Overwhelmed with toys from the holidays? Trust me, I’m with you. Plus, EJ had a birthday a few weeks before Christmas—double the toys! As the parent, I was overwhelmed and introducing 20+ toys in one sitting to EJ would have been just as overwhelming.

At EJ’s 12 month appointment, his Pediatrician advised us to not overwhelm him with toys being that the holidays were approaching, but what she didn’t realize was that there were already 10+ packages sitting in the guest bedroom for EJ’s birthday. I was so receptive of this advise that we came up with a plan on how we would introduce new toys to EJ.

Here are a few tips on how to slowly introduce toys to your little one.

Start with the most age appropriate toys

For example, if your little one is 12 months old, start with toys that are 12months + and then gradually move to the next age appropriate toy.

Start with 1-2 toys per month

Ideally, they can only play with one toy at a time. Our plan is to introduce one new toy every month. Give your little one the opportunity to play with that new toy for a few weeks or maybe even a month before introducing another toy.

Donate

Toys that are no longer age appropriate can either be donated or stored out of sight. This helps reduce clutter, but also gives your little one the opportunity to play with new toys without being distracted by toys that are no longer age appropriate.