tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post419696250698306881..comments2024-02-25T04:19:51.451-06:00Comments on Connected Mom: Whose Stuff Is It, Anyway?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post-18022610930050968672012-10-09T16:46:58.094-05:002012-10-09T16:46:58.094-05:00Thanks for this great post. You had me freaking o...Thanks for this great post. You had me freaking out there at the beginning for how your husband was treating you (in fiction). That gave a great perspective on the whole thing. It is the same with this kids. You are right. <br />I used to get rid of toys occasionally when my kids were tots. Then when they started talking about how much they loved this toy & that toy & I wonder where I ever lost it, it made me feel SO SO bad. It was totally wrong of me to do that. Now we purge together. And guess what? The kids were really into it. They were honest about what they wanted & didn't want. (Some of the stuff they didn't want, I still wanted to keep!) Now I only get rid of stuff when it is done together.<br />My husband grew up with his dad throwing things away if he left them out. Eventually he learned to just keep his stuff in his room & keep to himself. That was he wouldn't accidentally leave something in the living room. Then when he got older & went to college, his parents got rid of all his stuff that he left in his room. They even got rid of his dog. All of that still really hurts him. No respect. :( Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00616238682696645579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post-84901813121265469342012-09-29T20:55:35.388-05:002012-09-29T20:55:35.388-05:00wonderful post! "children are people and have...wonderful post! "children are people and have feelings about their possessions" -- absolutely. (i know i did as a kid!)<br /><br />i have strong enough tendencies to be a saver that i've taken this area as an opportunity for our son to learn how to sort & purge. (we currently live in a small house, so it doesn't take long for us to run out of room.) so i offer direction as to how much stuff we have room to keep & how much stuff we need to get rid of (like X number of games, or X number of stuffed animals), & he starts to sort & make his piles of the things he wants to keep & the things he wants to get rid of. and he's done really well with it. and i'm encouraged b/c i think that involving him in that process not only gives him ownership, but also respect. AND also the ability to pull it off better than me as an adult! ;)<br /><br />thx so much for sharing,<br />tanya (one of your neighbors at the parent 'hood)truth in weaknesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08990150036200778476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post-21660598831215801802012-09-20T21:56:15.848-05:002012-09-20T21:56:15.848-05:00We pull toys and rotate them. It does sound mean, ...We pull toys and rotate them. It does sound mean, but we do it while our three year old sleeps because he doesn't yet grasp the concept that they're not going away forever. He knows where they go in the closet and occasionally will go through the box when he's bored, but mostly he doesn't miss them when he wakes up and doesn't ask. We've also pulled toys that were given in violation of the no character toy rule, because we don't want it in the house. Honestly, our kids and us too are happier with less stuff. We keep his three favorite toys out. When grandparents visit, we do another toy pull before their arrival knowing more toys are going to be coming in. Art supplies we have lots of but we also donate things to the Children's Museum of the Arts when we have stuff we can't use. And we regularly purge our own stuff. Have you read Simplicity Parenting? I recommend it! When our kids are older, then absolutely, I wouldn't go into their rooms to get rid of their stuff. But as toddlers and preschoolers? Keeping toys to a minimum has been the best thing we've ever done. Tarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04123785918632054720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post-18936760428699500242012-09-20T11:09:42.009-05:002012-09-20T11:09:42.009-05:00As a minimalist (or wannabe anyhow) I have trouble...As a minimalist (or wannabe anyhow) I have trouble with this. It's so easy just to whisk a box away after bedtime & feel lighter. As my son gets older and isn't so easily fooled we've started a one-in-one-out system. Any new toy or other item he receives as a gift or talks grandparents into buying at the checkout is usually 'traded' by picking an old toy to put in the give-away box... I say 'wow, that's a great car! Let's make room for it on the shelf by putting another toy away for someone else' ... Seems to work as a balance. Julian@connectedmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12934165855070000724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218215652328409330.post-19562315905879392522012-09-20T08:42:39.411-05:002012-09-20T08:42:39.411-05:00I live in a very small house. My two year old has...I live in a very small house. My two year old has a small toy box full of toys and he barely plays with those. We also don't really have any art supplies. We do have a lot of books that he loves to read. We have a book shelf that he can access and he puts one book back before we read another one. I do wonder sometimes if I should have more toys or art stuff for him. Your post was good food for thought.Denahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16234703527174441582noreply@blogger.com