It's the Brian Laird Show. I'm WNYC. I'm Bridget Bergen filling in for Brian today. If you have kids or have interactions with parents, there's one thing that they may complain about a lot.

Their home has too many toys. Toys are everywhere in the child's room, the kitchen, the

bathroom, the living room, and they just keep coming. Even when it seems like you've made

headway with decluttering, more toys just seem to appear. With the holiday season, even more are guaranteed to enter homes.

Over the last few decades, the number of toys kids have has slowly increased, but recently

the number has skyrocketed.

According to CNN, since 2019, there has been a $5.7 billion increase in the amount of money we're spending

on toys. This means that today's kids have more toys than ever before, and while tons of toys

might not seem like such a big deal, unless you are the person charged with tidying and organizing

all those toys, studies show that kids might actually be better off with less stuff.

Recently, Vox reporter Anna North wrote about what's causing the toy title wave and how it's impacting kids.

Anna is a senior correspondent for Vox, an author of their Kids Today newsletter.

Hey, Anna, welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for having me. And listeners, especially you parents, the holiday season is almost here. How are you

all planning to declutter your spaces for incoming toys? What tips do you have for other parents

or guardians who may be struggling with

how to handle all the stuff? Are you asking the grandparents to give gifts besides toys? Give us a call

or text at 212-433 W-N-YC. That's 212-433-9692. Also, does anyone want to shout out a toy that is worth the real estate it takes up?

What keeps your kids entertained? Call or text, 212-433 W-N-YC, that's 212, 433-9692.

Anna, it seems that your story may have been motivated by your personal experience with feeling toys filling your house.

You even mention finding a pink plastic rat in a drain.

This feels very familiar to me as well.

Can you tell us a little bit about how much toys run your house?

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