The Secret to Keeping Your Toddlers Engaged with their Toys - Episode 54
As parents, we all know that toddlers can get easily bored with their toys. They may play with something for a few days, but then quickly lose interest and move on to something else. While this is completely normal and to be expected, it can also be frustrating for parents. Not only do we want our children to be entertained and engaged, but we also want to make sure that they're getting the most out of their playtime. Come join us as we dive deep in how we can create this environment of constant engagement.
We look forward to reading your comments. ❤️ 💫
IG: @akkoandtamo:
TIMESTAMP:
►00:00 - Intro
►00:27 - Recent Happenings: Our Mosquito dilemma
►01:38 - TOPIC: The Secret to keeping your toddlers engaged with their toys
►02:34 - The solution: Rotating toys
►03:20 - Tips on Rotating Toys
►04:27 - Be creative
QUESTION: Do you rotate the children’s toys? And how has that worked for you?
MUSIC:
► Copyright Chillhop Music - https://chillhop.com
#keeptoddlerengaged #rotatingtoys #consciousparenting #realizeyourtruenature
Tamo: This is episode 54.
Akko: And the topic of the day is the secret to keeping your toddlers engaged with their toys. And before we get started, please take a quick moment to subscribe to our show. Now let's get back to our recent happenings. So recently we've been having these mosquito dilemmas here in Hawaii.
Tamo: Yup. All of us have been bit. Every single day and night,
Akko: Yeah. Every single time we go out. Time of day it is. We are. always becoming a feast to them.
Tamo: Yep. And even at home, it's quite warm all year long. So we do leave the door open and that's . Probably not a great idea.
Akko: Yeah. But it's probably the source of our problems, but at the same time, it
Yeah.
So warm and just opening the door really makes a big difference as far as when that comes through and.
Tamo: One thing was I found that there was a small puddle. That hadn't dried. So I saw a lot of mosquito larvae. So took care of that, but more than that, it rains off in here. Just taking care of one pot. Didn't help.
Akko: Yes, it was just everywhere.
Tamo: What we did was to find this as like a UV zapper.
Akko: Yes. And that's been helping. But that's only been helping that night because we just hear a lot of zaps and it's not like we can keep the UV light on during the day around the kids. But it does work. I have to
Tamo: say.
Yeah. And so what we did is instead we got a mesh screen for the front door and hopefully. Fingers crossed. It helps.
Akko: So stay tuned for that.
Tamo: Yup. All right. Let's go into the top.
week of the day. The secret to keeping your toddlers engaged with their toys. So echo, please take it away.
Akko: Yeah. So as parents, we all know that toddlers can get easily bored with their toys. Like we buy too much. . Like Christmas toys. For example or birthday toys they're like, oh my God, I love it. And they play it for maybe a, I don't know, a couple, few days. And they're like, I'm bored. So they play with something for a few days and then they quickly lose interest and move onto something else.
And while it is completely normal and to be expected, it can be pretty frustrating for parents. Cause you're like, oh my gosh, how much toys are enough ? And as parents, we don't want to keep buying toys too, because a cleanup gets. Pretty intense. And it's just this endless cycle Of cleaning up and buying toys and that's really not here to do. And so not only do we want our children's to be entertained and engaged. But we also want to make sure that they're getting the most out of playtime.
So that's really important as far as the toys.
So one solution to this problem is switching, like rotating out toys on a regular basis. So maybe half, I dunno, maybe one fourth of their toys are up in the cabinet that they don't even know exists there. And I'll just bring it out.
Here and there. And they play with there for a few days. And then I just take, put it away again and then they'll bring it out and I'll just rotate toys.
That's in their basket here and there. It's actually worked a lot. And so this can actually help keep things fresh and exciting for the children, too many options.
And I know that we've talked about having too many toys and how that could affect a child negatively. And there was the podcast on that, that we actually did. A few podcasts back.
Tamo: Yeah. Check it out. It's called too many toys syndrome. So again, like Akko mentioned, of podcasts back. So it's called a too many toys syndrome.
Akko: Yeah. And
so when it comes to switching out the toys or rotating the toys. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind. First. You want to try to mix different types of toys? You don't want to always have the same thing. Like for example, Legos, then you have things that you can build. It has to be from different categories. And so for example have some educational toys out, have toys that promote imaginative play and some that are just simply fun. And you just rotate these, you have those in storage and then you have some out in these three categories.
And this can help your child. Be engaged and interested in different ways. And also another tip to pay close attention is to your child's interest and preferences. So if your child or children are engaged or interested in one toy over the other most of the time, then that's something to consider. So for example, our daughter is more into building or puzzles. So we bought a lot of puzzles for her because that's what she's really into. And she's not so much of a coloring type, so we're not going to really buy coloring books for her because she's just not into that. And, get things that she's more interested in and so that she can be more engaged and motivated to play. And finally, don't be afraid to get creative with how to switch out your toys.
For example, what we did is really brought out these toys for pouring ; they're like cylinders, beakers and, they used to play on this tray. During the day but it's just made a lot of mess. And so what I just did was put it away because they weren't able to follow directions. And so I put it away. I brought it out in a week and decided to actually put it in the tub this time. And it was a hit. They still play it with it constantly, and it's also helped with them getting into the bath sooner.
Tamo: Yep. And because, there are days where the kids don't want to go into the bath and we're just. It's like a tug of war, but, with the toys oh They've been more than willing to go into the bath. So that's made it a lot easier. And in terms of toys, I, when it comes to bass it can be as simple as a, just a cup and they'll, they might find a lot of fun in that. It doesn't have to be store bought toys, but it could be really just plastic cups or.
Akko: Yeah. Or like a tea kettle that you have, so it can be very simple. In conclusion, switching out toys or rotating toys can seem like a lot of work at first, but it's a great way to keep your child engaged and excited about playtime. Give it a try and see how it works for your family.
Tamo: All Right. So if you think this episode is helpful, for other parents, please share it. And if you haven't, please take a quick moment to subscribe to our show.
Akko: And the question of the day is, do you rotate your children's toy? If, so how has it worked for you?
Tamo: We'd love to hear from you. Please come say hi by commenting on our website, by going to AKKO AND TAMO .com which is a K K O a N D T a M o.com. And clicking on the podcast tab. We're also on Instagram at aKKOANDTAMO, AK K O H N D T a M O. Come say hi to us there. All right. Take care.
Akko: Bye.