Countless parents spare no effort to ensure that their children have everything they desire.
With the delightful announcement of Toys R Us making a comeback and an abundance of adorable products on the market, it’s often challenging for those with disposable income to resist spoiling their little ones.
But now, one social media influencer is advising mums and dads to exercise restraint, and she has explained her reasoning behind this advice.
Instagram’s Kristen Daley, who operates under the handle @daleyhomeinspo, is a regular sharer of her household insights, shopping finds, and decluttering strategies with her 27,200 followers. One of her recent reels particularly zeroes in on the chaos that ensues when purchasing excessive toys for your offspring.
The video commences with a scene of a living room swamped with scattered toys. A message then appears stating: “This is what happens when you stop buying your kids everything they want..”, reports the Mirror.
Subsequently, viewers are presented with a vision of a neat and orderly space as the text onscreen advises: “And start doing this one thing so you never have to go back to the mess.”
In her accompanying caption, Kristen outlines: “When I finally cleaned out their rooms and set up a good organisational system, I knew I never wanted to go back. So I implemented this one rule..”
“If they want something new; they have to exchange it with something currently in their room.”
The post captivated her audience, amassing over 4,500 likes, and many concurred that they employ a similar strategy. One individual remarked: “I have always had this same rule, but my big family constantly gives us new toys. So very lucky, but so many things to organise.”
Another user expressed support for the toy rule, sharing: “We have this rule too! If they hang a new toy from the store, they have to donate 3 to the thrift store!”
A third shared a similar sentiment, stating: “We have this rule too! My daughter is 4.5 now and we’ve been doing it since she was about 2. I told her then, she has so many toys and her toy baskets and stuffie bin is full. If she wants a new stuffie or toy she needs to get rid of one or even more because we do it by size. Whatever new thing is coming in, something of equal size needs to be donated or handed down. She wanted a small puppy that came in a carrier a couple months ago, she got rid of 3 toys for that puppy. The cool thing too is it makes them think about what they really want. 10/10 highly recommend!”
However, not everyone was on board with this approach. One critic argued: “Children grow up way to quickly, the time they want toys in a blink will turn to clothes/makeup let them have the toys.”