Toy Box?

[jojosmommy]

I recently purchased a small toy box from Target for our living room. All toys go in there in the evening and it looks somewhat like a regular home when the kids arent here. Plus my son loves digging in it and knows how to put toys away now!

I currently have my entire basement dedicated to daycare which my hubs does not appreciate. I am considering getting some BIG toy boxes and attempting to clean up some of the toys which are currently displayed on shelves so that we can enjoy our basement too.

Does anyone have any they recommend? Pictures? I would like to buy some quality ones like from a furniture store if anyone has any good recommendations. I am ok with the one from Target but I would need a number of them to fit all the toys inside- which is why I want a couple big ones instead. The one we have has a safety lid which can't close on fingers and has a slow release latch so it doesn't close quickly either.

Any ideas? THANKS!!!

[nannyde]

We have this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LITTLE-TIKES-large-toybox-blue-lid-VGUC-/250811700870?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a658ad686

and two of these: One in pink... one in blue

http://cgi.ebay.com/LITTLE-TIKES-VICTORIAN-BENCH-TOYBOX-CHILD-Sz-PU-IL-ONLY-/260780292318?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb7b778de

We leave the lids off all the time.

I don't do the toys out on shelves. We have two lakeshore cabinets that have twelve bins in each but they are by invite only.

The single use toys are in toys boxes. The kitchens have kitchen stuff... tool bench has tools... the doll house has dolls.. duplo table has duplos

The toys that don't go with the sets are in toy boxes or baskets.

The centers I watch on camera have only shelf based play. It's a nightmare to watch. It takes litterally a few minutes of play before the toys are all out on the floor. The most play the kids get with the toys IS taking them off the shelf.

I like the exercise that comes from the deep bend to get toys out of toy boxes. We do floor based play not table or shelf play and at the end of the day I would say my kids get five ... six.. seven times as much exercise as the kids at the center. This means they get up and down off the floor five times as much... lean over and stand back up five times as much... reach down and come back up five times as much.

NOT having the toys at eye level and not having many toys where the kid stands and plays at their own chest level translates into litterally hundreds more exercise movements per day.

I don't know who came up with table top and shelf based play but in this day and age where obesity is taking over this generation of kids... I would say that needs to be looked at LONG AND HARD. It's the "little that adds up to a lot" deal no matter how you slice it.

Play shouldn't be convenient.. they should WORK their little bodies when they play. Don't defy gravity. They are small and close to the floor for a reason... let gravity do it's job.