My Child Won’t Play With Toys

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I’ve been there – yes, my child won’t play with toys.  Maybe they have too many toys?

According to TIME, there was a study conducted where kids were invited into a room.  In the room were toys, a coffee table, a couch and TV.   On the TV was Jeopardy.  Parents were encouraged to watch the TV and not overly engage in the toys with the kids.

The outcome:

“With the TV on, children were essentially bopping from one toy to another. It didn’t matter if the first 30 minutes of the experiment started with the set on or off. Either way, the same children were more deeply occupied with the toys when Jeopardy wasn’t competing for their attention.

“Just because your child is not staring at the TV, mouth open with toy dropped, that doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting how deeply they are playing,” says Marie Evans Schmidt.  {Source: TIME}

Here are some tips to help your child learn to love playing again:

– Turn off the TV.  Even the background TV sound will have an impact.

– Get out props, like a tea set.  Teach her how to play tea party with her stuffed animals.

– Encourage reading.  A book on tape is a good place to start.  They are essentially reading ‘on their own’, which will lead to them actually reading on their own.

– Remember that only a hundred years ago, kids weren’t given so many toys.  Choices were limited and it made it easier for them to decide. (I think they get overwhelmed)

– Make a DIY creativity kit.  We did this with our kids and it was like this door was opened.  They started inventing and crafting, without any prompting.  It was one of the best things we had made in our house.

– Encourage him to play outside.   Perhaps playing inside just isn’t his thing.  Play outside, go on the swing set, play tag, etc…

– Try “toy quiet time” every day.  We often do this in the evenings, when we are getting ready to put our kids to bed.  They will go to their room and they can play with the toys in their rooms or look at books for about 15 minutes.

– Try interacting with her more.   It is more fun to play with someone than by yourself.

– Set up playdates with friends.  Rotate houses, so she gets to try out new toys.

– Make a dress up box.  I’ve found that even when our kids don’t want to play, they still want to dress up.  We have one son that just isn’t too into playing with toys, but he loves to play pretend.

– Try play dough instead. Try  Moon Dough. Try Moon Sand.  All of these things are fun for kids and keep them really busy and engaged.

I hope that helped.  Teaching your child to play alone or helping them to play with toys is something that will take time, but it will be good for both of you.   If nothing else, encourage their interests – maybe reading or drawing or crafting.   Visit us on our Facebook Page where we share daily parenting tips and ideas.

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