I think I need them all – can I tip them out?

What to try 

• Store some of your toddler’s toys in boxes or baskets which they can lift and move around. 
• Invite them to move and carry their toy boxes when they’re playing.  
• Encourage them to tip the box over if they want all the toys out of one box.  
• Your toddler will be able to tip boxes of toys with greater precision as their strength and control over larger movements improve. 

Good to know 

It sounds counterintuitive to suggest your toddler makes a mess by tipping out all of their toys, but this action is brilliant for building up strength, coordination and balance, so allowing them to practise it in a controlled and safe way is really important.  

Make sure the toy baskets/boxes you create are small enough that the tidying up process is fairly simple, and you may find that by having a place where tipping and emptying is encouraged your toddler feels less of a need to do it in inconvenient ways, like emptying a box of pasta or a drawer!