Do kids need toys?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what we really need to live. We've been going through our stuff and getting rid of a lot of the things that we don't need.

Last weekend we also went through the kids toys and got rid of about half their toys. Do our kids really need to have so much stuff? We didn't come to Turkey with a lot of toys, we only had 10 suitcases to fill, so toys were not a top priority. But somehow, over the past year we have accumulated pretty many toys.

I have two big white bins full of the kids toys, but it seems like what they normally do is empty the toys all over the floor and make a huge mess. They don't really play with any of their toys besides some matchbox cars and a few balls.

I find that my kids have the most fun when they are playing imaginary games, or running around the house playing hide and seek, or singing and dancing, or being outside playing ball, or making drums out of empty yogurt containers.

(Our kids eat A LOT of plain yogurt. It's a staple food in Turkey)

They don't really play with their toys that much and, in fact, I think that having so many toys makes them use their imaginations less. If they wouldn't have so many toys, they would be forced to be more creative! And is having so much stuff for our kids just teaching them to be materialistic and to find their value in their possessions?

Joel and I spent a lot of time talking about his trip to Africa and especially about the children. The kids there don't have clothing to wear, let alone toys to play with! So what do they do for fun? How do they play? Joel said in Uganda he saw a bunch of little boys make a car out of an empty milk jug with some wheels made out of cardboard, and then they stuck a stick through it to pull it along. They had a blast!

I want my kids to learn to be creative and resourceful. I don't want them to learn that our satisfaction is in possessions but in Jesus! He needs to be the one who satisfies us, not the stuff that we have!