I have different reason for taking away toys. I may take something away because the toys have been left out or not taken care of properly. I have done the Saturday bin, although I must admit I haven’t been following through on that lately. I also do love and still use the 10 second clean up. Things that don’t get picked up in 10 seconds get taken away. I am still trying to instill the idea that if “you show you don’t care, you don’t care.” We all still have some work to go here. There is also a reason to confiscate toys if kids are fighting over them. So, what do you do with all these things you are confiscating. You can throw them into the Saturday bin if you are implementing that. I know some moms who get rid of them completely, which can really speak to a child. I think that is OK if you are willing to not replace it with something else. I just haven’t wanted to get rid of things completely because those things cost money. I’m not going to buy my child another doll simply because all of hers have been taken away. Therefore, I recently came up with the idea to put confiscated toys in the prize bin. I give my kids prizes for various reasons. I might use them to award my kids for good behavior for a babysitter. I might award prizes after they have filled up a star chart or a magnetic chore chart. I like to use random rewards. Instead of spending money to fill up the prize bin, why not just recycle in a sense?
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Great idea! My 3 yr old has taken to putting his toys in the trash. At first I left them there. It was a good lesson for him, but also reminded me not to be too hung up on “things.” Ultimately it bothered me to be tossing something useful, so now we give those things to Goodwill. I remind him “if you don’t care about your xxx (toy) we’ll give it to someone who does.” He rarely throws a toy away these days, but that’s how we handle it when he does.
What a great idea. I have a prize bin made up of cheap-o toys, but adding toys they like might make it worth their while and if they don’t pick something they might not really like it and it could be time to toss it. I’m going to have to start doing this. Thanks for the great suggestion.
Just found your blog today through a link party and am a new follower.
That is a great idea! My mom took away our toys a couple of times, but it wasn’t consistent so it didn’t resonate with us very well. I think giving them back one at a time as prizes for things is very creative.
That’s pretty much what we do. My boys have to earn their toys back by having a clean room at bedtime or doing other predetermined tasks. For my 3 year old, he can earn toys back when he goes potty successfully.
This is a fantastic idea! I’ve always wanted a Saturday bin. I need to read more on some alternative methods and try practicing the swap out method. I need more totes, for sure, to put this stuff in!
We do the exact same thing! Toys get taken if they are not picked up or if someone is fighting over them. I have a laundry basket they live in until someone has earned a “prize.” We still have a lot of objection to cleaning, but i think it will come with time! Thanks for linking to Mom’s Library!