My kids love to collect everything from rocks to stickers. These objects bring my kids joy and entertainment, but they also seem to take up space and collect dust. Are there benefits to encouraging the kids to collect items? Although what the kids treasure seems like garbage to me, collection can be a great opportunity for kids to research and learn about things that interest them and experience the world around them. Here are some great reasons to encourage your child’s collection.
Learn responsibility
Kids who collect items must learn to be responsible for them. They will sort, maintain and find creative ways to display the things they are interested in. They will need to make sure items are well cared for and stored correctly so they don’t get lost or broken. These tasks help them learn responsibility and organization.
Experience the world around them
Kids who collect items are more likely to spend time reading about, sorting and discussing their collections. As kids learn about and research their collections they will experience the world around them. While collecting rocks, kids will learn about science. While researching stamps or coins, they will learn about history. A leaf or shell collection will teach them about nature, and a baseball card collection teaches them about sports and math as they study and compare statistics.
Build shared experience
Kids who collect items can bond with others who share similar interests. Friendships can blossom because the collectors are already building on common ground. Conventions may even offer kids the opportunity to explore, purchase treasures and meet others who are interested in the same collector’s items they are. Collecting will help them build social skills, meet new people and build new relationships.
Create a story
Collections can also help kids create a story. As they look through the items in their collection, they can recall where they found the item—at a family trip to the zoo or on a hike with a friend—and they can remember, share the experience and learn to tell a story about how they acquired the item.
Budget
Kids who collect items that need to be purchased have the opportunity to learn budgeting skills. They will need to research how much the item costs, find a way to earn money and save until they can purchase the item. Collectors must research and compare items and often compromise on which items they can afford. If the item can be traded, they will practice their negotiation skills as they bargain with friends.
Find joy
Your child’s collection may look like a dust collector to you, but it likely brings your child happiness. When I really think about it, I have my own collections that bring me joy. A stack of books by my nightstand, my grandmother’s china, more lipsticks and nail polish than I truly need and enough kitchen gadgets to fill two kitchens. I don’t need these things but I have collected them over the years, and they bring me joy. Your child’s collection brings a similar happiness, something important for us parents to remember.
A child’s treasured collection may seem like a trash collection to a parent, but try to foster his interests and encourage what is important to him. Provide a shelf to display items or a special box in which to store the items. Many valuable lessons can be learned from collecting, and human nature seems to have quite a drive to gather, sort and share items of a collection.
Life Lessons Learned from Collections
- Science and nature: rocks, shells, leaves, bird nests, bugs. For items that you don’t want to keep in the house, encourage your child to take photos and give her a place to collect and display her nature photos.
- History: coins, stamps, fossils, arrowheads or artifacts.
- Bargaining: cards. Card collecting is a common childhood hobby and encourages trades and bargains.
- Math: sports cards, counting items, sorting, and saving money to purchase desired items.
Sarah Lyons and her husband reside in Olathe with their six children.
- Creativity: Kids will need to use creativity to display their items.