What did you collect as a child?
@highflyingxangel (9225)
United States
November 17, 2008 7:05pm CST
I hadn't really thought about all the strange things that I liked and collected when I was a child until recently. I've been working with a little boy at his home that is from another country and his mother and I have a lot of talks about how he acts (as she's worried as to what is normal and what isn't) and she's just curious about why he does certain things. She told me that he tends to collect a lot of small things and she couldn't figure out why. Apparently, he likes to pick up leaves, acorns and a number of other small objects.
I recalled a time when I did the same thing. I collected rocks when I was a kid. For some odd reason I just liked them. I also liked picking up small objects. It was just neat having something that was mine that I thought was neat. That's what made it so fun.
Did you collect anything as a child that you now look back on and think it was strange? What did you do with your collection when you grew up?
6 people like this
40 responses
@ashleymorgan (3)
• United States
18 Nov 08
It's sad to say, but I was at the age for the Beanie Baby phase. Animals stuffed with beans, what the rage. I have 250 of them, and years ago I thought they'd be worth money. Yeah prolly $1, pop. Can you believe it was 5 bucks for a bag of beans, and some were RETIRED (Garcia bear) and IMPOSSIBLE to get (Diana Bear)
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
24 Nov 08
I forgot about Beanie babies. I have a bunch of them as well and I have like 100 of the Diana bear.
@sheenarobins (547)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
hi angel!
I collected stationaries. Those paper with different shapes and colorful and scented. I also collected rubber bands, I used them for playing with other kids.
You gave me an idea. I'd like your permission to post "what we collect as an adult". hehehe. I hope it's okay with you.
thank you, you reminded me of my childhood.
3 people like this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
18 Nov 08
That's fine with me! You can post it if you'd like.
1 person likes this
@yellowpaisley (71)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
As usual...stamps! My teacher taught us to collect stamps and we collected it from our parents' letters. I do not know what happened to my collection. I sort of forget about it when I was in college. I guess, I will find it stuck in the attic!
3 people like this
@di1159 (1580)
• United States
18 Nov 08
Ok... I am NOT NEVER HAVE BEEN OR EVER WILL BE a Pyromaniac, however I've always collected matches. I don't know why I got into that habit, but everytime my parents went somewhere, matches were always on the table, or in the hotel rooms and I'd pick them up and take them home. I still have them. I have two vary wide and tall vases, (they are about 4 feet high) where I keep them. One day my kids decided to count them and they quit at 3,000.00. I suppose I should get rid of them, but I just don't have the heart. Anyway, these days, matchboxes are hard to come by, and many of mine are from places that only exist in my memory.
3 people like this
@Superman86 (24)
•
18 Nov 08
I used to collect bottle caps. when coca cola and other soft drinks used to be sold in bottles. I lost them all when we moved some 15 years ago now i find out they cud be worth a lot of money. darn :(
@kholmes (8)
•
18 Nov 08
I have collected so many things as a child, Warhammer models, rocks, coins, stamps, knives, fossils :) all sorts of stuff basically anything that looked cool at the time, I think that its kind of wierd now, I guess its less common in girls but young lads do it alot :D
3 people like this
@chasingsunlight (261)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I loved My Little Pony Tales! That was a great show. I never had the toys though.
@randomosity_prevails (1110)
•
18 Nov 08
When I was really young, I had a bit of an obsession with sea shells and pebbles. I used to go along the beach just collecting them, until I had buckets full of them.
When I got to be a bit older, my mum got me collecting stamps. She had collected them as a child and passed it along to me, but I wasn't really interested and didn't really bother with it. I went through a similar phase with football stickers as well. The main thing I collected were My Little Ponies, I had hundreds of the things!
3 people like this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I don't think I collected anything when I was little, but my 6 yr old son, on occasion picks up acorns and rocks too. Just the other week he was looking for a four leaf clover as they were studying it in class. He brings his findings into the apartment, plays with them and then gets rid of them when he's finished with them (or I throw them away lol).
At the moment he is into Pokemon cards and Bakugan toys and collects those and swaps them with his friends.
3 people like this
@brew2x (3094)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
I collect coins and bills from different countries especially old ones. I started it when I was a kid and still doing it right now whenever I get the chance to have one. I used to collect before kid's comic books, unfortunately it was borrowed by my cousin and was not returned so I discontinued collecting that.
3 people like this
@mimico (3617)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
I collected stickers! I had sticker books where I keep my sticker collection. It was such a waste of money now that I look back on it. I mean, I only liked looking at my stickers. I never really used it. I think I should have used it instead. Now they no longer stick because they're stuck to the book. And I don't like to look at them as much anymore. :(
3 people like this
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
I could remember as a kid i used to collect stickers of all kinds, it started when a girlfriend of my brother gave me stickers and i got hooked up on it and started collecting it on my own. i just put them in a box but i do not stick them anywhere! i would count them if they are complete again and again! Everytime me and my mom would go to a school supplies store and i would always beg her to buy me more stickers! But in the end i guess i also lost interest in it when i reached high school...and for some of the stickers i could not remember where it is now...
2 people like this
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
that is so nice of you! your students must like it 
1 person likes this
@chasingsunlight (261)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I used to collect stickers too. I kept them in "sticker books" or in a box. I still have most of them. I am going to start teaching elementary school next year, and I am hoping to give some of them to my students.
1 person likes this
@crimsonladybug (3112)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I had a box full of interesting rocks. One looked like a piece of petrified tree bark, another looked like something else that had had string wrapped around it before it petrified - a hatchet head, perhaps. I also had a piece of quartz and iron pyrite (Fool's Gold)... The rest of them were all just neat looking.
2 people like this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I actually still collect rocks oddly enough. I like collecting stones like quartz and stuff. I think they're rather pretty and just really neat and fun to look at. I have a rather small collection so I guess I never did grow out of collecting rocks.
1 person likes this
@chasingsunlight (261)
• United States
18 Nov 08
this may sound odd, but I collected novelty erasers. You know, the kind that were colorful and shaped like animals or flowers. I had hundreds.
2 people like this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I completely forgot about those! I actually collected those for awhile too. Whenever I got a new eraser like for a class party or for doing a good job or something I wouldn't use it, I'd just take it home and add it to my collection. Whenever we had bookfairs I always bought a few new ones and took those home too.
1 person likes this
@daryljane (3406)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
[i][b]Up until now, i still collect stamps..even if people are into emails and internet communication, when a snail mail arrives and it comes from US, i always keep the stamps..i already have 4 books of it kept safe.
And ive added other stuff to collect, paperbags and shoes...im an addict to both..
[/b][/i]
[/b][/i]2 people like this
@ChristLikeFarmer (563)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
This seems eerie but I use to collect small objects too when I was still a kid specially rocks, rocks that are round and tough.. Well I guess it is really strange to see a kid to collect unusefull stuff but you are right it gives pleasure and happiness to children. Now that im a adult I wonder why!
. Well I guess it is really strange to see a kid to collect unusefull stuff but you are right it gives pleasure and happiness to children. Now that im a adult I wonder why!
@magojordan (3252)
• Philippines
18 Nov 08
I used to collect happy meal toys and stamps when I was a kid. All the happy meal toys are still there but they're all dumped in a box as for the stamps I have them all in an envelope. It's not a very big collection but I think it is a good one because it taught me a lot.
@Ritz100 (1169)
• Yecla, Spain
18 Nov 08
If anyone from the UK is reading this, (and is over 40) they will understand when I say I collected conkers. This is a specific type of nut from the horse chestnut tree, that we used to attach to a string and then hit the other persons conker (also attached to a string) to see who's would smash first. Collecting conkers was the best part because we could pick the hardest, sharpest and largest, in order to win the contest. On top of that I also collected keyrings and I still have some of them now. Thanks for the memories, that was nice.
2 people like this
