Most kids I know, professionally or personally, have too much stuff.
The degree of appreciation that anyone has for their possessions goes down as the number of those possessions increases. We say that we want our children to be appreciative, but then we violate this basic principle, thereby preventing the development of the very appreciation we believe we wish them to have.
Take an inventory of your kids' stuff. Observe to see how much they actually utilize their various possessions. See what percentage of their stuff engages them in playful, creative, or artistic pursuits.
Think about implementing this practice: let your kids have access to only 50% of their stuff at any given time. The rest is to be put away. If you child wishes to have access to an item of his stuff that is currently put away, he must exchange it for an article currently in his active possession. Once put on reserve, he must wait a week to regain access to it, again with an exchange.
Also, let your kids know that they will be expected to give away a small percentage of their stuff periodically, say once a year. You may wish to incorporate this into some manner of holiday tradition in keeping with the spirit of the times, so that other, less fortunate children can benefit from their generosity.
Research has shown that, paradoxically, kids with more stuff tend to be less content and more anxious than those with fewer. Help your children find more happiness by limiting their possessions.
