Toy overload: What is it, and how can you help your kids avoid it?

The holidays are prime gift-giving season, and for kids, it's probably the biggest toy haul of the year. But, sometimes people get toy overload, and their kids just have too many. "What is toy overload and is it real?" I asked Rebecca Vannest, the assistant professor of counseling at Oakland University. "It absolutely is real. Children can become very overstimulated," she said. Vannest said a rule of thumb is to get toys the child can manipulate, not toys that manipulate the child.