As I said earlier, most families have WAY TOO MANY toys. Watch a child with a typical box of toys (say 20 toys) and see exactly why. The typical 18 month to 4 year old child look’s into the box and pick out a toy, then places it aside within TEN SECONDS. They rummage through the box, select another, start walking away with it and drop it to pay attention to something else in the room. When they return to the toy box they pick out and drop on the ground at least half the toys in the box, finally selecting something to sit and play with for LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. Then they watch TV or whine at their parents, finally to return to the toy box. They have to negotiate a path between all the toys to get there. This time they completely empty the box, hoping for something satisfying at the bottom. Sometimes they hold on to the last toy for a few minutes… sometimes their “job” is done… they have emptied the toy box for today.
How to use the One at a time Toy Cabinet:
We suggest you put one of the child's favorite toys in each of the "One-at-a-time" toy chest compartments. Don’t do this in front of the child.
Simply: 1. open the compartments one at a time 2. remove and discard the cardboard insert and 3. close each door to allow you to access the next compartment . Make sure each toy has sufficient weight (about 3-4 ounces) to lower the moveable floor so that the closed door can pass over it.
Then take ALL the other toys and LOCK THEM IN A CLOSET and refuse to talk about them for the time being. (We give away a free lock for the closet door with each toy chest purchase.) Demonstrate to the child the "One-at-a-time" toy chest. If necessary, explain to them that they should at least try to be satisfied for the time being with the toys in the chest. (Actually this will be harder for the parent than for the child.) The novelty of the toy cabinet should be enough that the child may not even notice that the other toys are missing.
What child psychologists say:
Child psychologists say that the child will value each toy more if they have to make a “sacrifice” (put it away) to get another toy. You can see this in your own child when they drop a current toy and go to the One at a time toy cabinet. They try to get another toy and can’t. They may seem baffled or frustrated at first, or may even look to you to solve their problem. Then they remember (or you remind them) that by “giving up” the old toy they can get a new one. They will look at the old toy, think about it, and often just keep playing with the old toy for a while longer. They now “value” the old toy a little more because they were faced with the choice of giving it up, at least for a while. They will also “value” the new toy more once they eventually decide to “pay” for it with the old toy.
Eventually the novelty of the One at a time Toy Cabinet will wear off. In a few days or a week or so (or whenever the child seems to be NOT playing with toys from the one-at-a-time toy chest), then and only then do you go to the locked toy closet. One evening when the child is asleep, replace one or several of the toys in the chest with different ones from the locked closet. Even old toys will be interesting after not having been played with for a while. With a choice of “new” toys the child's interest will be easily maintained for another week or so. Don’t do this exchange in front of the child or they will focus on the closet, not on the toy cabinet.
As I said earlier, most families have WAY TOO MANY toys. Watch a child with a typical box of toys (say 20 toys) and see exactly why. The typical 18 month to 4 year old child look’s into the box and pick out a toy, then places it aside within TEN SECONDS. They rummage through the box, select another, start walking away with it and drop it to pay attention to something else in the room. When they return to the toy box they pick out and drop on the ground at least half the toys in the box, finally selecting something to sit and play with for LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. Then they watch TV or whine at their parents, finally to return to the toy box. They have to negotiate a path between all the toys to get there. This time they completely empty the box, hoping for something satisfying at the bottom. Sometimes they hold on to the last toy for a few minutes… sometimes their “job” is done… they have emptied the toy box for today.