Consumables

I've never been a fan of consumables. Specifically for this post, I would be referring to stickers. Are stickers fun? Yes! Are stickers cute? Yes! Would I buy stickers for my children to play with? Nope. The reason is logical but narrow-minded. I specifically don't like buying things like stickers because they end up stuck on pieces of paper or items, and the pieces of paper will eventually get thrown away. 

So why are there so many stickers at my house? I've bought stickers to teach. As early as 11 years ago, I purchased reward stickers for my classroom when I was a student teacher. I used a handful here and there and had leftover which I saved and carried over to my future teaching positions. I still buy stickers to teach. I go through multiple stickers a day and about every 2-3 weeks I need a new sheet. For teaching, I buy bulk ones so they last me at least a year if not multiple years. 

A few years ago, my Christmas gift to my students included a few sheets of stickers each. I had tons leftover because when I bought the set, even though it was advertised as 232 pieces, almost half of the bundle was sticker sheets. 

Only two shiny sheets left...

My children recently discovered stickers. I know, they're very late to the game. I've held off for a long time. It started after a friend babysat for us. They took the kids out on errands and bought them stickers from one of the stores. After that, we noticed how entertained they were by stickers. I remembered my extra stash from Christmas stored away and pulled them out again for the kids to play with. They loved it! I could even teach a 30 minute lesson while they busily pulled off stickers and pressed them onto a blank piece of paper without being bothered. I’ve been able to take a shower without fear of my child tearing down the house. We can make it through a meal at a restaurant without fussy children.

My son's stickers on stickers. 

Specifically, my children love the stickers that are shiny and holographic. They're very keen on this - they prefer the "fancier" stickers and always ask for those first. It's not a taught skill. I didn't teach them to preference the shiny stickers. They just naturally figured it out. Sadly, we are down to the last two sheets of the shiny stickers. My daughter asked me a few days ago if I would buy her more stickers. I went online to look for sheets of shiny stickers and I couldn't find anything like what I wanted.

My daughter, on the other hand, is very organized.
I did not teach her to do this...but she probably inherited my type A 😅

All I want is a sheet of the shiny holographic-type stickers in bulk. And I couldn't find it. I'm actually pretty close to just buying the Christmas stationery set again which included stickers and just save the rest of the pieces for other purposes. 

My daughter also uses the outsides of her stickers now. She learned it from us because we would peel the outside off first so our son could peel his own stickers without the border pieces. 

So my perspective on consumables has broadened. Although they will all eventually end up in the trash, what they afford me along the way is more valuable to me as a parent: time to shower in peace, eating at a restaurant calmly, being able to not have my children say "mommy" 10x in a row and leave me alone for 10 minutes, fostering my children's creativity. I'm sure a child therapist or psychologist could go on and on about why consumables, although not financially efficient, are a wonderful "toy" for children. 

Do you buy your kids consumables? How has it saved your sanity?