How to stop kids boredom with their toys

It’s been a while since Christmas, and you might be noticing that all those new toys that were so exciting at the time are starting to lose their shine a little by now, so here are a few tips to ring the changes on kids boredom without having to go out and spend any more money:

* Hold a toy swap: get together with friends who have children of a similar age or even older, and swap any toys that the children have grown bored with or grown out of. If you keep a log of who owns what, you can swap back again in a few weeks, when they’ve had time to forget about them, and they will feel like new again!

* Shop your cupboards: see what old, pre-Christmas toys you have lurking in the back of the toy cupboard that have been forgotten about since the influx of Christmas presents. Even if they were disinterested in them a few months ago, they will probably find them new and exciting again now. Make sure you have batteries in stock first though – there’s nothing worse than getting the kids all fired up about a long-forgotten favourite, only to find it doesn’t work!

* When is a toy not a toy? When it’s a kitchen implement! Get the pots and pans out, give them each a wooden spoon and put in your ear plugs! Or get all the cushions and blankets on the floor and make a den, or just collect random things from around the house in a basket and challenge them to make a game from them – it’s amazing what their imaginations will come up with given chance!

* Play paper games – hangman, noughts and crosses, connect 4, and anything else you can think of. Teach the kids how to play them one day, and then they can play them in the car, in the doctor’s waiting room, while you wait for your food in a restaurant, or anywhere else you need instant entertainment!

* Challenge them to make a charity pile of any toys or games they are bored with – suddenly, they will all be firm favourites again!