Two years ago, scientists conducted an interesting study on the effect of toys on children's mood. The kids were alternately placed in rooms with 4 and 16 toys. In the first room, children played enthusiastically, fantasized and actively interacted with each other. In the second, the bright delight of the variety of toys was soon replaced by bad mood and anger. And this is not the first experiment to prove that a wide variety of toys has a negative effect on the psyche of a child, and here's why.
Young children cannot concentrate on more than 5 objects at the same time: if many interesting objects fall into the child's field of vision, the nervous system is overstrained, which the baby cannot cope with.
Therefore, psychologists do not recommend buying a lot of toys for children. But how can you deny a child what he asks?
There is no need to refuse. If initially a child lives with a limited number of toys, he is more conscious about the process of choosing a new one and is unlikely to make a spontaneous purchase. This is a good foundation for building a personality: this way he will learn to analyze, make informed decisions, take responsibility and appreciate what he has. The child will understand that the main values in life are not toys, but good friends and human communication.
If the kid already has a whole toy store at home, remove some of them, leaving 5-7 items. After a month, replace them with 7 others, and so on. In the event that the child continues to demand toys in stores, agree that he will receive the desired gift for his birthday or any other holiday. This way, every new toy will bring joy and long-term satisfaction. Avoid spontaneous shopping in supermarkets.
Often, children simply do not understand how to express a lack of attention, the need for love and communication with their parents, so they begin to demand toys, testing parental love.
This is a reason to think about the parenting model and family relationships.
It is very difficult for most parents to learn to refuse a child, since they often equate the satisfaction of children's whims with love, especially if they devote little time to the family. Of course, every parent wants to give the child all the best and as much as possible, but this is not worth doing.
So, 5 universal rules for buying toys:
1. You should not buy toys "for growth." A child will not play with a robot at 2 years old - he will simply be scared of it. And if someone from your loved ones brought such a gift, remove it until the child begins to be interested in this.
2. Give preference to simple toys. The simpler the format, the better the imagination develops. From a simple LEGO construction set, a boy can assemble hundreds of different cars and houses, which are often beyond the power of even adults.
3. Buy toys of different categories. There is no need to give several dolls, even if your daughter dreams of becoming a mother of many children. Present, for example, paper dolls for which she herself can create outfits, approaching the process creatively.
4. Give up gadgets. Children under 3 years old are not recommended to use them for more than 5-7 minutes a day, and elementary school students no more than half an hour. This time is determined by scientists on the basis of the physiological and mental indicators of children.
5. Let you and your child have a set of educational games that you play together: memo, chess, checkers, difficult board and educational games. You can replenish it yourself at your discretion - so the child will be drawn to intellectual games, spending time with his parents.
6. Saving on quantity, take care of quality. Choose inexpensive brands from trusted stores. For example, in the Korablik chain of stores, the Huggeland brands with educational games for toddlers and InfantValeree with games for girls have earned high marks from consumers.