TikTok Mom Goes Viral For Showcasing Her Town's Elaborate Toy Library
How does America not have these?
The amount of toys that can accumulate in a family's home tends to become overwhelming. Parents don't even know how it happens, honestly. One minute, we're living in a clean, minimalistic home, and the next? Giant, brightly colored plastic toys cover the entire surface of the house. It's just an inevitable rite of passage for parents (unless you're a sad beige mom, that is).
There's also added labor in the buying, organizing, and selling or donating of toys once a kid is no longer interested in playing with them (or the playroom is overflowing). It's a constant merry-go-round of buying and purging, and sometimes our kids play with something a few times only to discard it later.
Enter the absolutely brilliant concept of a toy library.
In a now-viral TikTok, Australian mom Elli gives an inside look at her town's toy library where, for a monthly fee, parents can rent everything from scooters to building blocks to water tables.
"They have all the toys that you want but maybe don't want lying around your house forever, like those Little Tykes trucks," Elli explains.
The entire library is organized into sections based on the type of play, such as "Sand and Water" and "Building Toys," as well as a section strictly for baby toys.
The library also has large activity tables for rent and an entire wall of puzzles, which is brilliant because once a kid finishes the puzzle a couple of times, it's pretty much just taking up space on the shelf.
With the basic membership, parents can check out four toys at one time and keep them for three weeks.
On this visit, Elli came home with a Little Tykes gas pump for some outdoor pretend play, a colorful click-together building puzzle, and a big building set, which, according to Elli, has been a huge hit with her toddler.
She also picked up some "noisy musical toys" for her baby that she will "happily give back in a week's time."
The toy library Elli rents from is one of over 280 toy libraries in Australia. Toy Libraries Australia is a non-profit incorporated association that promotes the importance and value of play. According to their official website, the association aims to raise the profile of toy libraries in the community by publicizing the role of toy libraries in promoting play, educating children, and supporting families.
After the Australian toy library went viral, several TikTok users commented on the video, noting their awe over such a brilliant concept.
"Um I didn't even know this was a thing [...] I wish we had one near here," one user wrote.
"Why do we not have this in America?" another user asked.
One obvious supporter of the concept said, "I'm such a big fan of toy libraries! Great cost-effective way to have a rotation of toys and avoid having excess toys that kids may lose interest in."
"I wish we had one of these where I live!! We only have the one at the library which is TINY!" someone else lamented.
Elli was also bombarded with questions about the toy library, such as, "What happens if you lose pieces to a toy?" and "Who cleans the toys?"
According to the Toy Libraries Australia website, renters are responsible for cleaning their own toys before returning them to the library. The website provides specific and thorough instructions on how to clean the toys prior to returning.
Can we get one of these in America, please? How are these brilliant toy libraries not all over the world? Every parent would be a member!
