November 13, 2010
TOO MANY TOYS
My children have way too many toys. I just spent an hour in the room that Dawson and Owen share, sorting through toys. I went in there to put laundry away and nearly had a nervous breakdown over the amount of CRAP they have.
Sure there are favorite toys like Legos and the little Star Wars action figures Dawson loves to play with, and Owen is mesmerized by the Mega Blocks, but still there are McDonald’s Happy Meal toys that are crammed in every corner, played with for 5 minutes and tossed aside.
We don’t go to the Arches that often, but we’ve acquired enough of those plastic pieces of junk and I’m sick of looking at them. I threw them all in an empty box and didn’t stop there. Things my kids haven’t touched in months also went into that box and I’m determined to take it to Goodwill. I think I’m going to have Dawson come along so that he can be the one to make the donation.
I just don’t understand how my kids got so spoiled. I don’t buy them toys unless it’s for a birthday or Christmas present. In years past I’ve gone a bit overboard, but I quickly learned my lesson when I was the one picking up the damn things.
Tonight I found toys I haven’t seen before and when I asked Dawson where they came from he replied, “Grandma bought me those when we went to Goodwill.”
I flipped my lid.
“Does anyone NOT see the irony of this situation? We should be DONATING toys to Goodwill, NOT buying more crap to fill this house!”
My husband just chuckled. He quickly shut up when I gave him the death stare.
I’m just at a loss. I hate giving away toys they love, but they can’t LOVE them all can they? I am tired of tripping over Tonka trucks and Matchbox cars. And those damn Little People! I truly believe they procreate at night.
And the Legos! Oh dear, God, the Legos. If I were to count how many tiny-choking-hazards-waiting-to-happen-pieces I find on the floor each day, I could retire tomorrow. It’s insane.
Is it cruel to just pack stuff up and drag to the curb? What do you do about the toy situation in your house?
Posted by Dana @ 9:01 PM • I Need to Vent,Kids These Days
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December 6th, 2010 at 6:21 PM, Amanda Says:
what works well for us, is every time they get a new toy, they have to choose one of their old ones to give to someone else or donate to Goodwill. Sometimes we let it slide, but most of the time, even if they bring a toy home from grandma’s, they go up to their room and pick the unfortunate toy and drop it into the donations box without me even asking. Not sure if this will work for you, but it may be worth a try.