One Mom's Tour of Her Town's Toy Library Goes Viral

From community gardens to libraries and pantries, the latest viral addition to the crowdsourcing craze—toy libraries.

Australian mom of two, Elli Tamar, recently went viral on TikTok for sharing the best parenting hack we’ve seen in a while. Whether you don’t want a ton of toys cluttering your home or are looking to cut costs, the toy library is the perfect solution to keeping your kiddos entertained as they grow and change.

Tamar’s toy library is organized into sections based on the type of play, from “Sand and Water” to “Building Toys” and more. Sections are also separated into appropriate categories from toys for baby to toddlers and up. “Every ride on walker and pusher you can imagine, as well as outdoor toys and water tables,” Tamar notes is present.

With the basic membership, Tamar can check out four toys at one time and keep them for three weeks. On this visit, Elli came home with a Little Tykes gas pump for some outdoor pretend play, a colorful click-together building puzzle, a big building set, and some “noisy musical toys” for her baby that she will “happily give back in a week’s time.”

Parents sounded off in the comments, praising the library and wishing for one of their own. “I’m such a big fan of toy libraries! Great cost effective way to have a rotation of toys and avoid having excess toys that kids may lose interest in,” noted one user. “I was excited for kids consignment shops this is even better,” added another.

“I didn’t know this was a thing! The one near me is only $25 a year,” added one parent, with many US parents lamenting that this seems to be a bigger thing outside of the states. But others saw an opportunity to start one of their own, “Business idea bc I know NC doesn’t have one,” wrote one parent.

Here’s to more toy libraries coming soon!