What age was your DC when you stopped keeping their masterpieces?

[InTheZenGarden]

DD is 14 months and has been going to nursery for 3 months. Today she came home covered in glue and glitter, and also brought a "picture" she had "done" - a few splodges of glue on a piece of paper with glitter poured over and some random foil cutouts stuck on.
Last month she came home with a "painting" which showed no sign that she had been near it (apparently she gave the staff an incredulous look when they tried to get her hands in the paint ), it had just been rollered on!

I already know that I will never ever throw away the first Mothers Day card she "made" me and I'm sure DH feels the same about his Fathers Day card the other week.

But the fridge is getting full of stuff she didn't even do! Soon, it will be stuff she has done.... I will need a new fridge

At what point did you start throwing away these pieces of crap treasures, and keep a select few?

I chuck 'em all in a box (we get about 5 per day from nursery now). When the box is full I cull them down to the best few then start again.

er.... now

at 14 months she won't know that you are selectively editing her works of art

it is when they are 5 and ask you where the scrappy bit of paper you threw out is... apparently it was a treasure map and of utmost importance, oops

I keep almost nothing. Never have. Am heartless ruthless like that.

I stick some on the fridge and rotate them heavily. We also have a big wall hanging with A4 pockets that you can put drawings in which again we put some in and change from time to time.

dd has done some lovely stuff in the past that we have framed and hung on her wall. But the rate at which she now churns out drawings, I can barely keep up with gathering them together and putting them in the recycling each evening.

Everything gets chucked out eventually. When I think that she has been the driving creative force behind a card she gives me, I'll keep that, but until then, I'm going to keep on throwing it away after a decent period.

Am clearly a heartless mother, whose children will grow up to hate me when they realise how little I valued their scribblings.

3yo ds1 - they're all put into the recycling box, I'm afraid. Might start keeping them when they actually look like something.

Glad to hear this
Will keep Mothers Day card as it made me cry (what kind of person have I become? when did it happen? ) but will cheerfully chuck everything else after it's obligatory couple of days on the fridge door.

bigchris Dreading the day she asks me where I put that glittery foily work-of-art, but guess I have a few years yet!