Tossing toddler art: are you guilty?
Many moms treasure their tots' preschool scribbles. I'm sure many folks see in Wylie's angry blobbing the beginnings of a young Pollock, and in Lola's fanciful swirls, some serious Impressionistic promise. Not us.
Crabhusband used to work in the art business, and while he sees Crabtot as sheer magic in every other way, even he can't fake enthusiasm for her portfolio. For Tot, art is a coerced, half-hearted affair, a puddle of orange paint, a nest of orange-only crayon scribblings. Crabtot's teacher calls her drawing "developmentally appropriate." Which I think is rather generously put.
Sure, some of Crabtot's pieces are keepers. We love her potato print Christmas card with its weird soupy red and green crosses. And I have a fetching, furiously orange doodle in my keepsake folder. But there's a limit to this stuff.
I reached my limit last week when I noticed the fridge was covered in unremarkable toddler art. But chucking it all... It seemed almost sacrilegious to destroy what Tot has wrought with her own chubby hand. Tossing it makes you a coldmommy, right? My solution: You move the paintings from fridge to desk...desk to drawer...then finally, drawer to garbage can. No direct deposit. In this way, you dilute the inevitable feelings of guilt.
I'd love to hear from others who find Tot-Art a tad tiresome. Do you people also shuffle pieces from surface to surface before trashing them? And are kiddie paintings and crayon scribbles recyclable? I need to know. Because now that tot's finally in a preschool where they actually do things, I need an approved timeline and method for disposing of them. 'Cause I can't keep all of these keepsakes, man. And I don't need to feel guilty about this...do I?
All of Sophie's "art" goes straight into a drawer, where it will be "safe." Then, in June, Sophie produced a 4x6 foot collage in day care, covered with her "art." You can't put this one in a drawer, Mommy!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Bonjour Crabmom ;-), keep a couple of envelopes for your out-of-town or out-of-country family members, once in a while put a piece of "art" in it. When it's fairly full, mail it. They will appreciate seeing her art, you'll be rid of it without guilt. The rest of the art, chuck it. Lucie
Large envelopes addressed to relatives. Excellent advice, Lucie. Thank you. I think I will get an especially gigantic envelope for the rather high-maint great-grandma in the family; this way, when the inevitable school collage is brought home, it goes straight to Massachusetts. Thanks for the tip on that one, tmiaou. I await the collage with dread, but now at least I have a plan.
We had a magnetic picture frame that each child had one art project up. We would discuss each project then "recycle" (our kids were convinced that was something good!) or if it was good enough we replaced their framed artwork. The interaction was the best part. The artwork was always secondary.
Ooh, "recycling" the artwork! I love this euphemistic approach and I think Crabtot would buy into this. She knows recycling is a good and wondrous thing. That said, she can't stand going to the recycling center with Mom; poor thing screams every time I shove one of our millions of wine bottles down the chute.
I admit it. I have chucked some of Felix's art. But when the daycare sends home a piece of paper with one crayon mark over a stupid Disney character...I don't think that it counts!
I have held on to the ones that have really touched me. I love the one with his red hand prints all over it. For now, he is unaware but when he gets older I plan on doing the consensus recycling policy that the other commenter suggested. I like letting him decide what he wants to hold on it and what he might want to recycle or ever reuse - for wrapping paper or making homemade cards?
My little guy is 2 and I put most of the artwork straight into the bin once we've had a brief 15 second admiration session. No postponing the inevitable via special drawers or the fridge. He's not at all sentimental about his creations so why should I be? Art is about the fun of "doing" and not the "admiring" as far as he's concerned right now. If he wants me to keep and display his stuff in the future I will.