It's likely that you have lots of toys scattered around your house if you're reading this. Your kids probably love all of them, from LEGO sets to Barbie dolls, and they enjoy dumping out every single toy they own or checking out the latest toys in stores. But when does the number of toys our kids have become too many? How many toys do kids actually need?

Research shows that the average household has 71 toys at any given time, which is too many for children to play with effectively. Hassan Alnassir of Premium Joy, a California-based toy company, found that most kids only play with about 10 of their toys, regardless of how many they have.

A study published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development showed that providing children with fewer toys actually leads to higher quality play and increased imagination. Kids with just 4 toys played with them for longer and used them in more creative ways. Providing your child with a few toys is the best solution, as they can only play with so many at a time, and they'll use their imagination more and play for longer durations if they have fewer options.