How to Gamify Toy Storage for Children

Children's toy storage is becoming a problem in many people's homes. More and more toy companies are also releasing interactive, high-tech toys that can be expensive and generate even more toy clutter.

Toy storage needs to be more effectively addressed by parents with young children, toy companies themselves, and toy designers that aim at younger audiences.

Toy storage has tremendous importance for childhood development.

kid keep her toys in storage box

Toys contribute to a child's development through play experiences. It gives a chance for a child to practice social skills while engaging in imaginative play with other children or stuffed animals. Toys encourage children to explore engineering principles by building blocks or erector sets, which helps them develop problem-solving skills. In addition, sorting and organizing toys improve cognitive abilities such as memory and perception-toy storage. 

And yet, there's even more to be learned in the organization and the storage of toys. Providing responsibility to your young one to organize and store their own toys provides early learnings around organization that can pay dividends throughout their life.

Toy storage problems

Toy companies release new high-tech toys, making toy collections larger and larger. Parents tend to keep any toy their child has shown interest in or bring home gifts from grandparents and relatives without thinking of toy storage. Even if a kids outgrow a toy, parents often feel another sibling will use the toy down the line, so they don't want to get rid of it just yet. This results in toy clutter that can easily overwhelm a playroom, or an entire house!

room with overloaded toys

Children who do not have enough space for storing all their toys may start playing with fewer toys or look for creative ways such as playing under the bed or between furniture where there is less available to store toys, which contributes to toy overload.

Parents are also faced with toy organization problems, which happen when toy boxes overflow or never seem to have enough space for all the toys that need storing.

mom talking to kid about toy organization

Storing toys in bins can be helpful to parents who have a hard time getting their kids away from the toy box due to the convenience it offers. However, toy bins are not always visually appealing and expose children's toys.

Gamification of toy Storage

Gamification is applying game design techniques to non-game activities to make them more fun and engaging. Gamification involves turning tedious tasks into interactive games so incentives are provided within the experience itself instead of through extrinsic rewards (which may result in delayed gratification) toy storage.

Examples of gamified toy storage solutions toy storage.

lego toy storage boxes

Toy companies, including LEGO and VTech, have started to include a gamification element in their toy storage system. LEGO has toy boxes with a buildable toy brick separator, which lets kids create their design, thus encouraging them to tidy up afterward since they can play with the toy separator. In addition, it provides additional space for storing toys and adds an aesthetic element that doubles as a toy itself. Toy storage.

vtech alphabet train box

VTech's Alphabet Train toy box includes a track that kids can move blocks along on top of the toy box and features colorful shapes and animals for children to learn the names and sounds of various objects. It also comes with bricks and connectors so kids can build toy structures on top of the toy box.

Gamification in toy storage is a great way to engage children in toy organization and encourage toy tidying up behaviors. However, toy companies need to be careful when they include gamification elements since it may turn out to be more distracting than helpful if the score for stacking blocks on top of a toy box can't be reset or if playing with pieces from a VTech alphabet train track prevents kids from putting the toy back into the storage container correctly. toy storage

Toy designers should also think carefully about how their high-tech toys will fit into practical toy storage solutions. Additional components such as chargers or batteries do not add clutter to homes and become an eyesore for parents' toy storage toy boxes.

Gamifying Toy Storage for Children

Dealing with a messy room is a big issue faced by many parents. Children continue to play in their rooms, and the mess will accumulate if toy storage isn't set up. Toys have been known to cause these problems:

  • Sight distraction from having toy clutter around the house
  • Difficulty finding clothes due to toy clutter in drawers
  • Inability to run and jump on the floor without stepping on toys

There are three main toy storage options available in the market today: toy chests, toy boxes, or toy shelves. Toy boxes are more convenient because they can contain a lot of toys in a small space, but the lid does not close properly or entirely in many toy boxes.

 Compono toy box organization

Toy shelves are the most preferred toy storage option for children because they allow room for their toy cars and trains to be placed on them while still having enough space for larger toy sets. Toy shelves are also space-efficient as toy clutter is kept invisible among other household items. After playing, the child can clean their hands, change into play clothes, and put away the toy product with the same toy shelf.

playroom with toy shelves

Toy storage should encourage children to pick up their toys at least once a day by making it easy to put their toys away when they are finished playing. As such, toy storage needs to make sure that:

woman with labeled toy crate storages

  • Storage units must be shallow (Ideally no more than 6" deep)
  • Children should be able to reach toy storage without having to step on toy clutter
  • Storage units must-have toy dividers or partitions that can hold several toy products at once

By placing toy storage in the center of the room, toy clutter will not interfere with your child's ability to play and move around. When toy storage is close enough to the children's bed, it will encourage them to put their toys away at night before they sleep.

Moreover, children are keen on picking up their toys after use by making toy products visible during playtime. Children want their rooms back immediately after playing; toy chests do not motivate this need for cleanliness.

Toy shelves allow non-toy items to be stored, so toy storage with toy dividers can be used as a toy chest or toy box. They are the most preferred toy storage option for children because they encourage toy tidying and do not block their room view.

Just please ensure any shelving, wardrobes, cabinets, or any type of furniture that is tall and heavy is permanently affixed to the wall to ensure it can not tip and crush your child!

toy shelves storage organization

Today's toy storage options allow you to keep your child's toys organized while playing and easily accessible when it is time to put them away. Toy dividers or partitions will let your child store multiple toys into a single toy shelf unit which is an effective way of getting rid of toy clutter in their room.

A toy shelf will also make it extremely easy for kids to clean up after they finish playing. Aside from these benefits, recent developments in toy storage have allowed toy products to be visible in the playroom. By placing toy storage by your child's bed, you can guarantee that toys will not build up in the room over time.

Gamifying toy storage for children to maintain a clean and tidy room without nagging

The toy situation is something that every parent has had to deal with at some point in their lives. A child will usually receive new toys throughout the year, but unfortunately, they do not understand the importance of toy organization.

mom guiding son to keep toys on his toy storage

This is where toy storage comes into play. A toy storage solution can help parents quickly organize their children's toys by allowing them to store away ornaments that are too bulky or important to leave out on display.

Finding toy storage suitable for children may be easier said than done, though, due to a large number of toy boxes available on the market today boasting all types of different designs and materials, with many parents often struggling to find toy storage that is suitable for their child.

different toy storage organization

The toy storage solution manufacturers have designed may not be the safest toy storage option for children, especially young children who cannot tell the difference between a toy and a toy storage product.

Toy companies have made a conscious effort to develop toy boxes that are both functional and fun by adding features such as wheels so your child can quickly move their toy box however they see fit or fabric covers that can conceal their saved toys from sight.

mom organizing kids toys storage

Many parents will often complain about the lack of space in their homes due to raising multiple children. Some will even purchase extra toy boxes to store away all of the incoming toys their child receives on special occasions such as birthdays or Christmas, but still find themselves struggling to find toy storage suitable for their child's toy collection.

Toy manufacturers have now made toy storage suitable for children by designing toy boxes with safety in mind. Parents no longer need to purchase multiple toy boxes as most toy boxes will store an extensive toy collection.

A toy box can also help encourage your child to tidy up their toys every day by only allowing them access to the toy chest once they have put away all of their toys. This may seem like a tedious task at first, but eventually, your children will see the benefits of keeping their bedroom clean after each playtime session.

boy opened his toy box

You may also want to consider purchasing two or more toy chests for your child, so you can use one compartment like an extra toy box for toy storage and the other as a toy chest, encouraging your child to tidy up their toys every day.

Once you have introduced toy boxes to your child, they will likely want to place their toy collections on display by setting them on toy shelves or hanging them from the wall using toy hooks which should make it easier for you to keep an eye out for any potential damage that has been caused due to rough play.

How to build a Toybox Game

The Gamification-based Toybox Game is an innovative idea that gamifies maintaining a clean and tidy room for children. The toy storage box consists of three layers:

dad and daughter painting the toy box

  • The top layer for storing the toys
  • The middle layer for storing small items like pen drives or cards, or other miscellaneous items
  • The bottom layer for digging out required items from lower levels

Because slides provide more space on upper levels, it becomes easy to store all toys except large ones inside them.

The Gamification-based Toy Box Game comprises sliding trays where each tray has specific slots meant for storing different types of objects. Each tray can be moved independently to take the desired toy without disturbing others kept in adjacent trays. A Gamification-based Toy Box Game also has a separate compartment for holding miscellaneous items like pens, pencils, erasers, etc.

toy storage box trays

The Gamification-based Toy Box Game is designed to avoid any nagging from parents by providing an easy way to store toys inside a cabinet. The Gamification-based Toybox consists of three layers - the top layer for storing larger objects that cannot be accommodated in lower shelves, the second layer for storing small knickknacks, and the third layer for digging out required items from lower levels.

Sliding trays provide more space for upper and middle classes, allowing children to store all types of toys except large ones inside them without any issue with smaller ones below. Gamification-based Toy Box Game also consists of a separate compartment for storing miscellaneous items, i.e., erasers, pencils, etc.

kids toy storage organization

Although Gamification-based Toy Box Game is an innovative idea, there has been no mention of it on any platform yet, which may be because Gamification as a concept is not very popular among people. One must appreciate the efforts taken by designers to invent such a great toy storage system. Gamifying seems like a brainy idea as children will enjoy digging out things from lower layers, and parents will love this new design as their nagging will stop forever. Gamifying Toy Storage requires minimal space and provides maximum storage, reducing clutter and making cleaning up easy and fun.

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