Too Many Toys for Your Toddler - When Does it Become Overstimulating?

So many toys I don't know where to begin. If I don't know where to begin how does my toddler know. I think there is a limit to how many toys a toddler needs and should be playing with. At one point over this past summer I took one look around my family room and realized it turned into a playroom cluttered with my son's toys. It wasn't his fault. He didn't buy the toys and put them there I did. I am the one to blame. So I also need to be the one who fixes the problem. I would tell my son to go and play with his toys but he wouldn't. I don't think he knew which toy to play with first. I had bought a 4 piece crate system from Bed Bath and Beyond so I could neatly display his toys for him so he could see what he and could pick one to play with. Nope. This system did not work out the way I thought. It just became a toy collector. There was no organization whatsoever. I had a toy box for him but it was up in his room because I didn't think he was old enough to use it.

A few months ago I purchased an activity table for him, not a train table, just a flat surface where he could play with cars, trucks, trains, etc. Well he couldn't play with the table because that too became a toy collector. I was about to lose my mind with all of these toys. My husband and I built this beautiful house and we couldn't even enjoy our own family room. The fireplace was hidden behind his collection of toys. That was it.

One night while my husband was putting son in for bedtime I took all of his toys and collected them in the middle of the room. Then I broke down that horrible crate system. Every time you tried to move it the whole thing would come apart. I hated that thing. When my husband finished with the bedtime routine I had him bring down the toy chest that was up in my son's room collecting dust. I took all of the toys that I didn't think he played with anymore and put them in the basement. My poor basement looks like a toy store down there. What a mess. But that's another story. I took all of his books, cars, truck, trains, etc..and placed them neatly in the toy chest. I cleared off his activity table so he could finally enjoy it. I threw away anything that was broken or just in bad shape. I felt so much better that night. Mu husband and I were finally able to enjoy our family room and actually light a fire when we had company. What a pleasure.

Now my son comes down in the morning when he waked up and he is not overstimulated anymore. He goes to one toy and starts playing with it. When he is done with that toy we sing the clean up song and we move on to the next toy. What a difference. I just needed to get organized. Now anytime we bring a new toy in the house we make sure to remove an old toy and put it in the basement. I can't have my family room overloaded with toys anymore. It's funny, I think back to when I was a child and we didn't have a toy room. We had a toy chest in our bedroom and that was it. Kids these days have so many toys, too many if you ask me. From now on I think I will be purchasing books for my little guy. I guess it's back to the store to buy a nice bookcase!