How to tackle Toy Obsession?

Hi all,

My son is 3 and 1/2 yrs old.He is very much obsessed with toys.Its very bad that not even a minute passes by without talking abt toys by him.Everytime we go for shopping he asks for toys(just previous day he wud have got a new toy)and needless to mention the shopping ends with him crying for not getting what he wants.

I wud like to know how other moms out there deal with such things?.I wud like get some tips reg.this matter which is driving me crazy.Pls.share your ideas.

Dear Selviik,

Yes this is common at this stage. My little one is also obsessed with Trains and cars and the like. And yes he would love it if we bought something for him everytime.
Many a times, i have come out of stores, with him screaming his head off. It is difficult , but at this age, it is easy to distract him. here are a few tips to make toys more constructive :

1. make him playing with toys a learning experience, we usually count the number of cars etc. also teach him colours and then shapesusing his toys.

2. do not make it a habit of getting him some toy every time you go out or frequently. that increases their tendency to expect something everytime you go shopping. Nowadays, when we go shopping, my little one( also 3yrs) wants something or the other all the time, i just dsitract him. or say that we have to give money for the toy and i don't have enough. believe me they will understand. Now when we go out, he asks me do you have paisa for the toy and i say no, he keeps quiet. The first few instances it is going to be difficult. but he will learn after a couple of times. But be firm, do not ever cave in to his demands and crying and tantrums. if there is a seesaw between getting him something once and then not the next time, he will not learn. stick to buying nes toys for him say once in a couple of months.
3. this is just a passing phase, once he starts with school and other activities, the obsession will go down.Don't worry too much. they are just kids. and they will outgrow this stage soon.
Hope this helps
V

Dear Selvik,
The thing that works for me is I have a sticker system with my 3 year old. Every time she cleans up her toys or does not throw any tantrum etc she earns a sticker. Believe me at this age they love stickers I reward her when she collects about twenty stickers. Believe me they are smart at this. She feels proud of herself and in this process she has learnt her numbers too just by counting them. As Vandhana mentioned they easily outgrow this stage. Don't worry.
Love,

Dear Vandhana and Anjana,

Thanks a lot for your valuable advice: .I m sure to follow them and get back to u with the results.Hope it works.

Dear Vandhana and Anjana,

Many thanks for all your wonderful advices reg. handling my son's toy obsession.Its working for me now.No tensed shopping days anymore.Based on your advices here is what i did.

1.I m not taking him everytime with me inside the store.either i leave him with his dad or his dad leaves him with me b4 going to the store.I found the problem is half reduced when i started doing this.Afterall we shud not be tempting them.

2.When we both wanted to shop together we make a point to talk to him that this visit to the store is for so and so but not for buying toys.And we stick to it strictly.We r so generous(?) sometimes that we will tell him if he behaves good during the shopping he may get a chance to go to the toys aisle only to see but not to buy and we keep up the promise.

3.And we bought a big piggy bank for him and give him some coins/dollars now and then to save for his toys in future.Now he is saving money for buying a bike in summer.He is very much excited abt it .

I m very glad that i seeked advice from u all.Many thanks to u all again.