6 Year Old

Pshh! My 9 year old leaves her stuff EVERYWHERE! In ONE day, she left her coat at her friends house and her DS at another friend's house! I get on to her, but she's just a kid. It happens.

It is not so much the age as the condition of his life.
What I mean is that a 6 year old who is impoverished and cold will certainly not lose his mittens, just as a child who often goes hungry will not waste food.
Most children in this country have their needs provided for, always. They have not learned to worry, and this is how parents have designed it. Therefore it is normal.
I realize the mittens are just an example, but: One way to approach it is to (1) not get new mittens or not return them to him when they are found, and see how he feels about his hands being cold (he may not care)
or (2) set up a reward system, for points/stars on days he doesn't lose anything (again, he may not care).

I think he is just being a kid. My son is almost 5 and rarely keeps track of anything except a favorite toy (and that is iffy). I am working on helping him have good habits like always putting his hat in the coat sleeve and his mittens in his jacket pockets. Otherwise I write his name on everything I can. We always had a huge lost and found at summer camp so I doubt it is just your kid.

My 6 year old can't keep track of her gloves for anything! My husband tries to get her to put things in special places so she'll remember, but it doesn't help that much. I think their little minds are so active they forget things quickly!

Consistancy is the key and at his age you need to be repetitive about asking the questions and providing the organization so things can be remembered. It is partially the age but be patient and he will get it. And gloves are the worst to keep track of - I have often gotten several pairs as backup when I find a really good sale. A friend of mine is a bus driver and they end up with tons of stuff lost by the kids. You can also count yourself lucky it is just the gloves misplaced. A boy in my son's class (7 yrs old) lost his winter coat. Don't know how a kid loses a coat in below zero weather but it just shows things could be worse. Good Luck :)

No kid should be yelled at and punished for anything. Disciplined yes. But when you combine anger and yelling with anything else it's not helpful. You can discipline him by using a calm disciplinary measure but yelling creates stress which interferes with learning.

That said, all children frequently lose things. I've literally put 100 or so coats into lost and found when I've had playground duty.

I suggest that you can try to help your son remember but for the most part it's a losing battle. Their memory just isn't that good yet. And their mind is going mph learning and playing. KIds don't seem to mind being cold or as I suspect don't feel cold like adults do. A natural consequence would be to let them go without a coat the next day but most mothers wouldn't want to do that and I think the kid wouldn't mind, anyway.

My 10yo granddaughter is always misplacing her coat but not her sweat shirt hoody. I've discovered that she likes wearing the hoody but not the coat. If her mother didn't insist that she wear it she wouldn't misplace it. As it is she only wears the coat out of the house. Mostly it stays in her locker. IF her teacher insists that kids wear their coats, many just leave them on the playground. The kids play hard and get too warm.

I say pick your battles and this is one we're bound to lose anyway.

All kids do this. Go to his school and look at the lost and found rack. It will be just brimming with not only gloves, but also hats, scarves and even coats. How a kid forgets a coat and the parents don't come looking for it is beyond me!

Like Marda said, yelling isn't all that productive in the long run. What's better is to work with your son to come up with a plan where he doesn't lose his gloves. That way, he won't lose his gloves.
Also you're teaching him the basics of problem solving and he will use that his entire life - like when he becomes a father and his six year old loses her gloves. :)

Oh this reminds me so much of my (now grown) brother! :) He was always losing things, he still probably does to an extent, but it is just the way he is. Don't be too h*** o* him, my brother is now 29 and a very successful computer engineer. He's also married, a homeowner and has a little one on the way. My brother was terrible at keeping track of things, but he's incredibly intelligent and kind - I think sometimes you just get your cards stacked more in some places than in others :)

I think he should be expected not ot lose things, and to care if he does, but if you just replace the stuf, no questions asked, no responsibility for that on his part, of course he won't care.

I don't agree he should be yelled at or punished exactly, but there should be consequences. You lose your gloves, you buy a new pair with money you earn by doing chores/allowance, or you go without, which meansno playing outside till you work your way to some new ones. BUT also, I think he needs a system, you need to remind and help him set up a place for his stuff, and keep him in the habit of putting things in this place....a "launchpad" is what i hear it called sometimes. Right by whichever door he uses to leae the house in the morning, put some hooks on the wall, or a smal coat tree, or a basket, something where he can keep his boots, hat, gloves, backpack, coat, etc. In his room, designate a specific spot inhis closet for cub scout stuff, a bag, a sopecial area of the shelf or a specific hanger.....after school, all school and out the door stuff goes in the launchpad, after scouts all scout stuff goes in its spot, then it will be there the next time he needs it. Create a habit, kids aren't built knowing how to be organized, you need to teach it!

Good Luck - start now, or this will continue till adulthood and you( and later his wife - who will not thank you for perpetuating this) will be picking up after him and finding his stuff/replacing his stuff for him through high school and college !