I have ideas for how to make the toy situation better. I have done the Saturday bin. I also do love and still use the 10 second clean up to help. I have a variety of tips for making clean-up fun for kids.
With all of these tips and tricks, it is still inevitable that at some point you will decide to confiscate your children’s toys. Now what?
You can throw them into the Saturday bin if you are implementing that.
Some choose to keep the toys for a few days and then give them back.
I know some moms who get rid of them completely, which can really speak to a child. I think that is OK as long as you are willing to not replace the toy with something else. That’s what I call substitution parenting. I’m not going to buy my child another doll simply because all of hers have been taken away. I have another solution to propose today.
What to Do with Confiscated Toys
Here’s my trick for what to do with confiscated toys: I turn their toys into prizes. I tend to give my kids prizes for various reasons. I might use them to award my kids for good behavior for a babysitter. I might award prizes after they have filled up a reward chart or a magnetic chore chart (affiliate link). I like to use random rewards. I also have my consequence and rewards behavior chart that has been helpful.
Instead of spending money to fill up the prize bin, why not just recycle the toys they already have…the ones that you have confiscated. This has been a great solution that saves money. Kids get very excited about toys they have not seen or played with in a while.
Other Mom Tricks You might Enjoy
Overwhelming Amount to Pick Up? Break it Down Like This
The Trick to Keeping Toys Manageable
This post has been re-vamped and re-published. It was originally written in January of 2013 and was republished in September of 2016.
Great idea! My 3 yr old has taken to putting his toys in the trash. At first I left them there. It was a good lesson for him, but also reminded me not to be too hung up on “things.” Ultimately it bothered me to be tossing something useful, so now we give those things to Goodwill. I remind him “if you don’t care about your xxx (toy) we’ll give it to someone who does.” He rarely throws a toy away these days, but that’s how we handle it when he does.
What a great idea. I have a prize bin made up of cheap-o toys, but adding toys they like might make it worth their while and if they don’t pick something they might not really like it and it could be time to toss it. I’m going to have to start doing this. Thanks for the great suggestion.
Just found your blog today through a link party and am a new follower.
That is a great idea! My mom took away our toys a couple of times, but it wasn’t consistent so it didn’t resonate with us very well. I think giving them back one at a time as prizes for things is very creative.
That’s pretty much what we do. My boys have to earn their toys back by having a clean room at bedtime or doing other predetermined tasks. For my 3 year old, he can earn toys back when he goes potty successfully.
This is a fantastic idea! I’ve always wanted a Saturday bin. I need to read more on some alternative methods and try practicing the swap out method. I need more totes, for sure, to put this stuff in!
We do the exact same thing! Toys get taken if they are not picked up or if someone is fighting over them. I have a laundry basket they live in until someone has earned a “prize.” We still have a lot of objection to cleaning, but i think it will come with time! Thanks for linking to Mom’s Library!