If you've ever watched a toddler completely ignore an expensive, light-up, sound-making toy in favor of an empty cardboard box, you already understand something that a growing number of parents are starting to embrace. Sometimes, less really is more.

Across the country, parents are pushing back against the noise (literally and figuratively) and returning to a simpler, slower kind of childhood for their little ones. Instead of elaborate activities planned for every minute of the day and constantly available screens, they're opting for open-ended play, fresh air, and a little more room to be a kid. 

Why is Analog Making a Comeback? 

Many parents today are worried about their children growing up in an overscheduled, overstimulated world and are intentionally doing things differently. 

Researchers and child development experts have been sounding the alarm about the effects of too much screen time for young children for years. Books like Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation have gotten more families talking about what a healthy childhood actually looks like in the digital age. 

For some parents, the answer is to give their kids a childhood that looks a lot more like the one we had growing up.

This return to analog parenting is not anti-technology. It's about being more intentional with the calendar and providing opportunities for kids to use simpler, less flashy technology that doesn’t have access to the internet. 

That might look like pulling out the sensory bins instead of the tablet for younger kids, hunting down a walkman and some CDs for your pre-teens to enjoy music, or having a house phone installed so teens can stay home alone safely without needing a cell phone. 

Is Your Toddler Overstimulated?  

We all know that toddlers aren't great at politely telling us when they've had enough of something. For our littlest ones, overstimulation looks like fussiness that seems to come out of nowhere, difficulty settling down for naps or bedtime, or just a general sense that your child has a whole lot of feelings they need you to pay attention to right now. 

It’s very common for tiny humans to be happier and calmer after a quiet morning at home than after a busy, activity-packed day. That’s because young children's nervous systems are still developing, and they need plenty of downtime to process all the information they’re soaking up on a daily basis.

Going analog in your home is one of many ways to help provide toddlers and young children with more time to move between activities, process new information, and get creative.

Simple Analog Swaps for Toddlers 

Focusing more on analog play doesn't mean you have to completely overhaul your routine or your playroom. Here are a few ideas that work particularly well for babies and toddlers:

Water play. A bin of water with a few cups and spoons will often hold a toddler's attention longer than most toys on the market. And the cleanup is worth not having to listen to that annoying kid show theme song for the 18th time today. 

Chalk and open space. Take a bucket of sidewalk chalk and outside and let your little one get creative. You can draw alongside them, but try to resist the urge to draw for them. Those scribbles are building important skills! 

Simple puzzles and stacking toys. Open-ended, hands-on play builds focus and problem-solving skills in a way that a touchscreen simply can't replicate. You can rotate through a few bins of different kinds of toys if you want to keep things fresh without overstimulating. 

Board books and lap time. Reading together is one of the most powerful things a parent can do for a young child's development. (Even if it’s the same book for the fourteenth time.)  It's also one of the quietest.

Messy outdoor time. Grass, sticks, rocks, puddles. Grab a set of play clothes on a warm day and commit to letting your toddler explore the messier side of life! You can always do some water play in the bathtub later. 

A Little Less, a Lot More

Going analog doesn’t mean that every plastic toy needs to go or that a busy day is a bad day. But many parents are finding that carving out some slower, quieter pockets of time and filling them with simple, hands-on experiences is making a difference in how the whole family feels.

The parents ditching the streaming services for VHS players and the tablets for mud puddles aren’t doing anything that radical. They're doing something that, not so long ago, was just called childhood. And it turns out, kids are still pretty good at being kids when they get the chance.