Toy rich and play poor. Can too many toys affect children's play?

I was watching some videos on YouTube last night, videos that featured children in India playing games on the street and particularly in the dusty dirt. Some of them looked as though they were lucky to be clothed while others were dressed particularly well in traditional and radiantly coloured saris. The videos themselves were about traditional Indian village games and although they were about children playing, what these children were playing with at any given time were nothing more than a handful of rocks, marbles and a small twig. No Barbies, no Lego not even a humble ball.

But you know what? The lack of 'toys was not what struck me most about these videos. What almost took my breath away with surprise was the sheer joy and and sense of fun that these children were having.  There was a wonderful sense of connection between the children, what one might call a sense of intimacy between the players. And then it dawned on me. Are we in the western, middle-class world, with all our fantastic plastic toys and games toy rich yet play poor? Does having more toys enhance our play experiences or do they actually distract or take away the opportunity to really play?

In order to answer these questions I was first tempted to looks up and devourer any literature I could find on the topic of toys and play. I then decided why read about something I whiteness everyday in my own home? Academic literature is great but sometimes you just got to open your own eyes and make sense of what is happening before you. So I thought to myself when do I find my child either alone or with others playing with the same enthusiasm as those Indian children were and what toys, if any are part of that experience?

Well sitting here at the computer I did a little thinking and you might have guessed it, the answer to "When are the kids happiest playing?' is when there are little or NO toys involved. I can't say if this is true for every child or even the majority of children, but the children I have the pleasure of taking care of are the kind that thrive on less. (P.S kids, your all getting empty boxes and bubble wrap for Christmas!)

For example, the other day my daughter and her cousins were upstairs in her room playing. I brought out the Duplo to make a marble run, there was a puzzle available to them, a dolls house and some bean bags and of course marbles. Seeing that they were well 'supplied' I went back down stairs to make lunch. As I climbed the stairs to see how they were getting on, I could already hear bouts of laughter and giggling. I thought wow they're having a great time, is that Duplo marble run that good? (sorry mum it's good but not THAT good) Nope the toy's were on one end of the room and the kids were on the other side jumping on the bed flopping on their backs and then throwing marbles over their heads to see who could throw it the furthers in this rather complicated manner. So on this occasion 'best-fun-eva' = bed and a handful of marbles!

I then started thinking about times I've watched the kids actually playing with toys and I mean lots of them like a whole Barbie set, with the car, house and pool, and I came to realise that based on these moments of play, that toys can actually separate and divide our children from their playmates, and I don't just mean on those occasions where you find them fighting over the same toy, both unwilling to share. I'm talking about those times when you walk into a room with each child in one corner of the play space with for example their own Barbie and set of associated accessories. The only time they actually come together with the other child is to swap an outfit or to pretend for a total of 5 minutes that they are 'going out for a muffin' (did you know Barbie has her own bakery/coffee shop set?) only to then have their dollies say bye and go back to their own houses, aka the other side of the room.


This type of play seemed so dead, or for a better word, flat. It lacked that fun that the other play had, that joyful and creative energy.With so much concentration needed to act upon the dolls and all their glorious plastic bits and pieces I guess the kids didn't really have much mental space for creative thinking and planning. By planning I mean planning and developing the narrative that their dolls would then act out. Maybe its a Barbie thing, because that is one tricky woman to get to sit, walk, or do anything else that isn't standing or laying down.I'd like to add here that about half an hour later the kids left the Barbie scene and started playing hide and seek, that funtastic magic was back on!

So what to conclude here? This is undoubtedly a very limited and anecdotal based post I am not denying that at all, but  from those moments of play that I can recall, looks like too many toys can affect how children play, and not really for the better (depends on your definition of play and what constitutes as great play I guess).For at least energetic 3 and 4 year olds, less is more, more laughter, more excitement and simply more fun!  But could there possibly be a time when  more is more? Wouldn't it  be better, for instance, when you have more blocks? More blocks to build with has got to mean more fun, doesn't it? And bean bags, can you really have enough bean bags? Well I know what I'm testing out with the kids tomorrow!

Would love to hear your ideas on this topic and what you find makes fun play for your children.

As always, happy playing!