I convinced my 4-year-old to throw out dozens of junk toys with a simple strategy
- My 4-year-old son had the typical toy-filled room that became overwhelming for us both.
- I convinced him to throw away toys he no longer played with due to this strategy.
Days before Christmas, I walked up to my son's room with a white trash bag.
My 4-year-old son Blake is a lover of dinosaurs, monster trucks, and Legos, along with a variety of plastic knick-knacks that he collected from friends' birthday parties, his family, and random drugstore finds. And as much as I relished in seeing him play, often using his imagination to create scenes in his mind's eye, the fact was we had too many toys.
Still, I knew I couldn't just go into his solar system-decorated room, grab useless plastic toys, and throw them away. I also knew it was unwise to go into his room while he was at preschool and throw away random toys for fear that he couldn't go to sleep without that one red car. (No, not that red car but the red car with the spider on the windshield.) I've been there before and it wasn't pretty.
I needed a solution that empowered him to make the choice of what to throw out and what to keep, especially with Christmas approaching and the inevitable wave of new plastic toys to fill up his space and eventually be untouched, collecting germs and dust.
We have too many toys. And I know my household isn't alone: Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos recently reported that toys are getting cheaper, making them more accessible. In fact, according to the consumer price index, which keeps track of inflation rates, a $20 toy in 1993 is now priced at $4.68 today. So it's no wonder millennial parents are ending up with an overwhelming amount of plastic toys.
I knew had to be smart about my next move.
"Blake, you know, Christmas is coming," I said to warm him up. "And in order for Santa to drop off more toys — new toys, shiny toys — you have to make room. And right now, your room is filled with toys. Where will Santa put the new ones?"
I saw his eyes light up with a solution in mind. He grabbed the trash bag from my hand and started hurling old toys into the bag. I advised him that some of these toys we'd throw in the trash, but anything gently used we'd donate to other children who may want them. He agreed that idea was a fine decision and kept throwing, and throwing, and throwing toys away.
It got to the point that I had to convince him to keep some toys or even gift them to his little brother, Brenton.
With a decluttered room, my boy is ready for Christmas. Thanks, Santa!