No Toys For The Williams Children- Day One!

What? No toys? Well, they have a handful of items they can play with: wood blocks, one ball, the water fountain, and a couple ride on toys...other than that, every single toy we own is upstairs locked away in the office.

Why no toys? Simple, I am so tired of the endless arguing, stealing, and lack of appreciation for all the toys they have. Now I can say this, because I have seen just about every child I know exhibit some or all of these behaviors, not only my little angels.

So it all began last night, well long before that, but last night was the last straw for this mama. I realized my little angels have received so much, they were not appreciating what they had. I was ready for a change. Sounds bad, but I want them to have as close to no toys so they will learn to appreciate each little thing.

I thought they may get upset, but ah contrare. My toy obsessed Jakey happily, willingly, brought me each and every toy he could find. He lugged toy bins upstairs for me and asked why we were putting the toys in the office. I answered him and he seemed almost relieved that everything was getting put out of his reach...I know, weird!

Wondering how today would go and bracing myself for an earful of whining, I laid in bed this morning picturing who was going to battle me for the beloved toys. To my delight, but not surprise, I had the happiest house all day. The kids came in happy, walked with me downstairs where they began their search for random items to create their own toys. We went for a nice long walk in the heat, where Jakey collected sticks to build a fire, and even asked to buy a toy for our neighbor (not himself).

When we came home: Jakey built a bird feeder with his sticks,
jumped on the couch (I choose my battles) pretending he was captain hook in the ship on the ocean (see the sword stuck thru his boxers),
he wanted to help me wash dishes, and even hugged me when I had to take away a "toy".

Sissy had her own fun, although not quite as imaginative as her brother...she'll get there. She enjoyed playing in the backyard with the water fountain, and even found a lid and cup holder to make "alphabet soup" with the water.

We did some gardening in the front yard and I had two of the most helpful, happy children ever. They helped pull some weeds and dig with the shovel; but they were soon distracted by Jakey's new pet grasshopper. That's okay, they were happy and not battling over toys, so I gave up the help for the day. They played with that grasshopper for a good half hour.

We went in when our little neighbor came over to play. The kids excitedly explained to her that I had put all of their toys away (you should have seen her eyes bug out confused, ha ha!). I thought she wouldn't want to stay, but soon all the kids were upstairs. What were they doing up there with no toys?? Well, they were pretending to be animals. Jakey was a hamster, Sienna was a dog, and Caroline was a cat. They jumped on my trampoline, then played outside with the water fountain and lids.

Well, that was a glorious Day One with no toys. They should really think about whining for toys at some point...if they don't I'll be tempted to leave all those toys in that office. Do you have any idea how nice and clean my house stayed today? The kids seemed so happy with the challenge of creating their own toys and entertainment. They really had to spend their time thinking about what they were going to create and what they were going to play.

WOW! Life without toys...who would have thought kids could be happy without?