Playthings

It really is difficult to control the amount of toys in the box. Especially when I like playthings almost as much as Georgia. And, in the case of Pecanpals, I probably like the little figures more than my daughter. And I feel the need to collect all the wooden pals in the bunch.

But I really am trying to teach Georgia to value each and every item in the chest. Because she has so much (and she's not even two). I do remember having a lot of toys when I was a child. Yet we mostly acquired them on our birthdays and Christmas. There wasn't that pit stop in the gas station impulse plastic purchase (namely junk) that occupies a child until the next red light. And I think we valued our toys more--even if our folks told us that they only had a bicycle and a ball.

If you talk with most parents, it seems our little consumers grow more voracious with each generation--and less satisfied. And I am just as guilty as the next. Because the stuff is so darn cute--actually irresistible. But I have a system in place. I've promised myself not to continue to buy more bins for all the loot. I am rotating the toys. The surplus is stored in the closet. And after a few rotations, I plan on saving the sentimental (for tiny fingers of the future) and then making some donations. Because there are still kids who don't even have just a bicycle and a ball.

I will make an exception for the Pecanpals. I think they'll go on my office shelves. (And I probably won't be doing much rotation).