As I walk around my house, there's no escaping the fact that this is a family home. From the paint palette on the kitchen table, to the plastic dalek in the bathroom, the children's books crowding every shelf and the Lego that makes me yelp when I stand on it in bare feet: I guess you could never accuse us of being minimalists.
Toys have a tendency to fill the amount of space available. The children will never admit that they have enough toys, even though I disagree.
Sometimes I think it would be nice to have an adult-only space, where you didn't have to move three Power Rangers before you could sit on the sofa.
I don't mind a little clutter, and I think that as members of the household, our children have a right to a living space that reflects them too. But not everyone agrees.
Over at Cafe Mom, mothers admit that many of them have given in and allowed the toys free range. But some parents are quite strict about 'Tidy Up Time' at the end of the day, when toys get packed away and the living room becomes an adult space again. Others complain about too-tidy husbands, who seem to believe that it's actually possible for children to only play with toys in their rooms. Some say that the parent's bedroom is the only part of the house that kids aren't allowed to play in.
I do find it slightly odd to enter a family home that has no evidence of the fact that kids actually live there. It must take so much time and effort to keep it like that.
What about you? Do the toys in your house roam free or do you manage to keep them contained? Are there any rooms that are strictly off-limits to the kids and their playthings?
Source: ParentDish US