Trick your kids to leave their toys at home

How to separate your kid and their toys

Eventually, you collapse in a heap, red in the face, having lost the battle of prising your little one’s  favourite toy from his hands. You might think it an impossible task, but one super smart mummy shares her simple 3-step tip with us.

Step 1: Personalise the object. Personify it, praise it, assign it a name, an age, a character. “Teddy is a sweetheart, isn’t he? I’m sure he likes playing with you.” For children, especially girls, referring to the object as a baby is a definite go.

Step 2: State your reason for the object or toy having to stay at home. (“Teddy loves to play, darling, but he’s tired now, he needs to get some rest.”) If this proves ineffective, another option is to assign the object a role in the house. “Batty needs to take care of the house./Batty needs to guard the car while we’re gone.”

Step 3: Involve your child in saying goodbye to the object. (“Tuck Teddy in, now, give him a kiss! Goodnight Teddy! / Put Batty down there, so he can get a nice view of the car. Now say bye to Batty, we’ll see him when he gets back!)

And there you go! Leaving your child’s toy at home with minimal fuss, refusal, and tantrums and tears.
This method usually works flawlessly, especially since kids seem to feel better when they’ve said goodbye to their object before leaving them at home.

The only problem would be if your child is smart enough to catch you out and decide “But Mummy/Daddy, Teddy is afraid to stay at home!/Batty gets sick when he’s left outside!”
Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Related: Doctor tells must know facts about toys

Related:  12 dangerous toys to steer clear from

Related: Choosing appropriate educational toys for kids

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