5 Tips to Avoid Giving Too Many Gifts to Your Child

What mother doesn’t want to fill her child’s life with gifts? All parents want their child’s life to be happy, pleasant and fun. However, you don’t necessarily need to buy too many gifts or a mountain of toys in order to express the love you feel for them.

It’s true that many people express their love and joy for their children’s achievements with a gift or a big celebration. That’s why sometimes during holidays, such as birthdays or Christmas, children receive too many gifts.

It’s also true that parents and relatives often fall into the temptation of buying too many material things. Remember, although it isn’t wrong to give the occasional gift, with each and every action you perform, you’re also transmitting values to your child.

Perhaps, as a parent, you’ve asked yourself whether such a huge amount of toys is actually necessary. Beyond that, to what extent is it educational for our children to receive so many presents?

If you’re facing this dilemma, you should read these series of tips to consider when buying gifts for your children.

5 tips to avoid giving too many gifts on special occasions

The most important gifts are the people by your side

Gifts are wonderful and they form part of the ritual of celebrating holidays, like birthdays. But in the end, children will mostly remember the people they celebrated with, rather than the present they received. 

Surely, when they’re adults, they’ll remember when they shared that special day with their grandparents, cousins or friends, among other important people in their lives. The pleasant moments shared, the laughter, the games and perhaps the taste of the cake will probably be the things they remember most.

Getting together to buy gifts can be a good idea

The guests of the party can buy gifts together; this will prevent the child from having an avalanche of presents. It’s also a good way to avoid repetition.

Collaborating can allow guests to buy more durable and quality presents that the child can use for a long time.

Think of what toys to give

Games are an essential part of a child’s learning and development. That’s why parents should think hard about the type of toys they want to give their children.

In order to avoid receiving unwanted gifts that children won’t use, you can guide guests and advise grandparents and friends on the types of games you approve of.

You can even make a small list of functional toys that are appropriate for your child’s age. Your little one will surely appreciate the advice.

Less is more

Though you might not believe it, children aren’t capable of assimilating all of the gifts they receive.

It’s normal for children to have just a few favorite toys. In some cases, they might only be interested in one of them.

That’s why it’s better to receive fewer good quality gifts rather than a pile of toys that will break quickly or end up stacked away in the closet.

Listen to their opinion

When making a list, don’t forget that your child’s opinion matters. You should always listen to them. After all, they’re the ones who will end up using the presents.

You can also consider the option of donating last year’s toys to charity. This will help them develop material detachment from a young age.

No need to buy more and more gifts

If you go to a party of a child who is younger than yours, between you and your child, you can choose to give one of their toys that they no longer use (and is still in good condition).

This will give the gifts a second life and prevent the toy from being forgotten in a drawer. It’s also a good lesson with regard to taking care of the environment.

The best term that has been used to describe the minds of children is as a “sponge.” They absorb information, patterns and adopt and imitate things very easily.

If they’re allowed to receive gifts excessively during every birthday or celebration, you’ll unwittingly start teaching them consumer habits. This makes it difficult for them to appreciate the value of things.

Sharing will always be the best and healthiest way to give and receive. It’s also time for parents to confess something. At times we love using our child’s new gifts. Some adults even use these gifts more often than their child.

And if this happens with adults, you can imagine how much more a child’s friend will wish to use their new toys. Therefore, the perfect toy is one that everyone likes, one that’s sharable and allows us to spend hours and hours enjoying ourselves together.