5 yo attachment to things

[Laucu]

This is an odd one.

My daughter seems to get oddly attached to things. She's always been a bit like this but it has got worse in the last year. Yesterday I lightheartedly mentioned her pyjamas were too small and she got really upset! Told me she doesn't want a new pair and that she wants to wear them forever! I tried to explain that she is a growing girl and that the good thing is she gets to have NEW clothes that fit! Her response? That she wants to cancel her birthday and doesn't want to get bigger!

Other examples: toys that she never even plays with, slippers that have barely been worn, a broken lamp, every single drawing she has ever done, broken pencils....

She is generally quite emotional. The other day she watched Pompidou and it made her cry. She can't explain why.

Anyone else have a kid like this?

 

[shanny]

My oldest is like this really sentimental. She is a deep thinker and gets attached to many things, she has got better as she gets older.

My brother was too, he once kept an easter egg in the freezer for years.

 

[aimee-lou]

I was like this and still am to a certain extent. I had a lot of issues growing up as we moved a lot and I was forced to give things up that I didn't want to. I still, even now, struggle to part with things that have sentiment attached to them like the boys clothes or toys, even if they're tatty or not working it takes a lot for me to throw them or pass them on. Hubby jokes I'm a hoarder lol.

My solution: Pack things away. Don't throw them, put them away so that they're somewhere close by. Don't throw them away while she's not looking or if you think she's forgotten about them. After a while bring them out and talk about how someone else could make use of them instead and then part with them.

If things are in good condition maybe you could encourage her to give them to charity, or sell them at a car boot to earn a bit of pocket money. I try to do a big clear out of all my boxes every spring and we do a car boot. The boys things I keep the money separate and use on new clothes or toys for the summer.