Does your child have a playroom that they don’t really play in? Do you want them to go play on their own, but they don’t? How do you change your playroom to get your child playing? I’ve got you.

Too Many Choices

Often kids can’t get started playing because they don’t know where to start. They have so many wonderful toys that choosing which ones to play with is actually difficult. Their brains can’t sort through the options, so they don’t get started at all.

The solution to this is fewer choices. For most kids, having no more than 10 play choices is a relief. Ten choices sounds like a lot! But if you have a typical child, they probably have WAY more than 10 toys.

Do I recommend throwing away the rest? NO! What I recommend is getting some boxes and separating the toys into either monthly, bimonthly, or seasonal boxes. Then, the sets of toys you create can go into storage and get rotated out as often as you choose.

If a child asks for a toy that is in storage in your attic, you agree to trade it out, as long as they select a toy they are not playing with, to let it take its place. This method makes it possible for children to have some autonomy without being overwhelmed.

What to Choose

As you sort your toys into sets, there are some guidelines I recommend considering. If you have tons of toys to choose from, I recommend having each set include one of the following types of toys.

A doll or stuffed animal should always be around to be your child’s buddy. If your child has a favorite or two, you may want to make these exempt from the rotation system. The goal here isn’t to take away a favorite lovey, just to make playtime less stressful for your child.

Set of building toys such as wooden blocks, Duplos, or Magna tiles. These toys build a host of skills from hand strength to understanding physics. However, having too many sets available makes them overwhelming. A single set in a tub where they can access it is far more likely to get played with.

A set of cars or trains that go together, including their track or road if you have one. Once again, a great toy for kids, but too many sets is overwhelming.

A dollhouse with a reasonable set of dolls. If you have a large doll house that can’t be moved easily, still consider rotating the dolls and furniture. Twenty or more dolls can’t reasonably live in that house. Pair it down to about 4 or 5 and a reasonable number of accessories.  If your child has several smaller dollhouse options, rotate which one is available for play.

Seasonal toys. Be sure to consider if any of your toys are best used during a certain season, and put them where they can be pulled out at an appropriate time. The water baby your child likes to take to the pool will probably get more play time in summer than in winter.

As you can tell, your child may very well have far more than just 10 items in their play space when you are done. The goal is to create only 10 play choices, not to give them just 10 blocks and that’s it. Some play activities require a whole set of things. The goal is to make it so your child can think “I want to build something” and then start building instead of feeling overwhelmed that there are 5 sets of blocks to choose from.

What NOT to Rotate

As I said, don’t take away your child’s lovey or favorite teddy bear. That is not what this is about. Also, before doing this activity, observe if there are toys your child is playing with every day. You don’t need to remove those either. The goal is to remove the clutter, not something that is going well.

If your child already has a limited number of bathtub or outdoor toys, those may not need to be rotated. However, if there is an excess, you can choose to create a separate rotation of those items.

Evaluate if it is Working

You will know if this is working by how well your child plays after the toy removal. If they are playing for longer spans on their own, you win! If they still seem lost, you may need to take away a few more options or set up a play invitation.

A play invitation is when you set up the child’s toys in a way that encourages them to jump in and play. I often did this by building a train track and putting some trains on it. Once the wooden train set was all ready to go, it often engaged my kids for hours.

If your kids start complaining they feel bored after a few weeks, it is time to rotate the toys! Put away some of what is out now, and pull out a different box.