Are your children’s toys invading your house? When was the last time you walked across the playroom and didn’t find it a perilous obstacle course cluttered with a labyrinth of puzzles, trucks, and blocks? Keeping on top of your children’s toys can be a full-time job, but it doesn’t have to be.
We have some quick tips abridged from “Consumer Reports Guide to Childproofing and Safety” to make your life easier.
Get on your child’s level. As a first step in organizing the playroom, get on your hands and knees and try to see the room from your child’s perspective. This will help you determine how best to store his toys as well as identify the potential dangers in the playroom.
Always check the age recommendation on the packaging BEFORE you allow it in your playroom. The age grading relates to safety as well as play value. Toys labeled for children 3 and older may have small parts and pieces that can be a choking hazard for children younger than that.
Make the appropriate toys accessible. When storing toys use baskets, buckets or other containers that allow your child to easily reach inside to pull out what she needs. Don’t tempt fate by placing your young child’s toys and games on high shelves or ledges in the playroom. But remember—toys for big kids must be out of reach, and so your little one doesn’t show off his penchant for mountaineering, keep them out of sight as well.
Look for little pieces, sharp objects and small parts that may detach. Do the toys have small buttons or eyes that can be removed by a curious 2-year-old? Do they have small, plastic pieces that can easily be ingested? Do those colored pencils have sharp points? Does your older child have marbles, jewelry, dress-up dolls? When in doubt, save the toy for when your child is older.
Do your own choking-hazard test. It’s simple. Take an ordinary toilet paper tube and check to see if a toy can pass through it. If it can, don’t give it to a child under 3 years old.
So what can you do with all of these toys that are piling up in age-appropriate categories?
You don’t need to spend a fortune on beautiful storage containers and baskets. You can use what you have at your disposal and make a fun project out of it. It’s easy!
Take the toys—blocks, dolls, cars or puzzles—and organize them into any (safe) containers or boxes you have lying around (make sure there aren’t jagged edges or sharp corners). Have your child pick out pictures of what you’re storing from magazines. Then you can cut the pictures out and paste them onto the containers or boxes. Over time you can continue to enhance the decorations. You can also find images online. As your child grows, you can redecorate!
And for those art supplies that are building up in broken crayon boxes or ripped packaging, look around your home for unused items that could make fun storage devices. We use an old jewelry box for crayons and a plastic office storage system for art supplies. It’s fun for any child to load one drawer with popsicle sticks and another with pipe-cleaners or paints.
Organizing doesn’t have to be a job. It can turn into a fun project that teaches your child the first steps to making his life—and yours—a little easier.
Carl
06:41:11 AM on Fri Jun 19 2009
One more: schedule regular weeding-out sessions. Dispose of the toys your child has outgrown, or no amount of organization will save you from the rising tide!