They’ve rebooted “The X-Files,” they’re remaking “Ghostbusters” and we’re back to wearing oversized flannel (well, I am anyway) because every old is new again. So it shouldn’t surprise me to hear my children echoing the phrase with which I tormented my mom lo those many years ago: “I’m booooooored.”

I try not to tell them that “only boring people get bored” and that “when I was a kid, I only had rocks and sticks to play with and I liked it,” which is what my mom told me, because (1) it hurt my feelings and (2) I had a lot more than rocks and sticks to play with. I had a sizable Barbie collection, among other things, but I still didn’t have nearly as many toys as my overly privileged children have. The sheer volume of their toy collections makes the “I’m bored” business especially irksome.

Even so, I sort of understand where they’re coming from. Play with the same toys day in and day out, and those toys can lose some of their luster. So rather than telling them to go play with a rock, I try to employ one of my two favorite ways of combating Toy Ennui: the Ol’ Switcharoo and the Change of Scenery.

Changing a toy’s usual landscape is a great way to give it new life in your kids’ eyes. Our big snowstorm over the weekend made the Change of Scenery simple. Pete and Rockford gathered up a bunch of their Star Wars toys and took them outside for some instant Hoth backdrops. It’s nice when Mother Nature lends a hand on this front, but you don’t have to wait for her to step in. Poppy likes to take her Barbies out to the swing set for adventures, for example, and when it’s warm out Pete sets up a car wash for his Matchboxes and Hot Wheels with some soapy water and squirt guns. Any toy taken out of its usual context is automatically more interesting. Unleash some dinos in the driveway! Let Furby flounce in the flowerbed! Send the Slinky down the slide! The backyard, bathtub or basement could be your kids’ oyster.

The Ol’ Switcharoo requires some storage boxes, a bit of attention and a place to sock things away. If you notice that your kids aren’t playing with a particular toy very often, stash it away somewhere for awhile. When they get bored with what’s available, pull out the stored toys and put the “boring” toys on the sideline for awhile. Boom! Your kids have a whole newish grouping of toys to keep them entertained. I encourage the kids to keep their toys pretty well organized — action figures with action figures, doll clothes with doll clothes, etc. — so it’s easier to find the toys they seek. It also makes it easier to enact the Toy Rotation.

And when the Ol’ Switcharoo and the Change of Scenery fail to quell the boredom? I give them a rock and a stick and tell them to have at it.

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