How to deal with possible hoarding? (clothes, son, learn, girlfriend)
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My son is 10 and this has been going on for a couple years. He will pick up anything on the ground or take stuff other people don't want and keep it. It can be anything from a paper a classmate ripped up and threw away(he was going to fix it for him), to rocks, sticks, broken pens, hair barrets, etc. Anything someone else doesn't want, he will take it. He has even put a razor blade in his pocket once and then the other day he was putting something in his pocket and I caught him and it was a diabetic needle. We have tried the making a box for his treasures but he goes above and beyond the box and its all junk. He has it everywhere and no matter what I say, he will not stop. He thinks it all can be used or done something with but then he doesn't. It sits somewhere until I sneak it into the trash. My coworker said her daughter will do the same thing. Have any of you had this problem and how did you make it stop?
Have you spoken with his school counselor? If you can afford it, see a child psychologist. It mature be nothing, but it's better to deal with this earlier rather than later.
give him a space limit to keep his treasures. get a big box, when it is full he is done. he either has to cull out the old that he no longer needs to bring in anything new. if it is something he wants to fix put it in a separate box and give him two months to fix it. if it isn't fixed in two months throw it out. hopefully he will figure out what is precious and what is not. maybe even have him do this with his clothes that are older, worn or outgrown to help him with the idea. you could also include him into any "spring cleaning" that you do. you can also have him pick which of his things are the "best" have them displayed. if things are not displayed or in a place where he can find them, then the object isn't all that well loved or needed. let him figure out his sliding scale of what is important. not everything (hopefully) can be an equal treasure. best of luck
I would give him a limited storage space (like the box or a shelf or whatever), then say he can keep whatever will fit into that space, but NO MORE! Period!
Make HIM choose the things to throw away. It is HIS responsibility to not exceed his allotted storage space. Plenty of good lessons for living later on with that!
Another thing might be to have a yard sale. I know plenty of adults who think all their junk is priceless. Then they have a yard sale and see that no one wants their junk at any price - you can't give it away!
So perhaps he would learn the value of things if you have a yard sale?
I'd definitely see a child psychologist. My girlfriend's son had a different hoarding problem. It started with him hoarding and hiding food from the kitchen in his room. Then he started stealing candy from the store and hiding it. Then he stole unwrapped Christmas presents from under his best friend's Christmas tree!
I would not provide a box or a storage space before talking to a child psychologist specializing in OCD. If this is actually a compulsion, providing a special item to hold and house effects may just fuel the compulsion and disorder.
I'm gonna join the "See a specialist" crowd - that is VERY unusual behavior. Lots of kids pick up random things, but not to this extent.
I remember when I was a kid. I too would often save random things, convinced they could be used later. It wasn't as intense an urge as your son's, but it was definitely present. And yes, I do have a certain degree of OCD. My OCD is an outgrowth of my ADD rather than a standalone condition, though. As soon as I learned about the ADD and began to address it, my OCD tendencies subsided into little more than an occasional annoyance.
Please take your son to see a child psychiatrist - OCD is so incredibly stressful, especially for a young kid.
I would definitely take him to a child psychologist who works with OCD issues.
It doesn't sound like a behavior that can be corrected as much as it sounds like a compulsion.
I would concur. I have seen similar behavior in my own children, but not to this extent. And it is OCD.
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