Teaching Life Skills with Playing Cards

Does your child like dogs? cats? horses? airplanes? boats? Here's a great idea for starting a collection of some of your child's favorite things, a collection that can be fun, educational, and last a lifetime. Now, before you start worrying about where you're going to build the airplane hanger or what you're going to feed all those horses, don't worry. I'm not talking about real animals or airplanes, not even toy animals or airplanes. I'm talking about a two-dimensional collection. Why not start a collection of playing cards with and for your child?

My friend Sally collects playing cards. Not decks of cards but single, collectible playing cards, the kind with pretty pictures on the back. She started collecting as a child, then took a number of years off from collecting until after she was grown up and became Dr. Sally. Now her collection numbers in the thousands and she trades with collectors all over the world as well as sells her extras on eBay. Sally really is an authority on playing card collecting and collectibles and her enthusiasm is contagious. (Ask me how I know and I'll show you my cards!)

So, why should you get your child started with collectibles and collecting? Pride, organizational skills, letter-writing (in case they do trade with others), history, research, budgeting (to buy the next treasure) are just a few reasons. But all you have to tell them is that collecting playing cards is fun!

Sally just started a blog about collecting playing cards, she has a Squidoo page that her dog Bashful wrote, and you'll find thousands of cards to give you ideas and get your collection started in Sally's eBay store. (If you buy something, tell her Susan sent you.) If you want to read more about how to help your child start and maintain a collection, there are books such as this one that can help.

Does your child have a collection? I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know why you believe your child's collection is a good thing.