Playroom Chronicles Podcast
Where parents come to rethink play, and rediscover toy joy by learning to Think Outside The Toy Box® and Play Like It's 1979™.
Playroom Chronicles Podcast
Supermarket Secrets To Get Kids Playing
Ever felt frustrated when your kids ignore their mountain of toys only to claim they're bored? The solution might be simpler than you think—and surprisingly, it's inspired by your weekly grocery store trip.
In this eye-opening episode, we explore how the marketing psychology behind grocery store "end caps" (those special displays at the ends of aisles) can revolutionize your playroom strategy. Just as we experience decision fatigue standing before dozens of peanut butter options, our children's developing brains shut down when facing an overwhelming toy collection. The problem isn't the toys themselves—it's their presentation and accessibility.
Rather than focusing solely on toy rotation, which can still leave toys hidden and forgotten, we explore the power of strategic visibility. By creating "toy end caps" throughout your home—thoughtfully placing selected toys in high-traffic areas—you can dramatically increase independent play while reducing screen time requests. This simple shift addresses both decision fatigue and visibility challenges simultaneously, turning forgotten toys into irresistible play invitations.
I share my own family's transformation after implementing this approach: Legos on the coffee table became a pre-dinner activity, animal figurines on the kitchen table sparked post-dinner imagination, and fidgets in the bathroom made morning routines more enjoyable. Most importantly, this strategy helps release the parental guilt many of us feel when our playrooms aren't working as intended.
Ready to transform your home's play dynamics? Try placing 3-5 toys in visible locations this week and watch what happens. Then share your experience by tagging @PlayroomChronicles on social media—I'd love to celebrate your wins with you!
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Today, I want to share a powerful strategy inspired by a place you probably visit weekly your local grocery store. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast, where toys spark imagination, learning and independent play. I'm Sharnley Deloach, a toy and play expert, but a mom just like you, navigating building blocks, puzzle pieces and snack crumbs every day, ever wondered which toy will actually get played with, or how do I keep my child engaged without a screen? You're in the right place. From ready-day rescues to skill-building superstars, this is your go-to for honest toy recommendations, real talk and play ideas that work, ready to turn chaos into creativity. One toy at a time, then. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Playroom Chronicles podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Playroom Chronicles podcast. And I'm sure right now you're like I thought this was a toy and play podcast, charlene.
Charlene:Why are we talking about grocery stores? Well, stay with me in this episode because I promise it'll all make sense and give you the strategies that you need to help your kids play more with their toys. All right, so picture this You're standing in the grocery store peanut butter aisle staring at tons of peanut butter jars. Now, I don't know the last time you went to that specific section in your grocery store. But I am always overwhelmed when I'm standing there. There are so many choices for this one type of product. There's chunky, there's creamy, there's organic, there's mainstream, there's almond, there's cashew, there's sunflower, all the things and sometimes, when that happens, we feel frozen and overwhelmed and then sometimes, like in my case in particular, kind of annoyed. But that moment right there, that's called decision fatigue, and grocery stores understand this. So that is why they often use end caps, those special displays at the end of aisles, so that they will simplify your choices for you. Because end caps ease decision fatigue by making a few select products highly accessible. Yes, I understand, a lot of times it's backed by you know which ones are on sale, or if someone's doing a promotion, I get it. But the concept still is the same. They're pulling a few out and placing them on this end cap. So you only have, you know, like five choices, regardless of reason why the only five are there, but the five there. So you're sort of like oh, this seems good enough and you move on, it's on sale, or these are the five and you grab it. Ncaps also have a secondary purpose. They make those few selection of peanut butter and peanut butter alternatives highly visible, since the NCAPs are typically right where you see them as you walk by in the grocery store, because you're going along with your cart and you're seeing at the end of the aisle and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, that's right, I need peanut butter. I forgot I was going to make something this week with it and you put it in your cart, taking that end cap concept. I want you to apply it to your playroom Because, let's face it, as moms we often think we're failing when our kids don't play with the toys we provided.
Charlene:Right, we blame ourselves, or we blame the abundance of toys, or we blame ourselves that we're not organized enough. All the things we're always like blame us. But what if the problem isn't too many toys? What if it's simply how the toys are displayed and accessed? Because think about your child's experience entering a cluttered playroom. It's like standing in that overwhelming peanut butter aisle. And for these little brains, right? No wonder why they're saying I'm bored or asking for stream time. Their brains simply shut down and they can't easily decide how or what to play with. Add the other concept, just like how the peanut butter jars are down the side aisle and you kind of forget it's down there because you're shopping and you don't go down that aisle and you totally walk away without the peanut butter. You're like, oh my God, I forgot the peanut butter. Well, toys crammed into bins and baskets often become invisible. So yes, I know, toy rotation is super popular right now, but it still reduces the visibility and then everything's sort of stacked in these bins. So yeah, they can pull a bin out, sort of like the end cap, and here are a few selections, but they're still sort of hidden and when toys aren't easily seen, oftentimes they're not played with.
Charlene:Now, if you're still not on board with this sort of concept, let me give you another example your closet. Think about your own closet, the time when you're standing there staring at all your clothes and then you say I have nothing to wear. But you and I both know that's not true. But that's decision fatigue again, and that's why outfit planners are so popular, because they put it together and you're like oh, I don't have to think about it. Right, highly selected items. That's kind of like that toy rotation piece. You take all the toys, you put it down into a smaller amount, so it's easy to go. This is what I want to play with, but the thing is it's still not accessing the visibility. And the idea is, even where fitness trainers come in, using sort of the clothing analogy, like fitness trainers often say like, hey, put your shoes by the side door so you're reminded to go work out. Or nutritionists say, hey, put the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table and put the cookies away. So when you're walking by and you're hungry, you see it right there. You're more apt to eat healthy.
Charlene:In our adult lives, we regularly use decision, fatigue reduction strategies and increased visibility strategies to combat all the things that we have to deal with, yet we rarely apply these approaches to our kids' toys. We usually do one or the other or do the blame game. So I hope this is your aha moment. Toys aren't the issue, and you're certainly not failing. It's just that your toy setup, and maybe your current toy strategy, is just not working for you.
Charlene:And so here's what I did in my own home I started treating toys like I would do as a grocery store person. I started treating the toys like the jars of peanut butter and I started strategically creating end caps, if you will, around our house. So, rather than reducing toys drastically, I simply selected a few toys from the playroom and placed them around the house in clear, accessible spots, so just like grocery store end caps. These carefully placed toys became basically irresistible invitations for play, and I ended up doing two things at once. First, I reduced the decision fatigue by moving these particular toys out of their play space and then, secondly, increase the visibility so they would be reminded to play, and play over the TV. So within days for us, something amazing started to happen. My kids began engaging spontaneously with toys that they previously ignored. The bowl of Legos on the coffee table was played with before dinner. The animal figurines I put out in a tray on the kitchen table were played with after dinner. The fidgets that I put in a jar in the bathroom actually or play with where the kids were brushing their teeth, and then got them up and out of the bed in the morning to get ready for school because there was something fun to play with. These simple changes significantly boosted independent play time and, bonus for us, noticeably decreased screen requests.
Charlene:Studies show the visibility strategies and decision fatigue reduction strategies work. That's why nutritionists use it, that's why personal trainers use it, that's why stylists use it. That's why grocery stores use it. Given fewer and clearer options, our brains engage and we need to apply that logic to our kids and toys. Basically, simpler, visible displays encourage independent play.
Charlene:But all in all here's the emotional takeaway I want you to grasp clearly you aren't a bad mom or a bad parent because your kids aren't playing or playing independently, and you're not failing because your playroom is overflowing. You simply need smarter approaches. Basically, basically the grocery store approach to toy visibility. So this week I encourage you to test the strategy. Pick, like, three to five toys and position them visibly in high traffic areas of your home and watch what happens. I think you'll see a difference, not in just how your kids play, but also in how you feel as a mom. And after you tried it, I'd love to hear your story. If you can tag me at Playroom Chronicles on Instagram or Facebook, I'd love to see what you're discovering and, hopefully, some of your wins. Until next time, I encourage you to step back from self-criticism, embrace strategic visibility and basically, simply end cap your playroom, because you deserve playtime to feel as effortless as grabbing your favorite peanut.
