Do you ever find yourself brainstorming gift ideas for your children at birthdays or holidays, only to be thwarted by the simple realization that they don’t need anything? Sure, there is the perennial need for new shoes, or the graduation to a new bike. But most of the time, our kids are not lacking in the stuff department. I’m willing to bet your children are like mine: given a choice to play with a toy or with each other, they always choose to unpack a big box of imagination with their brothers using sticks, stones, and beloved pieces of trash. With that said, many a purchased gift has fueled a game of “Man,” “Lost Boys,” or “Swiss Family Robinson.”
On the rare occasion that we find ourselves perusing the toy section at Target, this is what I observe: bright, big, loud, “cool” toys always immediately hit the wish list. And yet, after many many birthdays and Christmases, I’ve also observed that those are the first gifts to lose their allure (and the most cumbersome to store!)
Here are some questions our family asks before bringing home new stuff:
1. Does it require batteries?
2. Does it do all the imagining for you?
3. Is it a “dead end” toy, or does it keep on giving?
4. Does it require keeping up with all its parts?
5. Is it equally fun for one child as it is for several to share?
6. Does it keep the kids inside or will it take them outdoors?
7. Can it be passed down, over and over again?
8. Does it encourage covetousness?
9. Does it mirror concepts, values, experiences found in other areas of their lives?
10. Does it honor God?
How do you teach your children to discern what stuff is worth their time?
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Ruth these are wonderful questions! Even though Finn is an only child I choose his toys against (mainly) two criteria:
1) Can this toy be used to teach or show God to Finn? (Even with the toy vacuum cleaner Finn is taught responsibility and serving his family by caring for the home God has given him.)
2) Can this toy extend to making friends or enriching relationships? In other words, if the toy is limited to one particular end (as you also consider) then it isn’t doing anything to foster bonding.
Those are great things to ask when picking out toys. We are just now creeping up on the time when our kids actually understand what a “gift” is and are beginning to remember what we get them. These are great questions that we’ll probably implement as we start having to choose real presents for our kids.
We’re big fans of “consumable” gifts… the gift of an experience, be it a trip or a special outing, or (and this is a favorite from the grandparents) the gift of an activity such as several months of swimming lessons or tumbling, etc.