No More Toys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drivenmommy3]

I need some help...........someone please tell me why grandparents act like they dont know how toys...toys....& more toys.....just clutter up everything.  I am having a major problem......I have three wonderfully, blessed children.  They don't need for one anything.  I have had so many problems with my children keeping their toys up & cleaned.....they have a gazillion toys.  So they get to play with them.....then after they play with them...its clean up time.....well they have so many pieces of toy here & there that it just gets terrible.  So then I go on a rant & rave about cleaning up......so I just threw away like two bags of toys from both of my childrens rooms........well my son goes with his grandparents and what do they bring back but more toys......

The other day when we were cleaning...I felt like I was going to have a heartattack just trying to get their rooms cleaned up.....so I vowed that the next person who brings a toy in this house who does not live here to clean them up would get a piece of my mind.  So I try my best to honor & respect my mother but she is making it really hard....because she knows how I feel about ridiculous toys.......my family thinks I am Mrs. Grinch because I get tired of all the toys.....its just too much.

Please help me before I hurt someone.......am I making too much out of it....am I stealing my childrens childhood because I get stressed about the toys?  When I get stressed, I know that I stress the kids....because I go crazy!!!

I am begging for some help!!!

Toybanning Mama!!

[DeannaScraps]

Apr. 5, 2008 at 9:43 PM I know what you mean. I struggled with this very same thing for years. What saved my sanity was boxing up all the toys in different tubs/bins and putting them out in the garage. A couple times a week we would switch out the tubs that we had in the house. We had a manageable amount of toys to play with and easily cleaned up. Sometimes my daughter would play with the toys in one tub all week. If she got bored with them we would put that tub away and choose another tub. She would get overwhelmed by the choices that were everywhere. I didn't look to see how old your kids are, but I really think little kids brains don't connect with 'clean up' easily. Especially when there is a lot of stuff.

[juliehinkle]

Apr. 6, 2008 at 10:05 AM Grands Parents don't care, they don't have to have all those toys at their house. They don't have to clean the toys or pick them up.

[mollymc]

Apr. 23, 2008 at 5:51 PM

I have the same problem with relatives buying toys for my son.  Lately , it is my Dad who has an obsession with garage sales.  He told me on the phone that he found snow boots for my son who's 3 and we live in southern california.  I haven't found a good way to stop them from buying stuff, but I have been successful and taking the ones I know he's not playing with and giving them to charity.  I put them in the back of my car when he's sleeping, that way he doesn't see them going bye bye.  Maybe next year when he's 4, I'll get him to participate in the donation and teach him the importance of giving away to others.  Oh, and his Bday is coming around the corner and family loves to give him brand name things like Thomas.  I totally avoid the marketing ploys of brand name toys, but what are we called to do as believers in Christ?  Be loving,kind and peaceful.  So, take their gifts, be gracious and give some toys away.  Hope this helps.