What's been weighing on my mind

I plan on not buying any toys this year.

My kids are spoiled.  There, I said it.  I will freely admit defeat.  They are loved and happy, and spoiled.  They just have too. much. stuff.  Not only are their rooms filled to the brim with toys, so is an entire playroom in the basement.  It's not that they are bad kids by any means (although they have their moments, usually at the most embarrassing times), but they don't appreciate what they have.  Yes, I know my kids are 4 and almost 2, but you have to start young right?

We are dealing with an issue of destruction.  My kids are destroyers.  The 23 month old, yes.  It's perfectly normal at this age to still destroy things.  It is a "what happens when I do this" phase that I can't wait to end.  The four year old.  Nope, she just thinks that if something happens to one of her toys, that someone will just replace it.  And I am guilty of it.  When her beloved Ariel was eaten by the dog last year? I ordered one online and it showed up fully intact before she could even say Sebastian three times.  But no more.  This year my goal is to teach her about appreciation.  Less is more and all that crap.

I spent the weekend de cluttering both kids rooms.  Took an entire toy box out of the littlest ones room. And don't get me wrong.  There are still toys in their rooms.  Race cars, trains and tracks, and dinosaurs still live in Little Man's room, along with about a hundred books.  Little Miss still has her puzzles, books, My Little Ponies, and Barbies.  Things that have the little pieces that I still have to keep away from the littlest.  Everything else was thrown in the basement, which looks like a toy store threw up in by the way.

In my own honest opinion, my kids don't need to have a lot of toys.  The best toy in the world is already in their head.  Imagination should be nourished and grown.  You should be able to throw your kid outside with a stick and they should be able to spend an entire afternoon playing.

Don't get me wrong though.  I will still give my children things.  But those things will be educational, creative inducing, active toys.  The number one present I can't wait to give my kids this year?  Their own skateboards.  It will keep them active, they can race, learn a new trait, or just sit on it and roll.

I want to teach my children that less is more.  We don't have to have everything in the world to make us happy.  It's most likely a leading cause of divorce and why most Americans are unhappy.  We want everything because we expect everything handed to us.  My children are slowly becoming the same way, and I want to put a stop to it now.

What's the number one thing you wish to teach your children this year?

xo Stacie