Pocket companion
Parenting Toolkit
The right words, the reasoning, and a plan — matched to your child's stage.
Add your sprout to match ideas to their age. Showing 🧭 Discovery for now.
🧸 Toy Rotation Shelf
Keep 4–8 loved toys or sets out, box the rest, swap every 14 days. Saved on this device only.
🌱 Sharing the toy reset? Sprout+ syncs your shelf with your co-parent's phone so either grown-up can run the swap. Invite a grandparent or another grown-up to your family too, and they can see what the kids already have and the best toys for their development — easy gift ideas any time.
Sync with co-parent →📷 Instant Toy Shelf Scan
Snap up to 4 photos of your whole shelf, toy bins or playroom. We list your toys, sort them by age stage and play type, and show what's missing for balanced play. Sign in for 1 free scan a day, or add toys with the buttons above.
Sign in to try it →Out now (0)
Nothing out yet.
📋 What should be out? · research guide
Count a full set as 1 — a box of 40 blocks or a Duplo bin is one set, not 40 toys. That's why these numbers look small.
6–8 sets out at a time
Always out (these don't rotate):
- Wooden unit blocks
- A table caddy with art supplies
- Something for big-body play (tunnel, balance board, cushions)
📚 8–15 books, covers facing out
Anchors stay out all year. Everything else rotates about every 2 weeks.
👨👩👧 Brothers and sisters
- → One child: 1 set in each spot on the shelf.
- → Twins or close in age: Add 50–100% more pieces to shareable sets (blocks, magnetic tiles). Get a second of the toys only one child can use at a time, like dolls or push cars, and keep both on the same shelf.
- → A baby or toddler plus an older child: Bottom shelves are for under-3s only: no small parts, battery covers screwed shut, no water beads. Older kids' LEGO, dice and craft tools go up high or behind a latch.
🎭 Pretend play beyond the kitchen
- 🩺 Vet & animal hospital — Stuffed animals, bandages, a clipboard.
- 🔨 Fix-it workshop — Toy tools, a box of bolts to sort, safety glasses.
- 📦 Post office & delivery — Envelopes, stamps, a bag, boxes to deliver.
- 🧭 Nature explorer — Magnifying glass, a field notebook, binoculars.
- 🥢 Market, bakery & café — Play food from many cultures, a menu, a till.
- 🎭 Puppet theatre & detective HQ — Puppets, a sheet over a table, a notebook for clues.
Each fits in one bin and links to blocks and vehicles, so every child finds a way in.
How to do a Toy Audit
- Gather every toy from every room (and the car) into one pile.
- Sort into six play groups: Building, Pretend, Puzzles & logic, Big-body, Vehicles, Art & sensory.
- Pack 3–4 balanced rotation boxes, with something from each group in each box.
- Store the resting boxes where kids can't browse them.
- Put one box out on low shelves, with space between toys. Mark comfort favourites 📌 Keep so they never rotate out.
Ages 0–2: 4–6 sets outAges 3–5: 6–8 sets outAges 6+: 5–8 sets out · room zones for sleep, study, play
A full set counts as 1 — a bin of blocks is one set, not 40 toys.
If this happens
- → Panic when toys are boxed: keep a small "Parking Lot" shelf for 1–2 cherished creations.
- → Holiday gift flood: One-In, One-Out. Each new toy means one older toy rests or is passed on.
- → "You do it!": the Five-Thing Method (trash, laundry, dishes, things with a home, things without one). If screaming starts, drop the demands, sit quietly and breathe, then restart with one item.