The Only 10 Toys Your Child Will Ever Need (Part 1)

Tired of toys that collect dust after a few months? Discover the revolutionary "toy capsule" concept - a carefully curated collection of versatile playthings that truly grow with your child from infancy through the tween years.

Just like a capsule wardrobe features timeless clothing pieces that transition between seasons, these foundational toys adapt to different developmental stages, providing fresh engagement opportunities year after year. The secret? Focusing on unbranded, open-ended toys that spark imagination rather than character-based or trendy items that quickly lose their appeal.

The first five essentials in this carefully crafted collection might surprise you. Play tents transform from baby peekaboo spots to preschool spaceships to tween reading nooks. Bowling sets begin as sensory toys for infants before becoming math games or physics experiments for older kids. Hula hoops, musical instruments, and art easels round out the first half of the list, each offering unique developmental benefits across an entire decade of childhood.

What makes these choices particularly powerful is their adaptability. A play tent that entertains a crawling baby can later become a science fair display for a fifth-grader. A simple bowling set that teaches cause-and-effect to a toddler evolves into a creative math game for elementary students. These toys don't just entertain - they grow alongside your child, supporting different skills and interests at each developmental stage.

Ready to transform your approach to toys and create a playroom that's both practical and engaging? Visit toyboxplayroomchronicles.com/top10 for the complete guide and connect with me on Instagram @PlayroomChronicles to share how you're implementing these ideas in your home!

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Website: PlayroomChronicles.com

Episode Transcript

Charlene DeLoach (00:00):
Hey, playpals, welcome back to the podcast,
and today we're going to betalking about actual toys,
that's right.
Not how to store them, not howto organize them, not how to
display them, not even how toget your kids to pick up them,
but we're going to be talkingabout the toys themselves, more
specifically, the ones that Ithink deserve a spot in your

(00:23):
home, whether your child isstill learning to crawl or
they've already moved into thetween with opinions phase.
Because I often get asked thesequestions Charlene, what toys
should I keep in my home?
What toys actually get playedwith?
What toys are worth investingin?
What toys to buy this holidayseason?
What toys to buy for thisbirthday party my kid got

(00:46):
invited to next Saturday?
I love these questions because,while there's always going to
be the hottest new toys on themarket, the trendiest toys,
believe me, I love talking aboutthose too.
There's something even morepowerful about toy classics.
Not just classic toys like awooden train or a teddy bear,

(01:08):
but classic toys that belonginto what I call the toy capsule
.
Think of it like a capsulewardrobe, but for your playroom.
Just like you only need a fewquality pieces in your closet
that work for different seasons.
Well, that concept can apply totoys, where you only need a few

(01:30):
key toys that work at differentstages of your child's growth
and development, the toys thatdon't get shoved into the
giveaway pile after three months, the toys that spark different
kinds of play over time, notjust one moment of joy, and toys
that can be used when a childis two and that same toy can be

(01:52):
used when a child is 12.
And yes, that is possible.
So today I want to walk youthrough these toys that are on
my top 10 list in that toycapsule, if you will.
Now I'm going to focus on thefirst five in this particular
episode and then the nextepisode, the remaining five and,

(02:24):
for those of you who want toknow, allplayroomchroniclescom
slash top 10.
I'll also put the link in theshow notes.
Now, before I start listing myfavorite toys to have, let me go
over two key points.
Number one when I mention thesetoys, try to think about

(02:48):
getting toys that are unbrandedor unlicensed.
And what I mean is, if I'mtalking about X toy and there's
the Paw Patrol version or theBarbie version or the Spider-Man
version, I'm saying try to getone that is neutral version,
right, no characters to it.
Because, let's face it, whenyour child is two and really

(03:10):
into Paw Patrol, the likelihoodthat they want to be declaring
that or have that same interestwhen they're 12, probably not so
when you can always getunbranded options for the toys
that I'm going to mention here.
10, always get unbrandedoptions for the toys that I'm
going to mention here.
Second, as I'm going throughthis list, it is, yeah, the top
10 list, but when I mentionedthe first toy, it's not

(03:33):
necessarily number 10, meaningit's less than number nine.
These are all equal, so it'snot one of those top 10
countdown lists from music radio, dj Nope.
All 10 get equal weight, sodon't worry about that.
So you guys ready to hear whatthe top 10 toys are?
Well, let's jump in.

(03:53):
All right, let's start with oneof the most underestimated toys
out there a play tent.
And what I love about playtents is that when a baby is
just starting to crawl, thattent can actually become a
really fun peekaboo spot.
You can put your baby in theplay tent and then use the flaps

(04:15):
to open and close and dopeekaboo, peekaboo.
You can also be putting toys inthe tent and be talking about
hey, this is in and then takingit out.
Now it's out.
So they're starting to learnsome cause and effect, they're
working on some sensory skillsand of course they're having fun
.
And as they start crawling,that tent can become the

(04:36):
destination and encouragemovement.
You can put a favorite toy inthere and they have to work to
go get it.
It becomes this little minimission space for them and
they're learning cause andeffect, motivation, direction.
This is actually not all cute.
It actually is cognitive andbrain building and fast forward

(04:59):
to toddlerhood and preschooltimes.
Well, now that tent becomes aspaceship or a veterinary clinic
or a drive-thru smoothie shop,their imagination can start
taking over.
Then, when your child hitsschool age, that tent can
transform again.
Now it can become a little mininapping spot, it can become a

(05:21):
reading nook or even a sensoryretreat For some kids.
It's where they can go whenthey feel overstimulated or need
a break.
In fact, I love using stick-onwallpaper in like a forest kind
of scene and calling the tentthe treehouse.
It's calm, it's cozy and itcould be a coping tool for a lot

(05:42):
of kids.
And then for the ones who loveto read, it is their book nook.
They can go in there, put alltheir favorite books and it's a
way to encourage literacy.
And then when a child gets toyou know, 9, 10, 11, even 12,
yes, even tweens they can usethat tent to stash their stuffed
animal collection.
And they can actually use itfor a variety of you know,

(06:06):
science fair displays and otheracademic pursuits, because I
cannot tell you how many timesI'm the mom who is showing up
school with a pop-up tent andready to present a volcano or
talking about some history orsomething, and now the tent
becomes this visual prop and letme tell you, a lot of teachers

(06:26):
really appreciate that.
So that play tent can be usedfor over 10 years in a variety
of different ways.
That's the true power of theplay tent it adapts.
Okay, the second toy in mycapsule list I want to talk
about is going to probablysurprise some, some people, but
it is a bowling set yes, bowling.

(06:50):
So stay with me.
Let me explain.
It is the good kind, thelightweight plastic, but not the
flimsy ones.
There's different versions, soyou definitely want to put a
little bit more money into itand, of course, I'm going to
show you all the different ways.
So it's definitely worth it.
And also not a real bowling set,right?
Not the ones that you wouldactually see in a bowling alley,

(07:12):
because that would pretty muchdestroy our floors.
But basically, when your babyis small, these plastic bowling
sets are great ways to play.
Now you're going to be likeCharlene my baby's not even
walking yet.
How are they going to gobowling?
Well, the pins themselvesactually can be sensory toys.

(07:32):
Babies can bang them together.
They can bang them on aTupperware container like a drum
.
They can explore the shape andthe feel of it.
So, yeah, they're notnecessarily using it for bowling
right now, but the bowling sethas some sensory and cause and
effect play just by using thepins and then, of course, the

(07:53):
ball that comes with it.
Well, roll it and they have tocrawl after it to encourage
movement and more.
Then, when your child istolling around and walking, yeah
, they can start rolling theball and knocking the pins down.
Then preschoolers can actuallyuse it for play dates and you
can even sort of set up a reallyfun bowling night, serve some

(08:15):
fun snacks and treats and gobowling with the whole family
and then, as your child getsolder, write numbers on the pins
or even letters.
But writing numbers on the pins,you can turn it into a math
game as they bowl the ball,whatever pins fall over.
If it happens to be like numbertwo and four and six,

(08:37):
whatever's on the pins, great.
They have to add it up, have tosubtract, multiply, divide.
If it's letters, if you have acouple of bowling sets, put a
whole bunch of letters on there.
If it's letters, if you have acouple of bowling sets, put a
whole bunch of letters on there.
And as they roll, they have tothink of a word that begins with
the letter H, or has to thinkof a story that they can start
off with with the letter S orwhatever pins fall down.

(09:00):
Well, can they come up with aword that has two of the letters
in it?
There's so many different ways.
You can turn that bowling setinto an educational activity and
then you can take it outsideand set them up on the driveway,
not just for bowling, but youcan actually use the pins and

(09:21):
put a whole bunch of stationsaround the space, and now it
becomes like an obstacle coursefor the bike or the scooter, as
the kids have to weave throughthem or set them up on a fence,
and kids on a hot summer day cantake their water blasters and
try to blast them down.
And then, as they get to thetween and teen phase, they can

(09:41):
be using these in homemadephysics experiments, learning
about velocity and motion andgravity.
Basically, it's one of thosethings that can start as a toy
and ends as a tool for creativeexpression and learning.
Okay, number three on the listhula hoops.
Now again, you're probably likeCharlene my kid can't even

(10:05):
stand up yet.
What are they going to do witha hula hoop?
Or those are so boring.
Well, stay with me.
Let me tell you why.
A hula hoop flat on the floor isa toddler's playground.
It's actually fun for babiestoo.
So let me back up.
Imagine taking a hula hoop andyou're just holding it
vertically right, and now youcan encourage your baby to try

(10:29):
to crawl through the hoop, andnot only are you encouraging
their movement and theircrawling ability, but actually
going through.
Something like that is a bigsensory step for babies.
Then, as a child becomes atoddler, you can take a whole
bunch of hula hoops, bring themoutside, keep them vertical and
just use those pins.

(10:49):
They're like U-shaped, and youcan push them in the ground and
now have a makeshift play tunnelthat they can crawl through or
weave through.
Or you can lie them flat on theground and you can toss a
stuffed animal in it and againwork on the concepts of in and
out.
So you have spatial awarenessand prepositions and vocabulary

(11:12):
all from putting a toy in thecircle and bringing it out and
then, as they grow, you can putsome in the driveway as a ninja
training ground.
They have to hop in them andhop out of them and they have to
almost use it like hopscotch.
They have to do that likefootball, running through it,
right, all the things they canturn it into such a fun physical

(11:35):
activity game.
And I hope you know by thispoint I have not even mentioned
using the hula hoop like a hulahoop.
So that's obviously an optionas well.
Or you can hang one for a treeand turn it into a target for
beanbags or even for footballsand baseballs for tweens and
teens that are working on theirskills, for their sports team,

(11:57):
and you can even use it as aversion of ring toss.
Needless to say, tweens andteens also love doing fun things
and posting it on social mediaand doing YouTube challenges.
Needless to say, it is such asimple object, but the play it
inspires is anything but basic.
Okay, I think we're on to numberfour now, and it is musical

(12:23):
toys.
Now what I suggest is having acombination of three One that
has some sort of keys, like akeyboard, a play piano, a
xylophone, that is like drums,so a little drum set or bongos

(12:45):
or something similar, and thensomething else that you can sort
of shake, so it could bemaracas, or it could be a
triangle, or it can be symbols,something like that.
So if you have sort of thosethree, now your kids have this
magical musical playground.
And then for babies, of course,cause and effect, right Like

(13:06):
taking their hand and they'rebanging on it and I can see what
the sound is.
I'm like, oh hey, I take myhand, I'm banging on it.
Look, a sound comes out whichis really fun.
But then you can also do somefun games with it.
So you could be hiding inanother room with the cymbal or
the little play drum and theyhave to find you by listening to
the sound.
Then, of course, as they get alittle older, they can be

(13:29):
learning musical concepts, thenthey can move on to hosting
concerts for the family and thenlater, as the kids are teens
and tweens, all those sameinstruments can be used for
school projects, for videos withsound effects in the stories
that they're creating.
So it's teaching them aboutmusic, yes, but not just

(13:53):
becoming a musician, but it'sgiving them this way to express
and explore sound, find fun,creative ways to play with it,
and so much more.
Now, finally, the fifth toy inthe first half of this list that
we're going to be talking abouttoday is an art easel.
Now, I love easels because theylet kids stand up while they

(14:16):
create, and for kids whostruggle to sit still or focus
at a table, this can definitelymake a huge difference.
But when they're little, ofcourse, the art evil is all
about scribbles and chalk andfinger painting so important.
And as they grow a little bitmore, that creative expression
actually now can become asensory exploration.

(14:37):
Exploration because they get toexperiment with different
materials right Chalk markers,crayons, all the things.
Especially if you get adual-sided art easel One side is
a chalkboard, one side's awhiteboard.
Then you can put paper on it.
So now they can stand and sortof work on how each medium feels

(14:58):
different and glidesdifferently, while they're
learning fine motor skills andpressure control and pencil grip
.
Then later that same easel canbecome a homework helper Clip up
the math sheets, so a child whomaybe doesn't want to sit any
longer?
Well, now they can stand andwork on their math problem while

(15:21):
they're standing up and usingthe easel.
And in fact that easel can evenbe a whiteboard to work out a
tough problem, or become athinking wall, and then
eventually it can actuallybecome the family's message
board right, what choreseveryone has to do?
Or what someone wants at thegrocery store, chores everyone

(15:43):
has to do, or what someone wantsat the grocery store.
And then later on it can evenbe like a sidewalk sign.
So if you're hosting a partynow, you can say you know, head
this way, go to the backyard orwhatever have you.
Or it could be used atHalloween where you have the big
bowl of candy and it says takeone treat.
There's so many ways to use anart easel.
It's functional and playful andto me that's the sweet spot.

(16:05):
So there you go.
So far play tents, bowling sets, hula hoops, musical toys and
art easels.
If you only had these fivethings in your play space, you
have more than enough fuel forcreative, skill building,
educational and independent playfrom babies to teens.

(16:28):
So in the next episode.
I'm going to walk you throughthe next five and final five
toys in this top 10 toy capsulecollection, if you will.
But again, if you want the fulllist now or you like looking at
pictures, then you can go totoyboxplayroomchroniclescom

(16:48):
slash top 10.
And, of course, find me onInstagram at Playroom Chronicles
, because I love seeing how youguys are bringing these toys
into your home and what you'redoing.
And, as always, I appreciatethe subscribe for this podcast.
All right, that's it for now.
Keep playing and I'll see younext time for part two.