My son has always had trouble letting go of things. Not just toys- he gets sad when we throw out random stuff like dilapidated puzzle mats, or a plastic screw that fell down the toilet. 😅 I think he’s attached to the memories. So I validate the feelings, but tell him it’s not healthy to get too attached to material things. People, relationships, and memories are what matter most.
Yesterday, I sorted out a lot of his old toys for donation and was bracing myself for big feelings. I prepped him and gave my reasons: 1. The attic needs to be cleared because the ceiling might crash down (lol) 2. He never plays with these toys 3. The kids who receive them will be so happy.
I told him I could easily give away the toys and he wouldn’t even notice. But I promised I wouldn’t do that, so I’m letting him know. He can check and choose 5 toys he wants to keep, so we did that.
After, he still felt sad and was whining about it, which is triggering for me. But I’m glad I stepped back and saw it from his perspective:
“It’s hard to let go of toys, huh? I understand. It’s hard for me too sometimes. But we can do hard things. Sometimes we need to do it even if we don’t want to. The families we give these toys too will be so happy and grateful. So thank you- I’m so proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself too.” He let a few tears out and was ok after that. ❤️
Have you had similar moments? How did you handle it?
*We write books about big feelings and occasionally share snippets of our life through blog posts. My son is 7 now, and I ask him if it’s okay for me to share these moments online. Thankfully he always says yes. ☺️ We hope our experiences can help you as well in your parenting journey. We love hearing from our readers. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Threads @kimt.s.books 🥰