Their treasures, your clutter ....

Tefila

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 12:06 pm

B'h
After a chat I had with a friend of mine concerning one of my kids who like me likes to hoard stuff (except I do not hoard tests nor abstract art never did).She told me never throw it away without her consent my dd is nine. My friend said since her mother did that and she felt that her mother had thrown part of her away too.(me perplexed here)

Now do keep in mind I do hang up her artwork etc And I would not throw it away in front of her but when do you say enough is enough?

bnm

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 12:19 pm

I saw one mother who would take pictures of each item and put it in an album so the kid still had the memory. there comes a time where you can't keep each item, maybe give her a little box where she can save her stuff. whatever dosn't fit she can take a picture of it and pass it futher-give it as gift to grandparents or throw it out.

Mrs. XYZ

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 12:23 pm

So far I've saved all my 4 yo sons stuff from this year. I keep it all in a big shopping bag. The one time I threw out a bulky and slightly torn project, my son found it in the garbage and was horrified "why did you throw it out?!" I explained that it was torn and didnt fit in the bag. Then I told him that many mothers dont save all the stuff, that his friends mother only keeps things for a few days and then throws it out cause she doesnt have space for it. So he asks me "but is Yanky happy about that?" I didnt know what to answer.

gryp

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 12:28 pm

Each of my kids has an empty diaper box full of their projects and artwork. When it gets too full, we go through it and decide together what to toss and what to save. Every week when they come home, they know exactly where to put their bag full of projects. I'm embarrassed to say that once or twice they put it away so fast that I never saw them.

The boxes are stored under the bunkbed and I don't see them until they're overflowing.
It's fun for them to look back and see their stuff a year ago or even 2, 3, or more.

SingALong

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 2:59 pm

I have a huge bulletin board int eh playroom where all their papers get hung up. when it gets crowded, I throw out some of the things underneath, usually it has been there for weeks and my kids have forgotten about it by now. the 3D projects dont last that long but we show everyone's projects by the shabbos table and then I throw it out sunday.

DD in first grade tends to have a stash of papers all the time in her knapsack. I go through it with her once a week and ask her what she would like to keep and hang by bulletin board, and what she would like to throw out. so she gets to decide what's important to her.

although after rosh hashanah I threw out my DD age 3's honey dish project that was all sticky and gross (we used it by the meals) and she was devestated, looking for it all week...she got over it but maybe I should have showed her and explained ot her why we need to chuck it, it was sticky...

elaela

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 3:16 pm

I understand that there is a limit, you obviously cannot keep all artwork of all you kids, otherwise your house will be packed. but please make sure you show your child that you appreciate every piece of artwork they bring home. you can be critical, mention which picture you prefer, why you think this or that could have been coloured in more carefully, discuss their choice of colour, let them talk about it at the shabbos table...
this is really important.

I am a teacher in elementary school, and some children throw their artwork away after they have shown it to me during the lesson. when I find their artwork in the trashcan and I ask them why they want to get rid of it the usual typ of answer is: " mommy will throw it away anway" .

this is very sad. parents have to understand that kids express themselves through their projects (ok not ALL the time but very often) and it is work for them. if it will not be appreciated they will loose interest and wont put effort into their work. it motivates children if they see that their work causes a reaction, and it definitely developes their working attitude.

again, I am not sayin you have to necesarily keep all torn paperbits, but communicate about their work and keep some for memory (or take pics).

Isramom8

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 3:27 pm

I've done a bulletin board, taken photos of the artwork on the bulletin board, and here's the greatest: My son recieved a tikiya (plastic briefcase file with handles) for his upsherin. He stores everything in there and looks at it when he wants to.

granolamom

Sun, Jan 09 2011, 5:23 pm

we hang artwork in the kitchen. when the walls are full, the kids can choose to remove old stuff to make room for the new, or toss the new.

same with hoarding. each child has space for stuff. when they run out of space, they have too much stuff. I help them (some of the kids can do this independantly by now) go through and toss old things and choose what new things can be tossed and what they'd like to hang on to.
I know so many adults who cannot do this, its a valuable skill to teach your kids. they do not need us to save every single thing they have ever produced.