When one parent brushed off her son's desire to keep an old baby cup, Marie had to remind her that it was his belonging and his choice to keep it. She offered up the idea to make the cup a part of the kitchen decor as a compromise. "Having a family of my own and being a mother . . . it's very important when you're tidying to respect each other," Marie said.
"The things in our house and all the family members in a home function the same way," she said. "We each play a role, and we only have a limited amount of space. And we all need each other."
Although parents can certainly make the judgement call for babies, once kids begin to have preferences, we shouldn't make them feel bad about them. Instead, we should respect their choices . . . even if we don't hold value in items that they do. My daughter loves dresses that I'd sooner donate, and she refuses to wear shirts I adore, but they are her belongings, and she should be able to decide what stays and goes when decluttering.