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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Junk modelling at school

80 replies

Whatisgoingonheredear · 12/09/2024 10:44

I hate it.
I know it is good for their imagination, creativeness, design skills, learning through play.
DD has been back at school for one week and her entire bedroom is full of junk modeling. She likes to play with the junk bur doesn't actually model any of it. Empty boxes become houses, space ships, treasure chests, rockets. It's lovely But her bedroom floor is covered in recycling.
She gets very upset if I mention we can't keep any of it and every day she comes out with "just one more". There are always tears when I say we have fo get rid of an old one and it makes me feel dreadful because she's obviously built that box up to being the best thing ever all day at school. And of course it isn't that old because she's been back 6 days.
What do I do with all of the recycling?!?!
If we were closer to Christmas I'd say santa won't be bringing anything because he will see you have all these boxes keeping you busy, and get rid of them...but we are so far away.

Lighthearted but also...not.

OP posts:

JennyForeigner · 12/09/2024 18:54

I understand. Our 5 year old and his mate ate having an actual arms race about the size of the models they can bring home each day. We are up to about 1m2 of box sellotaped to another box.

We have always just recycled them by flattening and sending the exact same boxes back for the next evolution. Though we did feel a bit bad when introduced to another friend's immaculately preserved teepee full of three years of intricate box modelling.

tealpassat · 12/09/2024 18:58

As a designer with an entire career based on being imaginative with shapes leave her alone!!

My mum used to display my models, take an interest in how I spoke about them all and generally let me just crack on.

CrispieCake · 12/09/2024 19:03

What you need is a bigger house. A mansion. Maybe with some gallery space to display her creations in the way they deserve.

I suggest you start a JustGiving page to raise the money for this. Given how positive most people on this thread are about your DC exploring the Empire State Building through the medium of cardboard, I'm sure they'll all chip in generously. After all, we wouldn't want to stifle your DD's creative talent, would we?

Original poster

Whatisgoingonheredear · 12/09/2024 19:07

You are being unreasonable and crushing her creativity. And you know it!!!!

You know what, you've caught me. Despite the fact that we do crafts together multiple times per week and the walls of our home are like an art gallery, we paint together, and I myself have a degree in fine art, I plan on not letting her be creative at all by wanting to limit the amount of giant boxes in our home. You've caught me red handed. Shit. My plan has been scuppered.

OP posts:

Original poster

Whatisgoingonheredear · 12/09/2024 19:09

*What you need is a bigger house. A mansion. Maybe with some gallery space to display her creations in the way they deserve.

I agree. I think everyone on this thread will be glad to help.
Everyone that has suggested I display each 1m box that is brought home daily will understand my need for a 7 bed house. We only need 3 of those bedrooms but the other 4 will form the early stages of the TATE Box.

Honestly the answers implying I'm a bad parent for this are bonkers, like I've said she can't have anything in her room except her bed.

OP posts:

TheShellBeach · 12/09/2024 19:11

Just throw it away.
It's just junk.
I never tolerate mess.

Original poster

Whatisgoingonheredear · 12/09/2024 19:44

I can't bring myself to throw it away, she does love them all and I don't want to take any of that away but we can't keep all of it forever. May have to get stricter with a one in one out policy.

OP posts:

TorturedParentsDepartment · 12/09/2024 20:10

DD2 has a tendency to hoard every bit of paper, certificate for showing up to some random school visitor event, birthday card and everything ever given. It makes her very anxious to get rid of them. What's worked for us (she's a bit older but still very young natured) is that she has a limited space to keep things in (she's got one of those pocket noticeboards for paper stuff and we had one shelf for junk models) and then she has to decide what to let go - and encouraging her to take her own photos of things has helped a lot with that process.

I'd try working through her re-modelling some of the existing models to get her to process that they can turn into something else as a starting point for "shall we send this one back to school so it can be made into something different" further down the line - yes, you're likely to end up with some cardboard boxes boomeranging between home and school - but it's one set of boxes then and not a fresh supply every day at least.

Original poster

Whatisgoingonheredear · 12/09/2024 20:18

Great idea!
Most of our bits of paper and little certificates for visitor events get kept too. She puts them in a box in her room and when that's full she chooses a few things to recycle.

OP posts:

greenshade · 12/09/2024 20:44

I love all the crap kids make and id never bin it even when they left home still keep it in the loft although they would still have their own rooms at mine.
Id even get boxs etc just to make more at home.

greenshade · 12/09/2024 20:45

TheShellBeach · 12/09/2024 19:11

Just throw it away.
It's just junk.
I never tolerate mess.

Thats mean its not mess its art that the kid has worked on and enjoys.
I think you need to enjoy having kids.

OhmygodDont · 12/09/2024 20:51

Eugh I hate this. School just sending home their rubbish basically so save their bin space.

Im fine with posters and art and stuff but we do not need castles and shoe box robots and stuff. She can make them at home prior to the recycling bin rather than taking stuff to school make the same stuff but maybe worse to carry back home to then bin.

Never anything good like the old volcanoes either. Just glitter smattered boxes coming out stuck together. She makes much nicer things at home.

jazzyBBBB · 12/09/2024 20:56

Used to drive me mad. My daughter used to keep things made out of other people's Fray Bentos pies under her bed! 🤮

Gens · 12/09/2024 21:04

tealpassat · 12/09/2024 18:58

As a designer with an entire career based on being imaginative with shapes leave her alone!!

My mum used to display my models, take an interest in how I spoke about them all and generally let me just crack on.

NThis.
it was SO important to me that. My mum took an interest in and was proud of what I’d made. It’s doing no harm, she enjoys playing, it’s in her room. Why would you squash her imagination? There’s enough people in the world who will do that.

Bunnycat101 · 12/09/2024 21:14

Some kids seem to really gravitate to the junk modelling. My eldest was never that interest but there were other kids that came out with something nearly every day (to pained looks from their parent). My youngest is more interested and also very attached to her creations so I sympathise.

Undertherainbow00 · 12/09/2024 21:24

AnchorWHAT · 12/09/2024 11:01

Could you get her involved in taking photos of the older stuff before getting rid to make way for new. Get them printed out or do an album of creations that she will laugh at a d treasure when older.

Great idea - DD could take the photos too and develop her ICT skills. I’m thinking she will be an architect in the future!
I know the models can be a bit much sometimes but in the blink of an eye she will be grown and you’ll miss all the junk!

Booboo1982 · 12/09/2024 21:29

set aside a junk model box and make it a rule that at the end of each day everything is put away in the box and it’s up to her to decide what stays and goes.

Booboo1982 · 12/09/2024 21:32

Just saw how big the boxes are so my previous suggestion won’t work. Ask the school to stop sending them home. Provide her a box of smaller more manageable junk materials for her room.

Jingleballs2 · 12/09/2024 21:41

TheShellBeach · 12/09/2024 19:11

Just throw it away.
It's just junk.
I never tolerate mess.

It's not junk to the child though!

NotMeNoNo · 12/09/2024 23:13

Once I was in a church group and we made a huge creative picture of something in a service. Pictures on paper or something, nothing long term. The artist who led it took it down a few weeks later for recycling - some people were asking for it to be kept, but he said "It was just for its time" i.e. it had done its job in that creative session. I've found that quite releasing now when getting rid of things I've made... they were just for a time and they can go.

Having said that we still have DS's model combine harvester complete with a "harvest" of lentils, in the loft, 10 years later. I was hoovering up those lentils for years.

Ladylalaboo1 · 13/09/2024 06:21

Tricky one, my DH is really precious about every little thing either of our 3 daughters have made- I tend to keep the special bits. But keeping everything ever would mean living in amongst it all! We have two/three heavy duty costo box's that are in the garage and we just store everything in there. If it's something they are really keen on playing with showing off I'd have them out for abit but ultimately end up in the boxes for when they are older. Moving forward, can't you speak with the school/her teacher and just say whilst you love that your daughter is so creative and imaginative, could they monitor the size of the junk modelling she makes and to make sure it isn't TOO big? Just state you simply don't have the room and it's causing an upset child because you have to dispose of them quicker than you would a little model.

ohfook · 13/09/2024 06:42

We have a lot of junk modelling coming in to our house. Each kid has a box on top of their wardrobe to keep it in (out of sight out of mind). Whenever the box gets a bit too full, I just grab a few bit out and chuck them in the recycling. They have never once noticed or asked where one of their models are.

They are allowed a couple on display - I'm not overly strict about it!

Unexpecteddrivinginstructor · 13/09/2024 06:51

I would perhaps talk to the school. Accumulating that amount of cardboard in one room is probably a fire hazard and the teachers can perhaps limit the size of stuff coming home. Two of my dc went through similar phases. A few key items hung around for years. We probably should have taken photos of them all but at the time it would have meant getting the big camera out. This failure is probably why neither of them are planning on becoming award winning designers.

Dh absolutely loved the junk models, so much so that he insisted on 'taking them to work with him to show all his colleagues and put them on his desk' the day he did this always corresponded with the day they collected the recycling.

WhappleBee · 13/09/2024 06:57

not RTFT but I always recommend that parents take a picture of each one with the child and then every half term (for example), get them printed cheaply and put in an album/scrapbook. The children can then decorate the scrapbook pages and it takes up massively less room! You do have to approach it as a really positive thing though - explain that the model will get ruined/squished over time but this way they keep it forever! You can even get them to help take the photo/s. Give a set number of days they have the model until you do the picture (eg 3 days) and then the model goes into the recycling after you take a picture.

BrigadierEtienneGerard · 13/09/2024 07:25

Kids' bedrooms have a door for a reason.

So long as it all stays in her room and the door can be shut on it (& her), what does it matter? Let her enjoy herself.

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