The "GOT TO HAVE IT, GOT TO TRADE IT" Phenomenon

From marbles to baseball cards, from Beanie Babies to Pokemon cards, children have historically found collecting and trading objects appealing. If your child's interests lie in collecting leaves in the fall, or rocks in Central Park, you probably haven't given much thought to their collections, other than that they may be dirty and clutter up their rooms. On the other hand, if your child's obsession leans toward the $150 "rare" Beanie Baby or Pokemon card, collecting and trading takes on a whole different meaning, and parents need to be informed about the benefits and pitfalls of this "got to have it, got to trade it" game.

Let's start with the benefits of collecting and trading:

* Creating a collection can teach patience and perseverance. Collection by it's very nature takes time. Children who collect things often learn to persevere, moving forward step by step as they enlarge their collection. It takes patience to build a large collection, and that patience is rewarded concretely with each new acquisition.

* Collecting can teach organizational skills. In order for a child to collect something successfully, they must assess not only what they have, but what is still left to acquire in order to build a collection that is diverse. In addition, children who are required to organize their collection in boxes, binders or on shelves learn something about taking care of their things through making sure they are organized, not haphazardly thrown about their rooms.

* Collecting often breaks down barriers that might otherwise prevent children from interacting with one another. I've seen five year olds chatting comfortably with 12 year olds about their mutual interest in collecting. Even children who speak different languages are given a common ground when they're talking the "language" of their collection. With something in common, there's more room to learn to communicate in other ways and to form friendships with one another.

* Trading one of their collectibles with another child's can teach negotiation and socialization. In order to trade, children must interact with one another, socialize appropriately (or the other child might walk away from the trade) and negotiate. The "I'll give you two ___'s for one of your ____'s" helps children learn to assess the value of objects and increases thinking and problem solving skills in the process.

There is no question that children can learn many things from the process of collecting and trading. However, there's a negative side to the "got to have it, got to trade it" game as well and parents must be knowledgeable about the negative as well as the positive aspects in order to help their children achieve balance.

The pitfalls of collecting and trading:

* Cheating others. In a market-driven collection where some of the focus is on trading with others, children who are developmentally more mature have the advantage over younger children. Thus, the opportunity for an older child to cheat a younger child out of a "valuable" collectible will present itself over and over again. Without parental awareness and intervention, cheating others becomes a rewarding and satisfying enterprise