To Lego or not to Lego (birthday)
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To Lego or not to Lego (birthday)
| Tue, 11-07-2006 - 7:53pm |
I've bored you all with descriptions of how Legos rule our lives, so I'll try to keep it short.
A while back, we reached critical mass.

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I'd give him something Lego for his birthday.
It's his special day and it's what he loves.
But then I wouldn't hesitate to bag them up the next day if he left them out on the floor.
So that's what I would do.
Oh throw the kid a bone.....erm I mean lego, and then as Robin suggests make the new lego part of the use em or lose em operation lego clean up protocol the next day.
We are having battles with action figures; every time I go into the playroom Manhunter Martian or Mr.Incredible attacks the soles of my feet. Even though we have a big bin just for action figures, and we don't even break em up by sub categories, although I think that day is coming...Yellow Ranger tried to mutilate my big toe today! Ouch!!!
Dee
If you can't beat them, join them. And you are SOOOOO not going to beat them on the lego obsession so I would let him have them.
We tried a few times to get Mike gifts that "I" thought would be good for him that weren't legos. Were successful precisely 1 time (guinea pig) other than that it was a waste of time and money and what the kid really enjoys is legos.
Actually Mike is back into his lego's and wants that over video games. I am kind of happy he is. He goes in and out between the 2 but he really has ditched his video games for a while in leiu of legos and that is ok by me.
Renee
I am having a HUGE putting lego away problem that is years long. I need some ideas.
We have boxes for Lego's but he really hates to put away what he has been playing with in the boxes. Even if it is something made of 3 pieces. So we made a deal that he could leave put together ones on his shelves. Bought big shelving unit special for this. But it is piled. If you try sorting them he goes into a panic attack.
Every so often I freak him out and put them all in boxes but literally, it FREAKS HIM OUT. As in will mess with his mental health so that is not good. I have tried smaller boxes but then he had 30 small boxes each with about 5 pieces and still a bunch all over his bureau, shelves and desk.
It is like the only way it makes sense to him is scattered everywhere and he panics he is going to lose one small piece if it is put away. He is not organized enough to acutally put them separated into a specialized thing. I think maybe what I need is about 6-10 medium sized boxes and see if that works. But he would still freak over the put together ones.
Renee
Evelyn,
"Last week, I told them to spend the next 10 minutes making "some effort" to pick up a few of the Legos that were on the floor.
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Ditto, ditto, ditto...I'd give the child Legos too.
Amy
Don't know if this will help anyone, and as we don't have these obsession-type things, I can hardly speak with any authority to this problem...
But we instituted a give-away box where toys go to go to more unfortunate children who don't have money or many toys. My sister teaches on a Native American reservation, so boxes full of toys go there, she uses them in a "store" where they learn about money. One of our babysitters has a grandson who is 3 and a niece who is 5, so boxes go to them. And if not appropriate for either of thse destinations, Salvation Army.
We don't have a child who won't let go of things, but the box has been a part of our lives for many years and what goes in the box are things we have too many of and things he doesn't play with anymore.
I do have to put the box out of sight when his pals come over, though, because sometimes they like to take the box apart and PLAY with everything, which then turns it all back into things Malcolm will play with!
Sara
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I'd post this to "ALL" if I had any idea how.
(shhhh evil mom secret coming)
Best motivator for picking up lego's is 1) the vacuum and 2) the dog.
1 lego got vacuumed up in Mike's presence when he was 4 and he STILL has anxiety over the vacuum near his legos. So all I have to do is say "Mike I need to vacuum today and I am dong it in x amount of time"
The dog has also chewed her fair share. So tonight it was past bedtime when we got home and Mike's legos were all over the family room floor (where the dogs stay when we are gone). He refused to go to bed and paced. Then he finally sat, put them in his 1million little boxes all separated and brought them in his room.
Mike is good about picking up legos off the floor. The problem is the piles of "put together" things or pieces he found and doesn't want to lose on his shelves, bureau, desk and my coffee table. It literally gives him a month of anxiety to put them away because he thinks he won't see them or build that one thing again even if it is 3 pieces.
Made a MAJOR breakthrough on this today. He let me put almost all the generic built things back in the boxes today and helped. He is allowed to keep out the sets that are still together like his dino attack, but the things he builds from the mixed up bins, not unless they are really cool and recent.
First time ever with no fight! I also bought 6 medium sized clear tubs today with lids for him to put them in. I hope this helps.
Doing my happy dance!
Renee
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