Saving stuff for kids

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Started 1 year ago by streamliner
Latest reply from opadit
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streamliner
Member

Because my parents were keepers (not hoarders exactly but they way over-collected stuff), I have a lot of the things from my childhood--clothes, books, toys. I just came to an outfit I'm having trouble deciding what to do with.

My mom made it back when prairie-wear was the in thing--dusty rose corduroy with ruffles of printed corduroy. Mind you, it was lovely but it never fit me properly and I hated wearing it as a result, even though i thought the clothes themselves were pretty.

I have a four-year-old daughter. Should I keep it for her and give her the option of having something that I had when I was younger, and something she might enjoy (she LOVES pink)? Or should I get rid of it and make her more free to pick what SHE wants?

She's not me, I know that--she wouldn't necessarily dislike it because I did. However, given that I didn't like how I felt in it but thought I had to wear it anyway, I don't want to put her in that position too.

I've probably got about four years before it would fit her.

I'm stuck. Help.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

styles change, and by the time she's eight years old she'll start noticing what other kids wear and probably will want to fit in with her friends

why not wait maybe a year or two and then give it to her as a dress-up play dress and start reading to her from the "little house on the prarie" books? Good memories are worth just as much as having something from your mom, so even if she trashes it it won't be a lost cause...

Posted 1 year ago #
streamliner
Member

hey, that's a great idea! that would allow it to be a fun dressup thing without the "obligation" and I think that would work really well. thank you! you've been a great help!

Posted 1 year ago #
opadit
Member

I kept a little red parka with a zip-out liner that fit me when I was 5 or 6. My mom had kept it in her spacious hall closet, and I took it off her hands figuring that I would offer it to my daughter at some point. By the time my daughter could fit into the parka -- it was the middle of summer! And then she outgrew it before cold weather came around again.

The parka is still in my coat closet, because I remember how much I adored that little parka, and seeing it makes me happy. It was my Little Red Riding Hood coat! But also: it doesn't take up much space, and it's about the only stitch of clothing I have from my childhood. (I think I still have the tiny shift I wore at my christening, and a poncho my grandmother made.) So for me, holding onto the parka even after my daughter couldn't wear it has worked out. If I had multiple items from my childhood, it would be a different story, and I would try to keep only a bare minimum, if anything at all.

One dress? I say keep it and see what happens when you offer it to your daughter, either for play or for ordinary wear. Put it on a mental checklist to re-evaluate in the future for de-cluttering or for keeping.

Posted 1 year ago #

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