Research Has Proven That Kids With Fewer Toys Have More Fun When Playing

Nov 01, 2018 by apost team

It's natural to buy your kids a wide range of toys they can play with. Different types of toys offer different kinds of stimulation. What you may find surprising is the fact that it might actually be a better to offers you kids fewer toys to play with.

A new study by the University of Toledo in Ohio found that too many options reduced the quality of their play.

This is good news for parents that are overwhelmed by all the toys they have to clean up and organize after their kids are done. It's also good news for parents who want to save some money on their kids' entertainment and education. But more importantly, the reason why offering too many toys lowers the quality of plays is because young children are less immersed when presented with too many choices.

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Researchers found that the quality of play increased with fewer toys for various reasons. Children used their imagination more and were engaging more creatively. The group of children who were given four toys engaged in play with more variations and played for a longer period of time.

The same group of children was also given sixteen toys and it was found that there was a significant decrease in play time and engagement.

Experts found that the reason for this finding was simple. The group of children that were presented with many toys was distracted.

They would play with one toy for a short duration and move on to the next simply because of all the choices they had available to them. To ensure that this study was accurate, the schedule and toys were randomized so that the findings were conclusive.

So the next time you think about purchasing your children a new toy, ask yourself: Does my child really need this new toy? Will it add to his/her quality of play or will simply serve as another distraction?

As a matter of fact, if you look at how children with many toys play, you'll probably find that they tend to stick to the same ones that engage them the most.

Another thing you want to remind yourself is that memories are more important than gifts. Spending quality play time with your children is more important than buying the latest toy that everyone is talking about. Think about how you can work in playtime with your children into your regular schedule.

This is the kind of thing that children will remember will grow up, not the cool toys they played with.

The best part about all of this is the fact that spending quality time doesn't have to cost much. It can be a half an hour at the playground, a bike ride around the park, or projects you can work on together.

What do you think of this study? Do you notice that your kids have better playtime when only playing with a few toys? Let us know in the comments and show this article to other parents you know!