Fewer toys give children a better quality of playtime according to a study bound to give parents pause for thought this Christmas.
Giving children just four toys means that they focus on a single one for more time and play more creatively.
Researchers found that children with fewer toys have more ‘imagination, and skill development’ and are less distracted.
The study, published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, involved giving children under three either four toys or 16 toys.
University of Toledo researchers then observed their play and recorded their habits.
Scientists concluded that having fewer toys ‘promotes development and healthy play’ and improved children’s ‘creativity, imagination, and skill development’.
Experts said that keeping more toys in storage helps to keep your children focused.
Writing in the study, its authors said: ‘When provided with fewer toys in the environment, toddlers engage in longer periods of play with a single toy, allowing better focus to explore and play more creatively.
‘One recommendation may be to opt for having fewer toys available in a play environment for any one play session.
‘When there is an abundance of toys, small collections can be rotated into play while the majority is stored away, providing opportunities for novelty without creating the distraction posed by having too many toys available’.
The study was released as parents begin the unenviable task of working out what to buy their children for Christmas, if they have not done so already.
A typical British child owns 238 toys, but plays with just 12 of these, meaning that 95 per cent are unused.
Parents spend an average of £207 ($278) on toys for their children each December.
Just 3.1 per cent of the world’s children live in the United States, but they own 40 per cent of the toys consumed globally.
New research has also shown that boys and girls are driven by biology to play with toys that are traditionally aimed at their own gender.
