Remember your childhood when you would end up playing with discarded boxes and be deliriously happy using your imagination for fun? Well, gone are those simple days of utter joy in children today.
Recent studies show that children with too many things to play with can result in the opposite effect of what parents and elders were going for, which is actually giving them less happiness.
Clair Lerner, a childhood development researcher said that when children have too many toys and games within their reach, they start playing less. An excess of toys tend to overwhelm and distract kids, making them lose concentration that they need to actually enjoy a certain toy.
The same discoveries were studied by a professor of Early Childhood Education Michael Malone from the University of Cincinnati.
In the research of Malone, he showed that fewer but better quality toys give increased cooperation and teach the kids how to share when talking about valuable life skills they end up learning. On the other hand, too many toys will eventually push the children into playing alone, while giving them an overload of unproductiveness.
What can parents learn from this research? Buying them all the toys on their Christmas list will not give them the happiness they need, instead spending quality time with your kids is far more valuable than the newest toy on the market.
Oxford University published a study of 3,000 children ranging from 3 to 5-years-old and discovered that their academic success has more relation to their home environment with their parents daily involvement, rather than the toys and electronics they play with.
The children who only had a few toys and no electronic devices but spent good quality time with their parents performed better in school, especially in emotional and social development areas, which leads to the conclusion that parent’s undistracted attention to their children is much more valuable than any toy or new gadget that money can buy.
Research has also stated that gratitude and generosity rise when children receive experiences, instead of material objects. This phrase is backed up by Cornell University psychology professor, Thomas Gilovich – who has led multiple studies of finding happiness through experiences and not material possessions, throughout decades.
Moral of the story? Happiness that children receive is mostly derived from their experiences, and not the amount of toys and gadgets they receive under the Christmas tree. Giving your children memorable experiences, attention and time will give them more joy and happiness, rather than the latest toys in the market. Focus less on material things and more on making memories with your kids.
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