Understatement of the century: We live in a culture of abundance. With unlimited options, we get what we want, when we want it. Is this really a good thing? Have we flown too close to the sun? As adults, we often find ourselves overwhelmed with too many decisions. Now, shrink your decision-making skills by roughly 15-20 years. It’s tough to imagine, isn’t it? Instead of throwing our children into this lifestyle without a paddle, we can raise them as decisive, independent people by way of toy rotation. 

Montessori Toy Rotation 

There’s a very real pressure on parents to provide the latest and greatest toys for playtime. Naturally, we want the best for our children. Unfortunately, we tend to confuse “the best” with “more.” When we buy into this lie, we end up overstimulating our children’s senses, exacerbating already short attention spans, and putting out the creative fires in their minds. 

Toy rotation offers a solution to this disposable mindset we’ve adapted to. To get started, simply pick a handful of developmentally-friendly toys to display at a time. Arrange the toys on a Montessori toy shelf and store the remaining toys elsewhere, refreshing the selection every few weeks. Toy shelves act as a great “home base” for your child’s toys, plus learning to pick and put up toys is a valuable skill in and of itself. Implementing toy rotation categories puts your child in charge of playtime to increase their focus, strengthen their decision-making skills, and build appreciation for what they have.

This countercultural practice is not hard to get on board with as parents. Less clutter and less money wasted on toys they grow bored with by the end of the week? Where can we sign up?! Not to mention, you’ll have fewer near-death experiences (read: fewer chances to step on stray Legos left around the house). With toy rotation, less starts to feel like more. Each time you update your child’s toy shelf, it will feel like Christmas morning for them! Bonus: implementing the toy rotation system is a great chance to declutter. 

PlayWilder Toy Rotation Shelves