What is toy rotation? Or Toy cycling?
Toy rotation is when you store a portion of your baby, toddler, or child’s toys and books so they only have access to a limited quantity to use at a time.
Facts speak for themselves and we can all agree that kids today have WAY more toys than we did when we were children. And if you are constantly feeling overwhelmed by the amount of their toy collections and the mess they cause then this article is perfect for you.
Creating a toy rotation system is the perfect solution to all of these concerns and it is super easy to put in place. The hardest part is probably the beginning when you have all the toys to go through to make a selection. Then you get some bins and place them into these, and the system is ready. You may want to categorize them by the types of toys as you put them in the bins.
The theory behind this relates to Dr. Maria Montessori’s observations stating that children benefit from a decluttered space. She found that children with a calm/decluttered and organized space often engaged for longer periods of time and experienced more independence and responsibility.
How To Implement A Toy Rotation:
Toy rotation is pretty easy to implement. You’ll ideally want some sort of display bench or shelf where the toys your child has access to are currently displayed. Also keeping in mind your child’s age, they should be able to access this area on their own.
Then on toy cycling day, you’ll swap some of the items out with new items from storage. How often you rotate toys may vary, generally every 7-12 days is a good timeframe.
Some parents may choose to rotate everything at once, while others may leave a toy on their child’s toy shelf if it’s still being utilized quite often. This part is really up to you.
