What is with the obsession with trash????

[Hokulele]

DD is 3.5 years old and has developed an obsession with trash. She will notice something in the trash and start crying saying "I wanted to save that for a craft!" This can run from anything like a tossed out toy-part to random dirty tissues, lists, food wrappers, anything. It hit a new level when she asked me today if she could save something that came out of her sister's nose "for a craft" (yuk!)

Now, on one level this is kind of funny yet gross, the way she frantically digs through the trash no matter what nastiness might be in there.

But on another level it is really causing problems. I would say at least 10 times today alone she's burst into tears over something in the trash that she wants to save for a craft (a banana peel, an airline luggage tag, an old piece of string...)

How do I handle this? How do I help her accept that some things just can't be saved and have to be recycled or trashed??? Obviously I don't let her keep everything, but I just can't be trekking to the outside trash can with every little thing I need to throw out just so it doesn't upset her.

[ChetMC]

What We Do

Honestly, I think that a lot of these things are legitimately interesting to a child. Our kids recently played with one of those fruit domes, the ones that position and hold twelve pieces of fruit individually, for two weeks.

We let them keep stuff that's reasonable...like string and luggage tags... for a time. For stuff that needs to go in the garbage, compost of recycling we just explain why... banana peels rot and attract fruit flees, used tissues have germs that make you sick.

If your house is getting to have a thin layer of her prizes spread over it, I'd just give her a box and tell her the treasures need to go there. You could probably make a case for not too many doubles in the box if you wanted to keep the volume down... so suggest that you check her box for bits of red string to see if she really needs this one.

With our oldest, we can often come up with a short term plan that's acceptable all around. For example, she can cut up the wrapper with scissors, but she has to do it now, and then it has to go straight in the garbage when she's finished cutting it. You could try requiring that the craft happen immediately.

[Hokulele]

Oooh - those are all very good suggestions. I think I'll try it.

I'm glad to know, too, that this is normal!!

[ChetMC]

So Normal

This is so normal! I've known kids to keep packaging from gifts for months. We bought my niece a Fisher Price digital camera when she turned three. She loved the package as much as the camera and it was the end of the world the day her dad tossed it in the garbage. And our oldest is embarking on a career as a ransom note writer. She loves to cut random words out plastic bags and food packages... so I'm always picking up bits of shredded grocery bags, bunny snack wrappers, cereal boxes, etc.

[anj7]

My DD1 was like that...actually still is like that. She wants to save everything, I sometimes wonder if I developed some sort of anxiety in her!

Anyhow, we do as above. She's learned now that if she wants to save something, she must save it immediately. I also have to save packages for a while and then covertly put them in the garbage in the evening. Or bury it in the recycling bin.