I came back from camp to find Mom had thrown out all my comics. I often tell her that that original ‘Superman marries Lois Lane’ edition could have financed her retirement.
The only time that I can remember my mother doing that kind of thing was when I failed to “Pick up my things” and take them my room. I was about Michael’s age – Old enough to understand, old enough to know Mom didn’t issue threats, she meant what she said about tossing stuff. Even then I made sure that the “good stuff” found my room before the deadline arrived.
Dad never tossed stuff himself, always made me do it when I used my stuff in violation of “House Rules”.
A friend of mine returned from the Army and asked his mother where his stamp collection was. She answered, “They were all cancelled stamps; you couldn’t put them on letters, so I threw them out.”I think parents who throw out their kids’ stuff without consulting their kids contribute to their insecurity and will make them more possession conscious.
Remember a story where a woman told her daughter to clean up her room and anything left on the floor after a set time limit was going in the trash. Time elapse, she descended and filled up a trash bag with stuff not picked up. Offered to let the kid earn it back, kid was “Nope, nothing I want back.” Kid apparently stashed the things she wanted to keep and then let Mom clean up her room.
When I was about 9 years old, I came home from school and decided to look for a stuffed raccoon that I had and loved, but hadn’t played with in a while. I couldn’t find it. I asked my mother, and she told me that it was ripped so she threw it away. I was devastated. My daughters know that, if one of their stuffed animals has a rip, I can – and WILL – sew it. My younger daughter’s favorite big yellow dog (as big as her) has had at least 3 “surgeries” that I can recall.
Michael should consider himself lucky, my parents gave away a collection of vintage farm implement toys and a electric train set that more than filled a 4 × 8 sheet of plywood while I was overseas serving in the military. They told me, they were taking up space in the basement, that they very seldom when into.
My mother was always throwing my things away. I spent countless hours looking for them. And now I never throw anything away in case I decide I want it later. If my Mom hoped to teach me to keep a tidy house, she did the opposite.
I agree with most everyone here that people shouldn’t throw away other people’s belongings without consulting them. I just want to make the point that you all shouldn’t throw around the “hoarder” term then if people do keep things! (“hoarder” and “bully” seem to be words that are so overused and misused these days)
Lynn makes her point so much more gently than some of the commenters (who have to translate her comic into harshness). It’s one of the reasons this strip is so enjoyable. I still can’t understand the need to attack.
My mom loved a neat house and she cleaned it all including the kids rooms. However every 6 months anything that was not deemed played with enough, broken, torn etc was tossed. Kept a neat house but I have absolutely no physical mementos of my childhood other than photographs. As a result my kids are allowed to keep anything they want, for as long as they want. We may be cluttered but who cares
My mother was a thrower, and it HURT. Now I still keep a lot of stuff of my married kids for when they have enough room and want to claim it. You should see my garage!
I use to clean out my son’s room a lot when he was little, but because I didn’t know what he wanted to keep or didn’t, I only threw away things that were easily replaced. But because “I” cleaned his room he never really learned how to keep a clean room. Today it’s an absolute pig stye. Learn from my mistake, Don’t clean your child’s room, have your child clean the room. There will be massive protest in the beginning, but set a routine. They will learn to keep a clean room and value what they have in that room.
Paints that are dried up with the lids off, broken pieces of chalk that could not possibly be used to color with, and crumpled and dirty paper that has not been colored are among the items my kids will save if given the choice. They are not even sentimentally attached, they just don’t like the idea of things being thrown out. The comics and toys should probably have been kept.
I purged my boys’ toys all the time. I observed which toys they had abandoned and likely had forgotten about and definitely the broken ones. The good but abandoned ones, I donated to Goodwill – they knew they went to homes of poor children who did not have toys like theirs so they were fine with it. They got bored with their toys quickly. The only lasting toys were electronics, of course. And even when those broke, they got abandoned. What have they learned? Purge, of course, to keep their room clutter-free and more tidy. This is a lesson all children need to learn.
More TV inspired propaganda promoting Kids over parents. If your s—— becomes so inexcess that it needs to be thrown out, so be it. Is she raising a hoarder or what??!!!!!
“(“hoarder” and “bully” seem to be words that are so overused and misused these days)”
They sure are. It’s about control, not compassion.
It might amuse you to know that the guy who defined ‘animal hoarding’ as a human mental illness is a Vetrinarian, with no qualifications which would allow him to define a human condition. He runs a department at Tufts, which has accepted a couple of nice grants from the AR extremists … hmmm …
waaaoooow. I’m impressed so many people are pissed at Elly here. Certainly a parent can talk with a kid, see what they’re attached to and what they aren’t. But if the kid still doesn’t want to throw anything away? Isn’t part of parenting making healthy choices for a child? And @lightenup, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that, yeah, most people in North America probably really are hoarders.
I would like to remind everyone that Michael didn’t even miss his stuff until his sister told him what their mother did. Plus, Lynn has said how sorry she is that she did this, so I don’t understand why everyone is getting so upset. She admits her mistake and moves on- perhaps we all should.
I give my kids plenty of warning before I start pitching things in the trash. Plus, they have lots of places I deem it “OK” for them to keep things. But after the umpteenth time of telling them they need to tidy things up, and I still find things hanging out of drawers or haphazardly stacked under tables or beds, stuff is going to get thrown away.
The kid’s right — Mom’s should “ask first” before getting rid of children’s belongings. It simply models the respect we should be teaching our children to treat others with.
Finally a breath of wisdom. The room is part of a house that the entire family shares; it does not “belong” to the child, The privelege of living in it carries with it certain responsibilities, such as maintaining some small degree of orderliness. This is neither out of the ordinary nor is it a draconian requirement. It’s called teaching responsibility.
I’m glad I never had to go through this. Whenever my sister and I needed to clean out some of our toys, Mom would bring out bags or boxes for things to be thrown out or donated. We did this from the time we were about 4, and until we were old enough to clearly understand, Mom always made sure that we knew whichever toys we donated we would never see again. She never let us toss something she knew we’d miss later.
gocomics over 10 years ago
Typical parental nonsense when it comes to violating their child’s privacy and property.
g55rumpy over 10 years ago
all that you own, we bought
Downundergirl over 10 years ago
I came back from camp to find Mom had thrown out all my comics. I often tell her that that original ‘Superman marries Lois Lane’ edition could have financed her retirement.
KenTheCoffinDweller over 10 years ago
The only time that I can remember my mother doing that kind of thing was when I failed to “Pick up my things” and take them my room. I was about Michael’s age – Old enough to understand, old enough to know Mom didn’t issue threats, she meant what she said about tossing stuff. Even then I made sure that the “good stuff” found my room before the deadline arrived.
Dad never tossed stuff himself, always made me do it when I used my stuff in violation of “House Rules”.
arye uygur over 10 years ago
A friend of mine returned from the Army and asked his mother where his stamp collection was. She answered, “They were all cancelled stamps; you couldn’t put them on letters, so I threw them out.”I think parents who throw out their kids’ stuff without consulting their kids contribute to their insecurity and will make them more possession conscious.
Asharah over 10 years ago
Remember a story where a woman told her daughter to clean up her room and anything left on the floor after a set time limit was going in the trash. Time elapse, she descended and filled up a trash bag with stuff not picked up. Offered to let the kid earn it back, kid was “Nope, nothing I want back.” Kid apparently stashed the things she wanted to keep and then let Mom clean up her room.
psychlady over 10 years ago
You got that Right!!!!!!
Wren Fahel over 10 years ago
When I was about 9 years old, I came home from school and decided to look for a stuffed raccoon that I had and loved, but hadn’t played with in a while. I couldn’t find it. I asked my mother, and she told me that it was ripped so she threw it away. I was devastated. My daughters know that, if one of their stuffed animals has a rip, I can – and WILL – sew it. My younger daughter’s favorite big yellow dog (as big as her) has had at least 3 “surgeries” that I can recall.
IndyMan over 10 years ago
Michael should consider himself lucky, my parents gave away a collection of vintage farm implement toys and a electric train set that more than filled a 4 × 8 sheet of plywood while I was overseas serving in the military. They told me, they were taking up space in the basement, that they very seldom when into.
ewalnut over 10 years ago
My mother was always throwing my things away. I spent countless hours looking for them. And now I never throw anything away in case I decide I want it later. If my Mom hoped to teach me to keep a tidy house, she did the opposite.
lightenup Premium Member over 10 years ago
I agree with most everyone here that people shouldn’t throw away other people’s belongings without consulting them. I just want to make the point that you all shouldn’t throw around the “hoarder” term then if people do keep things! (“hoarder” and “bully” seem to be words that are so overused and misused these days)
dsom8 over 10 years ago
Lynn makes her point so much more gently than some of the commenters (who have to translate her comic into harshness). It’s one of the reasons this strip is so enjoyable. I still can’t understand the need to attack.
jeanie5448 over 10 years ago
lets not call names but you have a point, I shared a room with my sister for 18 years. Then I got married and had to share with him. lol
mkcsSquirrel over 10 years ago
My mom loved a neat house and she cleaned it all including the kids rooms. However every 6 months anything that was not deemed played with enough, broken, torn etc was tossed. Kept a neat house but I have absolutely no physical mementos of my childhood other than photographs. As a result my kids are allowed to keep anything they want, for as long as they want. We may be cluttered but who cares
masnadies over 10 years ago
I love how Lynn teaches us from her mistakes. She admits on fbofw.com that the child is right, here.
charliedawg over 10 years ago
not the point here,she should respect his property.
Jungleman over 10 years ago
My mother was a thrower, and it HURT. Now I still keep a lot of stuff of my married kids for when they have enough room and want to claim it. You should see my garage!
newworldmozart over 10 years ago
I use to clean out my son’s room a lot when he was little, but because I didn’t know what he wanted to keep or didn’t, I only threw away things that were easily replaced. But because “I” cleaned his room he never really learned how to keep a clean room. Today it’s an absolute pig stye. Learn from my mistake, Don’t clean your child’s room, have your child clean the room. There will be massive protest in the beginning, but set a routine. They will learn to keep a clean room and value what they have in that room.
AndiJ over 10 years ago
She sounds like my mom. I still played with the stuff she threw out and I still remember them to this day!
krys723 over 10 years ago
I agree with Michael, she should have waited until he got back before she threw all his stuff out
backhoebob over 10 years ago
Why is it everything we have is junk and everything they have is precious collectables?
jbarnes over 10 years ago
Paints that are dried up with the lids off, broken pieces of chalk that could not possibly be used to color with, and crumpled and dirty paper that has not been colored are among the items my kids will save if given the choice. They are not even sentimentally attached, they just don’t like the idea of things being thrown out. The comics and toys should probably have been kept.
sbeavin over 10 years ago
Kid is 100% correct
capricorn9th over 10 years ago
I purged my boys’ toys all the time. I observed which toys they had abandoned and likely had forgotten about and definitely the broken ones. The good but abandoned ones, I donated to Goodwill – they knew they went to homes of poor children who did not have toys like theirs so they were fine with it. They got bored with their toys quickly. The only lasting toys were electronics, of course. And even when those broke, they got abandoned. What have they learned? Purge, of course, to keep their room clutter-free and more tidy. This is a lesson all children need to learn.
barister over 10 years ago
More TV inspired propaganda promoting Kids over parents. If your s—— becomes so inexcess that it needs to be thrown out, so be it. Is she raising a hoarder or what??!!!!!
Hawthorne over 10 years ago
“(“hoarder” and “bully” seem to be words that are so overused and misused these days)”
They sure are. It’s about control, not compassion.
It might amuse you to know that the guy who defined ‘animal hoarding’ as a human mental illness is a Vetrinarian, with no qualifications which would allow him to define a human condition. He runs a department at Tufts, which has accepted a couple of nice grants from the AR extremists … hmmm …
my_discworld over 10 years ago
waaaoooow. I’m impressed so many people are pissed at Elly here. Certainly a parent can talk with a kid, see what they’re attached to and what they aren’t. But if the kid still doesn’t want to throw anything away? Isn’t part of parenting making healthy choices for a child? And @lightenup, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that, yeah, most people in North America probably really are hoarders.
sandramackin over 10 years ago
I would like to remind everyone that Michael didn’t even miss his stuff until his sister told him what their mother did. Plus, Lynn has said how sorry she is that she did this, so I don’t understand why everyone is getting so upset. She admits her mistake and moves on- perhaps we all should.
ilazria over 10 years ago
I give my kids plenty of warning before I start pitching things in the trash. Plus, they have lots of places I deem it “OK” for them to keep things. But after the umpteenth time of telling them they need to tidy things up, and I still find things hanging out of drawers or haphazardly stacked under tables or beds, stuff is going to get thrown away.
lindz.coop Premium Member over 10 years ago
The kid’s right — Mom’s should “ask first” before getting rid of children’s belongings. It simply models the respect we should be teaching our children to treat others with.
bluskies over 10 years ago
Finally a breath of wisdom. The room is part of a house that the entire family shares; it does not “belong” to the child, The privelege of living in it carries with it certain responsibilities, such as maintaining some small degree of orderliness. This is neither out of the ordinary nor is it a draconian requirement. It’s called teaching responsibility.
lakita_lover over 10 years ago
I’m glad I never had to go through this. Whenever my sister and I needed to clean out some of our toys, Mom would bring out bags or boxes for things to be thrown out or donated. We did this from the time we were about 4, and until we were old enough to clearly understand, Mom always made sure that we knew whichever toys we donated we would never see again. She never let us toss something she knew we’d miss later.