Have you ever noticed your little one empty’s a whole basket of toys or is obessed with knocking things over. Here’s why:
What Does It Mean?
Have you ever noticed how your baby or toddler loves to empty a container of toys or knock things over? There’s actually a really good reason for this behavior—it’s how young children learn.
But what exactly are they learning?
When children engage in activities we might call “destructive play,” they are learning about cause and effect, developing gross motor skills (such as moving boxes around), and honing fine motor skills (like taking toys out one at a time). For example, knocking down towers is a favorite activity. While building the towers comes later, young children really enjoy the act of knocking them down. You can turn this into a fun game by introducing some early counting as you build. Encourage your little one to wait until you count to three, and then let them knock it down.
Why do they only take out puzzle peices?
You may have also noticed that with puzzles, children often just want to take the pieces out at first. This is because they’re working on their hand-eye coordination!
Should I tidy up and how to cope with the toys all out?
In our house, my daughter loves to empty all the toy boxes right away. So, do I tidy up constantly? This is a question I get asked a lot, and here’s what we do.
First, we have a toy rotation system, so we only keep a few selections of different toys out at a time. This means she can only empty a limited number of boxes, which really helps keep the clutter down.
Second, I keep in mind the “5-minute rule.” What am I talking about? It only takes five minutes to tidy up the toys at the end of the day, so it doesn’t bother me if she gets them all out. I know it will only take five minutes to clean up.
Lastly, I involve my toddler in tidying up. I choose one activity and show her where the toys go, and then she takes responsibility for tidying up a certain area.
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