Mother E

Everything! This describes my house perfectly. In one way, we have so much stuff that I think we have everything that was ever made. Too many clothes, books, games, videos, computers, etc. It has been such a work in progress to even make a dent in it, and I am still struggling with what to keep and what to get rid of. In another way, everything is how I view the kids stuff. Everyone gets to play with everything, I mean. We have a communal toy area, and I am trying to encourage sharing and cooperation. On the one hand, you would think that this won't work, because they need ownership and the ability to be able to say no, you can't touch. I thought this way for a long time, but all it did was make the kids selfish. They never wanted to share a thing!!! So, I took all ownership away, and while it does have it's problems too, it is much better for them to know that they must figure out a way to get along. Everything....good and bad.