WHAT TOY STORES REALLY DO TO YOUR CHILD

The LO and I were at K-mart last weekend looking for a toy.  I was amazed by how much toys there were! It was aisle after aisle of toys; and this is just one section of the K-mart.  Then we went to Toys R Us since K-mart didn't carry the toy I was looking for and lo and behold!

You see, I'm a newbie when it comes to the toy department.  For the last year, I have been limited to the baby section; and the baby section is calm, uncluttered and spacious.  So, coming into K-mart and Toys R Us where you have toys that goes from floor to ceiling is just a bit too much compared to Target's toy section.  It was very overwhelming for me to be surrounded by all the toys and I'm an adult! Can you imagine how overwhelming it is for a child? Let alone a 14 month baby?

My little girl was all over the place!  She went from one toy to another spending barely seconds playing with a toy whereas she can spend 10 minutes transferring Gerber lids into a basket.  Her eyes lit up with every toy she saw but the moment she touched a toy, she is distracted by another toy.   It was sensory overload.  She was presented with all these toys and she wanted to play with each one of them but she could not even focus on one toy because of all the distraction.  Poor baby.

After my second run looking for the toy I wanted, I realized two things: First, going through aisle after aisle of toys will give you a headache and second, the toy section is every parent's worst nightmare!  One aisle has floor to ceiling racks filled with toys categorized by type and character.  The toys are also strategically located at the child's level.  I noticed how the toys on the lower shelves are more expensive than the toys on the adult eye level.  The toys also have no or little spaces in between them and thus not allowing one's eye to rest.  When you are standing in front of rack, you see the toys as a straight line.   It is all about marketing and its sad because the child is not given the opportunity to choose the toy that truly interests him. Now, I know why children tantrum in the middle of the toy store.  They see all these toys, they get excited by them, they cannot figure out what to get and when they finally know what they want, they are told to choose a cheaper toy or a toy they don't have yet. Oh my goodness... I wish myself luck.