My girls have a HUGE doll house for Barbies. They've had it for... 3 years? Maybe 4... they play with it on and off; it just takes up so much space. Well, after Christmas, my husband has really been pushing to get rid of it. Yesterday, the girls were fine with getting rid of it and all the barbie stuff. Today, they're singing a different tune, it's their favorite, they love it, they don't want to get rid of it...
Part of me thinks they want to make their dad happy and get rid of it; part of me feels like they'd miss it; part of me knows that they rarely play with it, and I'd like to see it gone too.
I'm trying to convince the girls that we can donate it, so some children who maybe didn't get a lot for Christmas can have something really nice to play with. I can always get them that way, they love helping other children! But they're still having a tough time with deciding on this one thing, which makes ME second guess getting rid of it.
So what to do?
I usually do rotate toys, but our house is the size of a glorified tree fort, so that's not possible...
I do a toy rotation. I send things to the garage. If they get missed, bring it back in. If not, get rid of it. Put it in the garage for trial only.
My son usually gets the final say in what stays and what goes. It's his "stuff" after all. Now things he NEVER touches? Those disappear under the cover of night. Bwah-ha-ha.
my niece had a change of heart when she was about 9....& began playing with all of her dolls/etc again. She thanked her mom for not getting rid of everything.....
for my daycare, we rotate out toys on a seasonal basis. The kitchen set was put away for the holiday season. It will return next week, & then will be put away again next spring when we hit outdoors again.
7 and 5 are still young enough to enjoy barbies. I would say if they still play with it off and on to keep it. Maybe when your 5 year old is 7-8. I have a friend who's daughter is 10 and loves playing with barbies and her barbie house but most kids her age will not do it anymore. I'd say to keep it for now! Maybe see if there is a better way to organize the barbie stuff or is there somewhere you can move it so it doesn't take up so much space?
I like the idea of the garage for a bit! I will say though that I bought nerf guns from a yard sale for dirt cheap for my daughters birthday party per her request (she is 18) in July. After the party they have sat, un-used, so I gave them to one of the boys in my kids daycare. Little did I know his parents had no gifts for him for Christmas due to his fathers job loss. If you donate it you'll make some kid happy :)
If they still play with it then I would say keep it for a while longer. I get rid of toys that my daughter has either has grown out of or doesn't use at all. Most often she doesn't even notice them gone. I will keep the ones she likes or changes her mind about.
Keep it. I truly wish I had my Barbie Dreamhouse and all those old Barbies. I'd love to give them to my little girl. Even once they outgrow it, friends with little girls will come over and you will get to see that joy in thier little faces. Or just put it in the attic or a relatives attic. Someday when they are all grown up and digging through old boxes they will come across it and all the yrs of childhood will come rushing back. Maybe im a sentimental fool, ya think?
This is exactly how I feel about my whole house right now! I totally understand your girls. Are they able to pull it in to a certain amount of space? Can they weed out some of the missing & broken insignificant pieces? Teach them to let go of things so they don't feel this way as an adult.
Hmm...if they do play with it, no question to keep it. Maybe tell them to see how it goes in the next few weeks. If they find themselves playing with it, then they can keep it. If they don't use it so much, maybe they can trade that in for something else?
Another thing I sometimes do is "hide" toys. If there is something I want to get rid of but the kiddo's want to keep, if I see them NOT playing with it I'll hide it somewhere. If they don't ask for it within a month, it's gone :).
Your girls are still pretty young so I wouldn't get rid of it yet. My DD wasn't ready to give up the Barbie house until she was in middle school. do you have a basement or garage you can store it in for a few months then bring it back? The Loving Family house was another story - we didn't give that away until my DD was 14 - and then it went to the pre-school at our church where she volunteers in the Summer. She's able to "visit" it. ;o) Yeah, I should have kept it for her kids one day - but we had to make a choice between the American Girl dolls and all their stuff or the Loving Family house & acoutrements. ;o)
R.:
If Em and Maddy play with it at least 2x a week - then it should stay. If they haven't touched it in months - it should go.
This is NOT Rob's decision. Rob should NOT be forcing this issue. Most kids will know when they are "done" with a toy. Do NOT convince the girls of anything...sorry...Rach...but Rob needs to butt out of this one.
This is the girl's toy. While I get the space issue, the fact remains that it's something the girls play with.
Getting rid of Barbie stuff? Girl!!! Donate it great - but if you are tight on funds - selling it would help out a lot...if it's the Townhouse? You might be able to get some decent money from it. But really...right now if the girls play with it at least 2x per week - it would stay. If it has dust on it? Then it should go. How's that for a rule?
Hi, R.:
Have you all set down as a family and discussed the problem?
You have told us the problem. Have you shared this in a family circle
dialogue?
Next, ask for solutions.
Good luck.
D.
Get a couple of big bins-and pack up the disassembled doll house and the barbies and bring them out at Christmas or other special times of the year. Later, you will be glad you saved some of their treasures.
