulate their imagination. Forget truly creative children, all kids play with only a fraction of the toys parents senselessly indulge them with.
Looking at how to make children more creative? Give them lesser toys! The adage ‘Less is More’, works beautifully here.
Are you fed up with the fact that toys have taken over not over your child’s bedroom, but your entire home? Read on, to find out how having lesser toys can actually be a wonderful thing.
How to Develop Imagination: The Case for Lesser Toys
Children do not need piles of toys, to ensure their happiness. In fact, Toys can even be detrimental to that ever-important ‘Play.’
Here’s presenting a list of reasons that will show you how having fewer toys can actually help spark Creativity and Imagination in your little ones.
Fewer Toys encourage more Imaginative Play
When children are left to their own devices, they do what they are naturally hardwired to do: Play!
The problem is, so many of the toys that are available out there, are doing all the playing for our kids. They sing, dance and even light up, leaving our children as passive observers.
Tip: If you really must buy toys for your children, buy them fewer, select ones. A classic example is Blocks. These will foster their imagination in the most innovative ways.
Lesser Toys prevent Overstimulation
Creative Play thrives in an environment of Keen Focus. Sadly, in today’s world, the multitude of toys that children possess, has them severely distracted.
Children who have too many toys, find themselves overwhelmed at times. They just cannot seem to decide which toys they should play with. Their inability to engage in anything specific, can only lead to boredom. When they have fewer toys, they engage in one thing at a time, like a puzzle. This keen sense of focus, works wonders when it comes to sharpening their creativity.
They develop a greater love of Art
When children have fewer toys, what do they do? They look towards other avenues of interest, like Music and Books!
It is vital to foster in your children the Love of Art. That is how you will get them to see the inherent Beauty in the world they live in. Having fewer toys is easily one of the best ways you can help them cultivate the love of art.
Bonus: Their newfound interest in art, will also help whisk them away from those Screens that capture unhealthy amounts of their time.
They encourage different kinds of Play
Children that have fewer toys, learn to play in different ways.
Children who don’t possess many toys, indulge in more Active and Unstructured Play. The lack of a multitude of toys, helps them use their imaginations to create a vast number of scenarios to act out. For example, they might use Sofa Cushions to create a Fort that protects them from Evil!
It teaches them the value of Quality over Quantity
One of the really cool things about truly creative children is the fact that they understand the importance of Quality.
Perhaps the best way you can help your kids see that Quality is of paramount importance, is by giving them fewer toys. When they have only the Essentials, they are far more understanding where it comes to understanding that they don’t need everything to be happy.
Note: The true importance here lies in the fact that they can get truly creative with the few things they have, to produce things of the greatest quality with their Imaginations!
They play more in Nature
It’s only natural for kids who have lesser toys, to venture ever more into Nature’s territory, to play.
When we were small, we spent most of our time playing in the Outdoors. How lovely it will be, if we can get our children to experience the same joy!
Simply spending time in nature is a form of therapy for kids. Even if they are not playing with anything in particular, they have a great time merely running around, or lying down in the grass. Moreover, they will begin asking questions about the world around them, and this in turn will boost their creative thinking.
Bonus: Spending more time in Nature, will only lead to Healthy Bodies and Happy Minds, besides honing the imaginative powers of children.
It Fosters a Sense of Calm
Fewer Toys means Less Clutter. And less clutter only brings about with it a sense of Calm.
Creativity and Imagination thrive in an Atmosphere of Calm. No wonder some famous writers take to serene places like the mountains, to write books that one day become bestsellers! Less Toys means Less Mess. Less Mess is not only Less Stress for you as a parent, but for your kids, too. The atmosphere of calm it fosters, works magic when it comes to sharpening the creativity and imagination skills of your children.
They become more Resourceful
When children have fewer things to play with, they become more resourceful with the things they have.
Having fewer toys, only means that they will use the things they already have in different ways. This will go a long way in helping them in their future lives. When they are presented with a problem, they will be able to solve it with the scant resources on hand!
At EuroKids we believe that children are actually happier, when they have fewer toys to play with. It allows them to become far more creative with what they have, and to fire their Imaginations when they do what they love most of all. Playing, of course!
