Pin trading for a 4 year old?

[baseballnut]

Should we wait a year or so? We're going on our third trip in February and wondered if we should start pin trading now or wait? We don't need anything new to keep her interested, lol, but thought it may be fun to start. Or is it a bit of a hassle this young? Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[ajwolfe]

My kids really didn't get into it until they were 5 or probably more like 6. Honestly at 4, I think it will be more work for you then it will be for her. My kids still have trouble at 11 and 7 (mostly the 7 year old) at getting the backs loose and getting them on the lanyards good. And at 4, she may not be wanting to walk up to the CM's and ask them to trade and understand that some of them only trade certain ones, etc.

 

[imthemamahere]

Depends on your daughter, really.

My son's 5, and we just got back from our most recent trip. He'd collected a few pins on our last trips, but this was the first time he wanted to trade. Before we went, I explained that some people liked to trade pins they already had for new pins at Disney World, and that any person who worked for Disney and had pins displayed would probably be happy to make a trade. He pulled a few of his pins aside to be his trading pile, and I packed them for the trip.

Instead of the lanyard, which can be heavy for small kids and makes it easy to lose pins if the backs slip off, I carried the pins for him in a little container (a 4x6 photo case, actually) in my bag. When we approached a CM who was wearing a lanyard, he'd typically ask to take a closer look. It gave him an "in" for chatting with the CMs, but then, he's a very friendly, outgoing kid to begin with. When he felt a bit more shy, I obviously didn't push him to suggest a trade, but he mostly walked up and chatted about pins without any shyness at all.

If your daughter's really shy and afraid to approach new people, pin trading is likely not for her at this age. But if she's outgoing and chatty, this could be a fun way to interact.

 

[Casemily]

Should we wait a year or so? We're going on our third trip in February and wondered if we should start pin trading now or wait? We don't need anything new to keep her interested, lol, but thought it may be fun to start. Or is it a bit of a hassle this young? Thanks for any thoughts!

I got my daughter a lanyard and a couple pins prior to one of our trips when she was 3 1/2. We both wore our pins in the park and even purchased a couple. After watching me pin trade a few times with CMs, I'd ask her if she wanted to trade any and she usually did. We went again just after she turned 4 and she would talk to people in line around us about her pins and even asked to do a few trades. She liked it. But she also likes wearing her pins. Also, she like meeting characters, and more often than not they will point out their own pins and comment which my daughter enjoys.

 

[ah1126]

My DD was just shy of her 4th Birthday when we went this Spring. We surprised her with pins I got from Ebay when we got to WDW and she was so excited! I think she wore her lanyard 2 of the 4 days we were there. She traded with a few CM's, but then she wanted to keep all the ones she had. I think it was a good way to get her to interact with the CM's, and it was something that was just for her.

 

[baseballnut]

Thanks so much for the insight! Dd is most definitely NOT shy, lol. She was nervous the first time we went and her first meet was the fairy godmother, but she is WELL over those fears now. She will definitely talk anyone's ear off about her pins.

But I don't know that she'll want to get rid of any of her pins, lol. I didn't think of that. Silly me.

I hadn't considered getting a lanyard myself, but that's a good idea. As is having something else to hold the pins in. Hmm. Wondering of I want the hassle, lol - and distraction from rides! I'm just excited to do it but it may be easier to wait.

 

[Simba07]

Our DD loved it at 4. It was esp good when we got to the parks pre openning. There were usually a few CM around who could trade and that made the wait for opening go faster. But there were also times when we were trying to get somewhere and it was a distraction. She still loves having them and considers them one of her collections.