toys for 1 to 2 year old

The What, Why and How Of Toy Rotation

2 Comments
Read time: 7 minutes
how to reduce toy clutter-toy rotation

Does all the toy clutter make you wonder how to organize toddler toys? Have you considered a toy rotation?

In this post, I will cover what is a toy rotation, how to maintain a successful toy rotation and why you should consider rotating toys.

HOW TO SET UP A TOY ROTATION

WHAT IS A TOY ROTATION?

Toy rotation is the system of rotating toys from an existing toy collection every week or few weeks so as to maintain the novelty of existing toys and encourage more creativity in play.

WHY MAINTAIN A TOY ROTATION?

1. Minimize the clutter of toys

Any toddler parent can attest to the toy jungle that is left behind every day as the toddler waddles through his toys.

The toddler picks up a toy, plays for 5 mins then moves on to the next. Before you know it your living area looks like it was hit by a typhoon!

And toy clutter isn’t just a problem in families with multiple kids and lots of toys.

Little kids have very short attention spans and need to use their hands constantly. This automatically leads to a messy play area full of toys.

Toy rotation can be a start to using a few select toys daily in various ways so as to minimize the clutter.

2. Creativity

When you minimize the number of toys, the child now has to learn how to use whatever he has in the most creative ways.

One big benefit we experienced with toy rotation is newfound creativity. Our son comes up with new ways to play with the same toys each day and gets good use of his toys.

3. Learn the value of things

When implemented at an early age, children learn the value of things.

A toy rotation has given us the opportunity to talk about caring for our things and why we repair and reuse what we can rather than throw away and discard.

You will notice how the child learns to care for his toys and books.

4. Great for small spaces

If you live in a small space you may not have a room in the house that’s dedicated as a playroom. You may have a small nook in the house or the living room itself may double up as a play area for the children.

A toy rotation system can save space and help organize the toys better.

Okay, so how do you go about starting a toy rotation? read on

TOY ROTATION TIPS

1. How to maintain a toy rotation?

This is what we do in our home. Every 1-2 week we rotate toys. We choose 5 toys at a time. I choose the toys such that we can cover educational skills, motor skills, pretend play aspects each week.

For example, each toy rotation will include  1. Musical Toy/Pretend play toy

1-2 Educational toys

1-2 Fine motor skill development toys

Here are some of the educational toys we love for toddlers and preschoolers.

2. What about the non-negotiable toys?

There are some toys that are a “must play with everyday” type of toys. Over a period of time, I realized these are my son’s non-negotiables. This was actually the reason why our first attempt at toy rotation was a fail because there are some toys he just wanted around him all the time.

Once I realized my mistake I made these toys a central feature of the play area. Now he is comfortable rotating the other toys.

Non-negotiable toys in our home are building blocks, our Hape play kitchen and his car collection. We recently setup dedicated toy storage just for these in his play area so that these toys are permanently kept outside for him to access.

Your child too may have some toys he loves and needs to have around every day; it’s okay to exclude these toys from the rotation.

Remember, every child is different, that means that this may/may not be an issue at all for your child, but with a little trial and error and you will figure out what system works for your family.

It is also a great idea to keep a tiny basket with toys or books in different nooks of the house. I usually choose spots where I spend a lot of time in the house with our son.

There is one box of toys and books close to my workstation. This box gets refreshed every 3-6 weeks. Depending on the size of your house you can decide which spots to add extra toy boxes to.

3. Toy storage and organization

I personally feel storage bins are a great option over toy cupboards because you can move the toys around the house.

We have a storage unit from Ikea for the non- negotiable toys I mentioned above and  I place the 5 toys of the week on the top shelf of the unit.

The rest of the toys go into storage boxes that are tucked away in cupboards.

Best toy storage boxes: These are amazing storage boxes for smaller spaces. We have used similar styles in the past to store toys.

3 Sprouts Cube Storage Box

Shumee Canvas Toy Storage Box

E-ware 4 Drawer Rack

Our current toy storage system includes

Ikea FLISAT Toy Storage

Ikea TROFAST Storage 

When the child grows out of the existing toys you can donate, resell or put the toys away in the storage for future children. This way the toys that are in rotation are the ones that are apt for the current developmental age.

4. At what age can a toy rotation be started?

Honestly, it depends on the size of the current toy stash. Our son had a very minimal toy stash until he was about 2 years old. All his toys fit in one box so I didn’t feel the need to start rotating the toys. Also, when he was a baby he didn’t need many toys to stay engaged. He played with spoons and plates from the kitchen on most days.

Once he entered the twos we slowly started adding new toys to meet certain developmental needs and his new interests. And as time went on we accumulated a lot of toys as gifts from family and friends.

Thats when I knew I couldn’t deal with the toy clutter anymore; our son was not even playing with most of the toys in his play area.

A toy rotation system made the toys more visible to him and he now has an organized space to play in.

5. How to handle birthdays with new toys coming in?

When you get too many toys for birthdays, store them away and introduce a new toy on occasions when you want to mix it up within your current toy rotation.

If you feel your child already has too many toys, talk to your guests about a no gift option.

I know sending out a wishlist of toys to the guest list is still a controversial topic. Many people consider it rude or entitled while others think it’s a great idea.

Personally, I’d rather buy from a registry than gift something I am not sure if the person appreciates. There is no need to think of what to buy, no repeat presents, plus you save money knowing well that your gift will get used.

But ultimately the decision to run a gift registry or not depends on the type of family relationships you have.

I would never make such requests if I were not sure how the other person would feel about it. I’d rather say no gifts.

toy rotation

Here are some more toy-related posts for you;

10 Wooden Toy Brands For Kids

How To Select Learning Toys For Kids

Small Homeschool Room Design and Organization Ideas

To sum it up,

A toy rotation is a great way to get more value from existing toys.

Do you run a toy rotation system in your home? Do leave us with your toy rotation tips in the comments below.

The Only Toys You Need For Your Toddler ( 1-2 years)

38 Comments
Read time: 7 minutes
car-toys-toddlers-child

As a mother I am very particular about the kind of products I expose my son to. Be it baby care products or clothing. So toys are no different. In-fact children below the age of 2 often mouth toys, which directly exposes them to the chemicals in plastic and coloring agents used on toys. That is why toys along with baby care items and clothing are the categories where I don’t compromise on quality and try to invest in safe and sturdy materials.

I try and stick to wood toys made of hard woods. Avoiding cheaper quality wooden toys made with MDF materials.

MDF and Ply-wood are commonly bonded using toxic glues and adhesives.This can sometimes include the toxic chemicals like Formaldehyde. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified formaldehyde as a “known human carcinogen”. Furthermore, if the wooden toy is coated with cheap paint and lacquer which possibly contains lead, the wooden toy is just as bad as any plastic toy.

If a wooden toy is not available I choose cloth toys and  trusted brand name plastic toys. Also note, when a plastic toy starts to wear off, it is time to discard the same, and don’t use second hand and old plastic toys as there may be possibility of chemicals leaching out and the toy not meeting the current toy safety standards.

Don’t just think about material when you think of safe toys; the shape and size of the toys are also important. Check that there are no sharp edges to the toy and that it passes the sizing standards for that age group. Especially with children below age of 2, there is always a risk of choking on toys. It’s best to stay away from toys that contain tiny parts.

When you start investing in good quality toys it becomes about quality over quantity. So your child will have a smaller collection but one that can last him/her through childhood.

Again, these are just basic guidelines for you as a parent when you choose a toy; I don’t mean to preach by any means. I too have a collection of toys for my son that are a mix of largely wooden, few plastic and cloth toys. In the end it’s about having an understanding about the chemicals in our children’s toys and being thoughtful about our choices.

Now getting to the list of toys that I found most age appropriate between 1-2 years of age. Some of the toys from my previous list of toys for baby’s first year are still relevant to this age group e.g, stacking rings, blocks, pull along toys, books etc. So we carry those forward into the toddler years.

The Only Toys You Need For Your Toddler

Only toys you need for your toddler 1-2 years

  • Mega Blocks: Once the child gets the hang of stacking, he/she will move onto building. Mega Blocks are easy to use for those tiny toddler palms that are not yet very adept with fine motor skills.

Recommendations:

Fisher Price Big Building Bag

  • Balls: This is the perfect age group for them to start understanding the concept of throwing balls. They have just started running and jumping and a ball is the perfect play companion to them. This one is a must buy.

Recommendation:

Kipsta Green Blue Ball

  • Books: Once they enter toddler years kids get really excited about books, especially if you already have a routine that incorporates reading. Try and find a variety of themes and storybooks. Some board books, a few pop up books, interactive books, paperbacks etc. Let them get exposed to a variety of formats. Some of our favorites are:
  1. Peter Rabbit Finger Puppet Book – Beatrix Potter
  2. Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear – Eric Carle
  3. Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You Hear – Eric Carle
  4. What The Ladybird Heard – Julia Donaldson
  5. What The Ladybird Heard Next – Julia Donaldson
  6. When I Grow Up – Noella Menon
  7. Busy Airport (Busy Book) – Rebecca Finn, Campbell Books
  8. Cheep Cheep – Tulika Publishers
  • Kitchen set: Pretend play becomes a huge developmental activity in this period. Toddlers pick up on the nuances of what cooking looks like, trying their hands at stirring pots, serving on plates etc. I looked everywhere for a steel set or a wooden one and finally found one by Hape Toys. I will highly recommend this set. My son loves it a lot, it is one toy he is found playing with everyday. If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen this set in the many pictures I have put up there.

Recommendations:

Hape Gourmet Wooden Starters Kitchen Set

Hape Wooden Tea Set For Two

  • Vehicles: Kids at this age love the pretend play concept of cars, trains, airplanes, construction vehicles. They are now aware of their surroundings and observing the vehicles on the road, this helps them connect the real world physical objects they see through playtime.

Recommendations:

Maya Organic Wooden Pull Along Engine

Shumee Tow Truck

Shumee Blue Race Car

  • Musical toys: At this age children start enjoying music and want to participate in it by dancing, playing musical instruments. Introducing an xylophone is great for this age. They enjoy the process of creating music. I like the ones that come with a single stick unit rather than ones that have a tiny ball attached at the end. Because if the ball falls off, it can pose a choking risk. You can even buy other musical instruments more suited to their age like a baby casio, drums etc.

Recommendations:

Hape Wooden Xylophone

Plan Toy’s Wooden Xylophone

  • Coloring books and pencils: Coloring is a great activity to enhance your child’s fine motor skills. Also helps hone their creativity. They learn about colors and textures through coloring activities. There is no real need to buy special coloring books, you can just give them blank papers or old diary’s, notebooks lying around the house. Look for age appropriate crayons especially if your toddler still mouths his crayons. Crayons made of natural materials like soy or beeswax are most suited to this age group. I like the ones by Azafran Crayons as they are made of organic waxes of palm, soya, soya butter and food grade colors.

Recommendation:

Azafran Crayons

  • Animal Set/Fruit Set/Vegetable Set: Through books, observation and conversation toddlers start picking up names of animals, fruits, and vegetables. Buying them play sets of the same becomes a new pretend play activity for them. They soon have their own favorites among these. I found that my son picked up names of a lot of animals, fruits and vegetables when he saw them in such a toy format.

Recommendations:

K’s Kids Take Along Playset – Jungle

Shumee Safari Truck

Hape Wooden Fruit

I hope you found this list useful. Its always great to have an age wise compilation like this at hand when you want to gift a toy or have forgotten what you used for your previous baby. Which toys does your child love? Leave me a comment below. If you liked what you read follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for more ideas.

This blogpost contains affiliate links. These links provide me with a small percentage commission but don’t cost you anything extra.