Christmas is coming and it is a good time to reflect on children's gifts. Sometimes gifts accumulate in a spiral that is not good for them in many ways. Let's see why having many gifts does not benefit your children.
You have probably witnessed other years of how many of the children have received gifts at a fast pace, so they have not yet had time to uncover a package, just discover what is inside, and they already have another next to unwrap . Or a few. And so, one gift after another.
Emotional lacks, compensation because we feel guilty for spending little time with them, because we (or the grandparents) did not have all the gifts they would have wanted (or wanted to do), because too much importance is given to economic value, because it is the only one child of a big family ... Anyway, there are varied reasons to make this mistake that will turn against us.
And although it is even recommended to have few toys for "medical prescription", few are the families that manage to keep that share of gifts on these dates. Let's see the reasons to try to reduce the number of presents that our children receive at Christmas.
In Babies and more, what to give to children for Christmas? Follow the four gift ruleWhat happens to children who receive many gifts
Excess gifts can overstimulate children (and lead them to apathy as we see below). This need to pass from one gift to another overloads them, they cannot unleash their need to investigate and prove, they cannot attend to everything.
Many present also reduce the level of tolerance to frustration, believe that they get everything they ask for and as soon as this does not occur they show great frustration, disappointment, anger ... And you have to know how to manage this feeling, since never at all times from life you get absolutely everything you want.
If you get all the gifts effortlessly, you can turn off the desire to overcome. Small deficiencies are an engine that makes children follow having desires, creativity, imagination, desire to overcome ...
Having many gifts puts limits on fantasy, slows the imagination and, although it seems impossible, boredom is encouraged as it is passed from one toy to another without taking advantage of it, without enjoying it.
They can also become children (and later adults) continuously dissatisfied, so it is better previously warn them that their requests in the letter to Santa Claus or the Kings will have limits.
If we give a child everything he asks, we convey the loss of value over what he has, and it is important that they learn to value it.
Children lose interest when toys accumulate. Although most of the articles have been marked in the gift book and there are no pages left unmarked, in the reality of the home they only show interest in few toys, the rest remain as "accessories". Try to find out what is most exciting and distributes these toys between the different letters written by relatives, for another occasion (birthday) ...
They lose the illusion of novelty, they assume that they will have everything, there is no surprise. When gift after gift accumulates, they do not learn to taste them, to enjoy them. They reach apathy, lose their illusion, do not focus on each gift to fully enjoy them, but pass from one to another as if they were "little thing". One tip: save some toys for later.
They do not enjoy toys and this happens especially if we do not stop to enjoy them with them, if we do not devote time to each gift and recover the value of the act of playing, so important for children. Less gifts, more games time and "quality" play with the kids.
A consumer trend towards the future is promoted (well, whether we want it or not, at some point they will discover who is behind the gifts, they will grow and probably follow the same path of consumerist excesses).
If we don't do it, children do not value the effort behind every detail, they may come to think that it is the same for all the little ones and they do not know the lacks of many others, disconnecting from reality. We do not pretend that they know all the hardships of the world, but it is necessary a work of the parents in the sense of showing them how lucky they are and, as far as possible, that they understand that the efforts of Santa Claus or the Kings, do not have twenty gifts at home and that there are children who have none.
In Babies and more Why children prefer boxes and wrapping paper instead of the toy they containFinally, a question that we should ask ourselves. Do our children really need so much toy? Include in the letter practical or leisure gifts that are not toys to enjoy them in a different way (and many times better, in our company).
In short, although it is often difficult to avoid the avalanche of gifts, it will be positive for children not to have so many gifts at Christmas, for them, for us, for our pockets, for the environment ... And maybe, in addition, more gifts arrive to other corners of the world.
In Babies and more | What to give to children for Christmas? Follow the rule of the four gifts, How to avoid avalanche of gifts at Christmas
