Friday, February 18, 2000
Parents: Advise, keep hands off
Diane Oswald, who wrote 101 Great Collectibles for Kids (Antique Trader Books; $16.95), offers these tips for parents and grandparents:
1. Never tell children what to collect: A collection is a very personal thing, reflecting the interests, efforts and personality of the collector. It is one of the few areas where children can, and should, have a great deal of control. Naturally, for reasons of safety, expense, space or your beliefs, it may be necessary to tell your children what not to collect.
2. Set limits: While it isn't good to tell children what to collect, it is important to set limits. Let young collectors know how much space a collection can take up; how much money can be spent; whether or not you consider animals to be collectibles; and how much time can be devoted to finding, organizing and researching collectibles so it won't interfere with homework or chores.
3. Support your children's interests: Work with them to create storage and display space. For birthdays or other holidays, give books that will help them learn about their collectibles. If possible, support your children's hobbies financially by providing a reasonable allowance and taking them in search of collectibles.
4. Show interest, but not too much: Collecting should be the collector's domain, where they can make decisions and learn about their collections independently. Enjoy the time together searching for collectibles, setting up display space, and listening as they tell you about their hobbies, but don't direct their collecting efforts. If an over zealous adult takes over by adding to, re-organizing, or managing the collecting process, it may cease to be fun for young collectors.
5. Allow children's collections to open up opportunities for teaching: Almost every collection can be related to an educational outing. Trips to a museum, library, national park or zoo can almost always, in some way, be related to children's collections. If your youngsters have collections of coffee mugs, take them to a factory or museum where they can learn about the manufacturing process. If your children collect rocks, a visit to a national park, if only to look at the rocks and formations, should be met with enthusiasm.
— Cindy Kranz
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