Avery Associates

House Clearance & Probate Valuation Services


  • HOME
  • HOUSE CLEARANCE
    • Probate House Clearance
    • House Clearance
    • FAQ
    • Hoarder House Clearance
    • Garden Clearance
    • Charity Donations
    • Recycling
    • House Clearance Gallery
    • Our Locations
  • PROBATE HELP
    • Probate Valuation Guide Fees & Advice
    • Probate House Clearance
    • Executor Assistance
    • Solicitor Assistance
    • Our Locations
  • PROBATE VALUATIONS
    • Probate Valuation Explained
    • RICS Property Valuation
    • Classic Cars
    • Jewellery
    • Coins
    • Books
    • Stamps
    • Vintage Toys
    • Records
  • REVIEWS
  • NEWS
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Is Hoarding the Same Thing in the Minds of Children

November 27, 2019 By Richard Farrell

Most research into hoarding focuses on adults. As far as untidy teens are concerned their ‘collections’ are signs of rebellious minds. And as for kids, well they are too young for that. But are they really not old enough? What follows may surprise you.

A child does not normally have the run of the house, and therefore the stuff they keep soon fills their room. Signs to watch for are a bed taken over by temporary storage, nowhere to do homework, and clothes cupboards jammed with other things.

Children Have Attachments for Possessions Too

Caroline Miller writing in ChildMind.Org says children develop deep attachments for some possessions. If Mum cleans the room and throws their things in the garbage, then some will weep because they are hurting inside.

However, other children don’t object because they are just untidy little people. They don’t mind at all if Mum puts some order back, it’s what grownups do. So how do we tell the difference between the two? The difference is the way they behave when someone removes their things.

The hoarder may become anxious and distressed. However, their reaction can also be extreme and involve tantrums, crying, and yelling according to Caroline Miller. They may even kick and hit in panic, and smash things.

Insights into the Mind of a Hoarding Child

A hoarding child collects things in the street like acorns, coins, you name it. Jerry Bubrick, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute describes them as ‘here for now’. The child keeps them in piles because they think they have a future use, but they don’t know what this is yet.

They don’t put them in a drawer, Jerry Bubrick says because this might affect the objects’ feelings. “If something is locked up in a drawer,” he explains, “it might get lonely and it might miss me or it might miss the other possessions.”

Some possessions gather particular affection because of an associated moment. A stone picked up during a happy day in a park is more than a memento. It represents the memory in the hoarding child’s mind. If a parent throws it away, they are throwing away the memory too.

These insights cast light on a developing child’s memories and emotions. This transparency makes a valuable contribution to understanding hoarding adults, where fact may be obscured by a lifetime of overlapping memories. We need to be gentle with hoarding children because their spirits bruise easily.

Differences Between Child Collectors and Hoarders

All children collect things from when they are very young. Hoarders leave them in a disorganized state, whereas collectors organize them tidily and have pride in them. Hoarders are uncomfortable about people seeing and touching their things, whereas collectors like to show them off, and explain them.

Hoarding can develop from age six or seven onward, often in association with obsessive-compulsive or another anxiety disorder. Some of their parents are also hoarders. “Sometimes,” Jerry Bubrick says “we have to treat parents to help kids.”

Filed Under: Compulsive Hoarding Tagged With: ChildMind.Org, children of hoarders, clearing a haorded house out, hoarder house clearance, Jerry Bubrick

Our House Clearance Services

We provide a full house clearance and property management solution:

  • We clear hoarded houses, regardless how big or how cluttered
  • We clear all types and sizes of property, irrespective of location, or access is restricted or where parking is difficult or not available.
  • We can help avoid water damage by draining the central heating system.
  • We can secure the property and change the locks.
  • We can reinstate the gardens and maintain them whilst the property is empty.
  • We can provide 24 hour security to eliminate the risk of squatting or unlawful occupation.

As well normal house clearances we specialise in clutter clearance and we can clear a hoarded house which may contain years of accumulated possessions, or which have abnormal amounts of general household items, sometimes as a result of compulsive hoarding syndrome.

Equally we can help to clear a property where the occupants were previously unwell and unable to care for themselves or their property which sometimes results in insanitary, dangerous or just plain unpleasant conditions.

More info

About Richard Farrell

What We Do

Get A Quick Quote

Client Reviews

Apr 1, 2021
by R G on Avery Associates
A great job, well done

My parents had lived in this house since 1961 and accumulated a lot of stuff. Jeffrey put my mind at ease and assured me that he and his team could tackle... Read More

Mar 26, 2021
by Tim and Chris on Avery Associates
Sensitive House Clearance

We're extremely pleased with the house clearance service that Jeffrey provided. This was a daunting and emotionally difficult task for us but Jeffrey ... Read More

Mar 8, 2021
by Jason Sims on Avery Associates
South Coast House Clearance & Document Retrieval

"I would like to thank Jeffrey and everyone at Avery Associates for assisting my dad and me. Following a death in the family, my father had to make last... Read More

Page 1 of 41:
«
 
‹
 
1
2
3
›
 
»
 

Share, Email or Print

Looking For Something?

Our Latest News & Advice

  • Valuing and Clearing a Hoarded House for Probate
  • Clearing a Hoarder’s House While Checking for Value
  • Compulsive Hoarders House in the Lonely Age of COVID


Avery Associates
291 Mitcham Rd
Tooting SW179JQ

Tel: 0800 567 7769 or 0208 640 0044

Services provided throughout London and the Home Counties. View our clearance case studies.


Website Terms | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Copyright © 2005-2018 Avery Associates
Website Development by Avara Web Media