When to purge make-believe toys??
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Anonymous
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I feel like the time has come for me to say goodbye to our Ikea play kitchen and the massive bag of play food, chef's outfit, and pretend cooking equipment. I have loved that darn play kitchen lol and we've had it since my oldest was maybe 2 (he's almost 10). My youngest just turned 7 and hasn't played with it in at least a year but when I tried to get rid of it a while back, he got really upset. I know he is going to throw a huge fit if he sees us removing it, so I would have to be stealthy when I remove it.
I also have a collection of like 3 doctor's kits and he hasn't used those in forever either. He also has a lot of dress-ups and I think I will keep some of the capes, masks, but a lot of it can go too. I want to install some different spaces for their legos and a bigger arts and crafts area. I wonder if I should keep a small box of pretend play to have available for when my nieces (1.5 & 4) come over or when my friend with her young kids (1,3, 7) come over for playdates. When did you know for sure it was time to get rid of those toys?? |
Anonymous
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When my youngest entered middle school... I couldn't bear to get rid of *my* favorites toys earlier. I know. I'm very silly. I love children's books and toys.
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Anonymous
lol. You aren't helping me purge! I am keeping a few of my kids FAVORITE, small toys and precious books so that someday if they have kids, they can enjoy them too. My parents kept my dollhouse (it is an amazing dollhouse that my boys have LOVED) and all their grandkids play with it. They refused to give it to me, even though I could NEVER find a good dollhouse for my boys but they've enjoyed it there. |
Anonymous
| If he hasn't played with it in over a year, it's time for it to go. |
Anonymous
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OP I love to get rid of stuff and hate clutter, but I'd hold onto it a bit longer. It's just so useful when younger kids come over and 7 is borderline IMO -- you want to encourage imaginative play as long as possible and taking some of those toys away sends the message "you are too old for this." But he's not. It's okay if it's just a very occasional thing now.
I'd consolidate a bit and maybe move these items to a more tucked away location but keep them until he's 9 or so. Also, as kids hit middle and late elementary, you buy fewer toys anyway (more sporting equipment, more money on experiences, but fewer toys that would go in a toy box or toy room). So it's not a question of moving it out of the way for something new the way it was when you got rid of baby/toddler stuff for kid toys. |
Anonymous
| Hold onto it a bit longer. Especially the dress up crap. We always have something on hand when we have younger kids over. |
Anonymous
| Around 9 or 10 |
Anonymous
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Talk to them about the fun project to make special storage space for their current toys.
See if they are interested in donating any toys to charity so other kids can have toys. If no, ask where we can store them to make room. |
Anonymous
| Mine are 5 and 9. Girls. They don't play with the toy kitchen or play food anymore (we loved that thing). They make their own using clay and cardboard. I got rid of tea sets as well. Keeping all the costumes as those are well loved and used often. Pretend play for them has shifted into using legos and crafts materials to make things as opposed to doll houses and ready made things. |
Anonymous
| You don't need three doctors kits- tell him to pick his favorite and you're donating the other two. |
Anonymous
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If your kid is only 7, I wouldn’t get rid of it yet. Especially since he wants to keep it.
As for dress up clothes, those come in handy for years to come for school spirit weeks, themed swim meets, Odyssey of the Mind (if they do any of that stuff), and Halloween costumes. |
Anonymous
| I have a 10 and 8 year old and we still have all that stuff which my 8 year old does not want to part w even though she doesn’t really play with it anymore. But I’m ok w keeping it bc she will play w it if we have younger kids over. Doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s so nice to still have these items. Even my 10 year old can sometimes get roped into setting up a pretend restaurant w the play food when younger kids come over. And dress up clothes come in handy every once in awhile for school spirit week or other such things. My 8 year old just wore a dress up costume to a friend’s themed bday party a few weeks ago! |
Anonymous
Put them in storage. They can use them for their kids or sell them as collectables when they are older. Throwing away usable things is silly. |
Anonymous
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My kids play really differently during the summer (more free time together) so I only get rid of stuff when school starts in the fall.
My youngest is 8, and he doesn’t play much with the pretend stuff- but his older sisters still do every once and awhile. I’d rather have it there for them just in case |
Anonymous
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Not yet! When people say their 7 year olds aren’t playing as much anymore, I wonder vow much free play time they have. Too much screens? Over scheduled? Not being judgy, just something to think about.
Depending how nice the kitchen is, you could consider putting it outside. An outside kitchen for mud pies and flower “cakes” can be an amazing option for pretend play that is totally different than inside play. You could have them pick out their favorite pieces from the 3 doctors kits and get rid of the rest. Who cares if it doesn’t match? Declare one rainy Saturday morning a “vet clinic” and drag out the stuffies and doctors kits and let them go through a box of real bandaids. Sometimes kids need “invitations to play” where you set out some ideas and see what happens. I used to teach preschool and some of the most amazing creativity came about when we set out a scenario for the kids. And I don’t think 7 is too old for this at all.! |