Questions About Toys

[Lil'DinoEggs]

*Do you allow the children to use game pieces for other purposes? ie cookies from a cookie game in the kitchen area
*Do you allow the children to dump the toys and use the buckets and baskets for other purposes?

[TwinKristi]

Yes and yes but my crew is newly 2 and under. Primarily a 20 month old, a 22 month old and a 25 month old who is quite delayed so even younger than the other 2 in maturity and ability. They love love love to dump things out! We have a lot of Duplo Legos, Matchbox/Hotwheels and they love dumping out their baskets and filling them back up.

[BrooklynM]

If they aren't destructive I would. I have certain clean up points throughout the day-before nap, before we go outside, end of day, etc. Otherwise its a disaster and I end up stepping on toys. Those mega blocks on the bottom of your feet are PAINFUL! I had a full on bruise last time, .

[Familycare71]

No to the first- I highly dislike going to play a game or do an activity and all the pieces aren't there! Those kinds of things are not openly accessible.
Yes to the other question- I encourage out of the box thinking and play- so all the toys can be intermingled if they want- I don't have strict center areas.

[Lil'DinoEggs]

I agree with no to the first one, but I was truly unsure about the second. Lately I have been more lenient to see how I felt about the dumping. I wasn't correcting them all the time and it was fun. But the mess was horrendous and I am spending 15-20 min a night putting things away. I am also afraid that someone will come in and think it is a fire/safety hazard. I have an extremely small house and licensing is very understanding of this but I am always afraid someone will question it. Thoughts?

[Familycare71]

I agree with no to the first one, but I was truly unsure about the second. Lately I have been more lenient to see how I felt about the dumping. I wasn't correcting them all the time and it was fun. But the mess was horrendous and I am spending 15-20 min a night putting things away. I am also afraid that someone will come in and think it is a fire/safety hazard. I have an extremely small house and licensing is very understanding of this but I am always afraid someone will question it. Thoughts?

Yes- sometimes the dumping can get out of hand- because then I have three big bins of stuff (that's my limit) on the floor- my play room is an average size bedroom so it can feel crowded. If it gets too bad I just stop everyone and say: hey look no one is playing with the cars so let's clean those up! Then we get back to play.
I also currently have two young 2 yr olds- they are really into emptying a bin only to stack the toys on the play table- then they try to move on it is driving me a bit crazy!!!
I just recently switched from having one bin out of the dc room in the living room to playing with the toys all in one area- sometimes I miss my old way!

[Familycare71]

And if everything is being played with and I don't want to interrupt I will move/sort some of the extra pieces to the side so clean up is easier later

[Meyou]

No and no.

Games are in a separate area and I have 3 little shopping baskets, a picnic basket and several purses they can use if they need to carry something around.

[LK5kids]

No and no.

Games are in a separate area and I have 3 little shopping baskets, a picnic basket and several purses they can use if they need to carry something around.

Same here!

[melskids]

Yes.

[WImom]

No - All my games are up high so I have to get them down. My small things like counting bears, etc are in my table toy area and those must stay at the table. All the toys in the play area can be mixed up though.

[cheerfuldom]

If it was a board game or something that would be ruined if pieces get lost, I would not let the kids play with those outside of playing the actual game. but I have A LOT of baskets and bins in my playroom that are solely for kids filling up with things and toting around. Thats what kids like to do. No point trying to keep things all perfect and contained and separated. I do make them help clean up though, even the little ones. and I keep my playroom pretty minimal, not overstuffed with toys everywhere.

[originalkat]

All of my boxes of toys can be dumped and moved and played with in different ways as long as the children are not being destructive.

But, I keep math tubs, puzzles, and other games off limits to dumping. Those must be done as a separate activity at the table.

-- All of my kids are 2 1/2 -5 yrs.

[Blackcat31]

My kids are separated.

Kids under 2 have bins and boxes but a majority of their bins are simply dumped, filled, dumped, filled etc.... I don't care if they mix everything up...

At the end of the week, I will go in and sort stuff into the right bins/tubs but there are only 3 so no biggie. That's how they roll at that age.

My over 2's though have separate bins, containers and boxes for almost all their activities. I don't care if they dump/mix any of them....the only catch with this age though is they have to return it all to it's rightful place when they are finished playing.

Like originalkat, I keep puzzles and specific games etc separated though and those types of things aren't just out so that it's a free for all.

[spinnymarie]

same as many others - most of the games are up high so the pieces don't get lost, so we do them one at a time. I'll have them put the game/puzzle away if they are running away with them.
But I don't mind a bit of dumping, if it gets to be too much, we pick up quickly.