Your kids and your collection.

[TheFrenzy]

Last week was the most incredible week of my life. On Tuesday my wife delivered our first child and now we're all back home safe and sound. I could go on and on and one about how incredibly perfect our little boy is and how amazing my wife was through it all, but maybe I'll save that for an Off Topic thread. (I know we've had some other members recently have their first and a few others just days away from it, so congrats to everyone and yes, joining the "Dad Club" is everything you hope it would be.)

But I'd love to hear from our members who already have kids. Aside from the clector/investor/flipper crowd, how have you, as a genuine collector, approached collecting and parenting?

- Is your hobby something you've hoped your child would pick up or do you really just see it as your own pastime?

- Do you collector with the thought of passing it down someday in mind or not?

- Do your kids collect too or do they just laugh at you like they do your fashion and taste in music? (says the guy with a ska avatar :flex: )

- Is there anything you've intentionally done to foster their interest in the hobby?

- Did you do anything hobby related when your child was born?

I'm debating whether to go pick up a box from each of the four sports so he can open some product from his birth year at some point in the future. Redemptions and Reward Points make me think twice, but I'm considering different options. For myself, I got into the hobby on my own, but my dad was a huge sports fan and many of my best memories with him are sports-related. So collecting, and specifically collecting some of the players he and I watched the most is something that helps me feel a bit more connected to him since he passed away. I certainly won't force my son into any sports, but it is likely that we'll spend lots of days and nights watching sports and I hope he feels a similar desire to have something in common with me.

[Grza]

Thats fantastic! Congratulations, Frenzy. Welcome to the club. I am a 6 month member myself!

[Dielon]

I expect my future kids? to pick up my sets and finish them when I am gone. If not, I am haunting their ass. Not really, haha. Congrats though!

[TheFrenzy]

Thats fantastic! Congratulations, Frenzy. Welcome to the club. I am a 6 month member myself!

Heck yeah! It's awesome!

And to those who know me around here, don't worry. We'll be intentionally parenting the little guy and any future siblings so that they are free to be their own person with their own views. You won't have to worry about a Frenzy clone on some future Blowout holodeck 5000 posting about ska or creating endless polls or arguing politics.

If he does collect, he'll still probably PC absolute busts and will likely pay eternal homage to the Tragedy of Romo like his father, but my goal is for him to be a better person than me. (Isn't that the goal of parenting?)

And of course if we are blessed with a little girl in the future, she will also have full encouragement and support to join the hobby.

[TheFrenzy]

I expect my future kids? to pick up my sets and finish them when I am gone. If not, I am haunting their ass.

Have you pitched this idea to Netflix? It's already better than most of their horror films.

In fact, it'd probably make a halfway decent horror/comedy student film.

[twisty571]

Congrat's 1st off! My son was involved when I was collecting but as soon as he left for the Marine's and he was making his own money collecting was over for him. He is a money mizer and he got married and they had their 1st last year and bought a house. Hell he doesn't even buy Xbox games. He game shares off myself and a marine buddy of his. What that guy doesn't buy seems to be the 1's I end up buying so he hasn't bought a game himself in 5 years now lol My daughters have no interest.

[Grid]

I have kids. I have advise. Good advice? I cant say...

My kids do not understand my collection. I've taken them to card shows, let them open packs or go to autograph signings with me in the past. But it seems more like "my thing" then "our thing". I would never force the hobby on them. Everyone is their own person. If they do not take to it, don't try to force them too.

My kids are into things that I am not. And they don't force dad to like their stuff.

My PC grew to the point where it would become more of a hindrance, then a help, to my family. I kept what I liked, and I keep my stuff for me. But i sold off a chunk and put most of that in the bank. I couldn't image my wife and kids going throw boxes and bins of cards to try and sell if something happened to me.

If you are stocking things away now to give them later, they might feel obligated to do what they "think" you want them to do. And maybe they will resent you a little for that.

Watch cartoons, play games, have fun... and if they want in on the hobby, they will come to you!

[boston12]

First off congrats. It’s amazing isn’t it! My son will be 2 in June. I have bought some low low end retail on sale for him to open packs (I will open it partially and he does the rest including folding cards in n half!). So far he gravitates mostly to hockey. So any pack of cards is “cacky cads”.

I have started a decent collection of unopened boxes. But I do pay attention to which products I buy and redemptions. For instance I have several 2015 - 16 hockey boxes where McDavid rookies are all live. But I stayed away from a lot of 2016- 17 where Auston Matthews was a redemption. I plan to keep rolling along and buying a handful of boxes a year. I’m not certain on how I’ll present them to him some day. But I do have older stuff where he could pull a Crosby rookie as well. If he does gravitate towards cards he will certainly have a thrill opening these boxes of hall of famers.

I hope he enjoys collecting but I won’t force it. I grew up in a house where my dad encouraged and supported collecting. Hell, he would hide packs at Easter instead of eggs! As for my collection it will naturally become his one day or his and a sibling to be named later hopefully. I’ll have I figure that out in the will though.

So far he seems as interested as he possibly could before the age of 2. He keeps the cards in a little treasure chest, and they are beat to hell. But we will get into proper storage further down the road! Enjoy and keep us updated on how the adventure goes!

[bojesphob]

I'll chime in and say congrats as well :) My first and only was born back in 15, so it's definitely a fun time, mostly after they start sleeping through the night LOL

As to your questions:
- Is your hobby something you've hoped your child would pick up or do you really just see it as your own pastime?

I had hoped that *maybe* I could share it, but ends up that it's looking like we're going to be limited to 1, and she's a girly girl (absolutely not like her mom LOL). She does collect things, even at 3 years old, but it's mostly My Little Ponies and Shopkins

- Do you collector with the thought of passing it down someday in mind or not?

I had originally, yes. But I'm at the point now where I will pass down a collection, but it won't be the huge collection that I had at one point, but the Prizm collection I have now.

- Do your kids collect too or do they just laugh at you like they do your fashion and taste in music? (says the guy with a ska avatar )

Well, she's not really old enough to know what collecting really is ATM. She does collect MLP and Shopkins, so she SORT of has the bug LOL

- Is there anything you've intentionally done to foster their interest in the hobby?

Well, she does like playing with some extras I have. But definitely not going to try to force it. If she gets into it, she does. If not, well, there are other things I can enjoy with her :)

- Did you do anything hobby related when your child was born?

Started selling most of my collection off LOL Seriously, though, my finances were not in the best shape when she was born, and I decided it was time to start trying to pay off some debt that I had essentially let sit for a few years. Still working on that...

[TimBuckTwo]

The only issue I have with my collection and my kids/wife not being in to it is if I get hit by a bus, they have no idea what is worth anything and could very well give it away for pennies.

This would be sad.

[bojesphob]

The only issue I have with my collection and my kids/wife not being in to it is if I get hit by a bus, they have no idea what is worth anything and could very well give it away for pennies.

This would be sad.

I have had conversations with my wife about this exact thing, to make sure she knows that there is some value in what I have. Maybe it might be something to have in your will that they go through and get it appraised upon your passing so that it isn't sold for next to nothing and they miss out on a lot of value from it.

[Seahawks fan]

My son is 10 and he could care less about sports... But it was easy to get him interested in garbage pail kids/wacky packages. We bust a box together about 6 times a year and have a blast.

[PrimeTimeScott]

Congratulations on the new addition! It is a job that will be awesome, horrible, scary, and funny (often all in the same day)! I have taken both my now 11 year old daughter and my now 5 year old son to card shows and autograph signings and they both don't really care. I save autographs that they get for them for later in case they one day do care more, and I tell them that we got that guys autograph if he makes a play and they happen to be watching with me. My boy went with me to a card show a month or so ago and several of the dealers gave him a single $0.25 card, and I bought a couple of others. (Always bring a handful of quarters if you bring a kid to the show)!

What is funny with my collection now is that I liked Eddie Royal as a Rookie back in 2008. In 2010 he was signing autographs at the Best Buy around the corner from my house and for a couple of weeks I tried to get my daughter to say Thank you Mr. Royal. However, she always said, Thank you Mr. Oriole, which I thought was cute from a two and a half year old. Well the day came to get our autograph and she fell asleep in my arms as we were getting to the front of the line. My Eddie Royal Collection always makes me think of that story and that was why I started collecting his cards. She of coarse, does not remember any of that. I used to collect Jose Canseco cards and have a pretty good collection of those, but I have stopped that and pretty much focused on Royal and a few former players and on the local radio, because I enjoy listening to them discuss football (like Chad Brown and Alfred Williams). I don't have to spend huge amounts of money tracking down Royal cards, so that helps!

[mike1498]

I wish my dad collected

I feel like I’m the only the only kid who collects cards these days. God forbid anyone in my high school knew I collected cards because I would be picked on non stop haha. All I have to say to the older generation is there isn’t much time left until your cards will be worth nothing because this generation gives zero ****. It drives me up a wall whenever my friends buy Eli Manning or Odell Beckham autos that are authenticated by places I’ve never heard of. I try to explain to them that they should but from some reputable company and they look at me like I’m a dork.

That being said if you are investing for long term outside of 20-30 years, don’t it won’t be worth anything by then.

[Brian48]

My son is interested in basketball and baseball, but could care less about collecting cards. He was moderately interested when he was younger, just not any more.

When I was a kid, we didn't have video games, cable TV, internet, mobile devices, social media, and all the other forms of entertainment they have now. Main forms of escapism when the weather wasn't good enough for outdoor activity was comics and sports cards, hence my interest in them today. Due to lack of nostalgic value, I really think the collecting community or hobby will shrink with each generation. I just hope it's still around for when I cash in.

[papaperk]

Congrats on the baby! New life always exciting. Whether they follow in your "collecting foot-steps" or not just enjoy the time. Card collecting can be a tricky way to help them learn their numbers if you build some cheap sets. Remember the smiles because that's what is truly priceless about this hobby.
These days I collect for a future grandchild. The entire collection will be their's, but only after they endure countless hours of "grandpa stories". After that they can do what they want with the collection. Making memories is what it's all about!

[SethMurphy]

I started collecting with my dad back in the 80's, and I'd love to pass this on to my kids. So far my boys (7 & 4) haven't shown much interest other than looking at some base cards here and there but not really showing too much interest in the players or teams on them.

I did purchase a hobby box from the year they were born though to keep and hold until they were old enough to want to open it together. So I have a sealed box of 2010 Bowman Draft, and a sealed box of 2014 Bowman Draft sitting in the house just festering until they are older.

Congrats on the new kid, that beats any 1/1 in your stash. But also don't force it with them, eventually they will find their interest if it fits. My kids do like the movie cards I find, Guardians of the Galaxy sets and so on.

[jpcz]

My son is 7 and recently took to liking cards. I think it's because he generally likes to be doing stuff with me so I have made it a point to open mailers with him there, or have him help me sort out low value sets, etc. I never pushed it on him, but he sees that I like it and therefore he's asked to do stuff with me.

And I have also made it a point to let him handle my expensive cards. He's not stupid, he knows a card with scribble is worth more. Just getting to touch one to him is a blast (for those out there wondering, they are all in BGS/PSA cases).

In addition, I have bought lots of jersey cards and even auto cards and traded them to him for his base cards he pulls from packs. The 2-3 dollar jersey and autos to him are a million each. He loves to touch the jersey and say that hes touching what the player did. He's brought them to school to show off and soon his friends were trading him. He now watches games with me and when he sees someone whos card he has, he has to show me right where it is. His cards are bent, dented, scratched, missing corners, but he absolutely loves them and we still put them in toploaders "just like dads".

The point of all that is you need to let kids be kids with cards and not cringe when you see them put it in their spokes or toss them around the living room. You can teach them valuable ones and special care, but let them touch and feel them, trade them, etc. I dont know if he will continue to like them as he grows up but his passion will likely come and go as mine does.

Side note...there was a post above about value of items in case of sudden death, and spouse/children selling for pennies. Not only have I explained to my wife whats valuable, I have given a list of people I trust that are friends of mine that would help liquidate. Additionally, I keep a spreadsheet with lots of details about the cards (serial numbers, easy ways to differentiate them from each other for non-numbered, etc.) with current values. I update that every so often and date the document so she would at least have an idea that X was worth Y, 6 months ago.

[thenwhatjk]

In all seriousness congrats man! I have two girls, 4 and 2 and they are definitely aware of cards. I got them a box of nature cards from the 90s once and when me and my buddy busted a case, I got her a box of upper deck looney tunes from back in the day. It was a lot of fun teaching her how to open a pack, even though those old foil upper deck packs are tough for a kiddo to open.

I own a bunch of these old Topps Echelon McDonalds All American RPA’s whose major design feature is a big star. Since she was a baby those were the cards I’d give to her to play with if I was doing stuff with my cards, as I had them all in one screw cases that I knew she couldn’t mess up. She’ll only see them once or twice a year these days but she calls them “my stars” and the memory is obviously pretty deeply embedded.

As for actually collecting when they’re older I’m not holding my breath but where we’re at right now is pretty cool

[Longshot18]

- Is your hobby something you've hoped your child would pick up or do you really just see it as your own pastime?
This is more than just advice on collecting, but parenting advice. Let them be their own kid, don't live vicariously through them. If they like art- support that, band- support that, sports- support that. I have 2 kids, a girl and a boy. Girl is about to get married and has humored me with sarcastic interest in my "nerd thing". Son is 20 and got into collecting about 2 years ago. It has been fun to buy our own cases/boxes and do breaks with him, and discuss the hobby as a whole, but overall- I honestly consider it my own pastime that he also enjoys.

- Do you collector with the thought of passing it down someday in mind or not?

I started collecting when I was a kid, and the thought of doing it to pass it down was never a thought. After I had kids I decided if neither was into it that I hoped they would sell it for whatever they wanted. But my son is a collector and we have had a general discussion that some things would go to him, some to her based on interests, etc.

- Do your kids collect too or do they just laugh at you like they do your fashion and taste in music? (says the guy with a ska avatar :flex: )

see above

- Is there anything you've intentionally done to foster their interest in the hobby?

Again this is more general parenting advice than hobby advice. My wife and I decided early on in their youth we would expose them to all sorts of interests, activities, hobbies, etc. So both of our kids were in band, did plays, played sports, did outdoorsy things, went to museums and libraries, etc. We "intentionally" exposed them to a ton of things, then fostered what they showed interest and aptitude with. There are times as parents with kids decisions you do need to guide/force/gently nudge them in a direction, but we felt when it came to their hobbies and activities we would expose them to lots of things, then help them succeed with what they liked later childhood on. The thought of intentionally fostering an interest in something we cared about never came across our minds, although as a byproduct of our love for sports events and my collection I am certain it peaked my sons interest

- Did you do anything hobby related when your child was born?

Yeah, I stopped collecting for about 15 years. Its a wonderful hobby, but it takes time and $. I felt both were better off spent on my kids. During that time, my collection/display cases have been in my man cave and they would ask why I did buy anymore. I never told them it was to spend time and money with them, just said I was happy with what I had. I obviously got back into it when son was 17-18ish (2-3 years ago). My only regret is I missed any chance of a nice Brady back in the day.......but even then, that's not really a regret. Id take the time and money spent on my kids a billion times over



First congrats and RIP sleep....

Second, see red above for my thoughts.

[Samiamryan]

I just bought my son his first card off of eBay. I was excited. It was a cheap card.

Unfortunately, all he wanted was a Packer card.... Puke.

But, being the father I am, ill let him make his own mistakes.

[49erRCCollector]

Last week was the most incredible week of my life. On Tuesday my wife delivered our first child and now we're all back home safe and sound. I could go on and on and one about how incredibly perfect our little boy is and how amazing my wife was through it all, but maybe I'll save that for an Off Topic thread. (I know we've had some other members recently have their first and a few others just days away from it, so congrats to everyone and yes, joining the "Dad Club" is everything you hope it would be.)

Congrats. Being a dad is one of the great joys of my life - my son is 7. You just embarked on one of the great adventures life can offer.

But I'd love to hear from our members who already have kids. Aside from the clector/investor/flipper crowd, how have you, as a genuine collector, approached collecting and parenting?

I keep separate my "collection" from the ones we get together, though I like to share with him the fun of when I get new cards.

- Is your hobby something you've hoped your child would pick up or do you really just see it as your own pastime?

I hope to share, but I understand if he doesn't take it. Parenting, in my opinion, is about letting your kids find their own way.

- Do you collector with the thought of passing it down someday in mind or not?

Maybe I should, but, no, not yet. This is kind of for me still at this point. All Niners, all day, every day.

- Do your kids collect too or do they just laugh at you like they do your fashion and taste in music? (says the guy with a ska avatar :flex: )

Not yet. I'm sure it's coming. But I also recognize he is as aware of int'l soccer stars as much as he is of hometown icons like Kershaw and Kobe, etc.

- Is there anything you've intentionally done to foster their interest in the hobby?

Let him buy packs when we go out - whatever he wants, let him find his joy in it.

- Did you do anything hobby related when your child was born?

Nothing specific, no.

I'm debating whether to go pick up a box from each of the four sports so he can open some product from his birth year at some point in the future. Redemptions and Reward Points make me think twice, but I'm considering different options. For myself, I got into the hobby on my own, but my dad was a huge sports fan and many of my best memories with him are sports-related. So collecting, and specifically collecting some of the players he and I watched the most is something that helps me feel a bit more connected to him since he passed away. I certainly won't force my son into any sports, but it is likely that we'll spend lots of days and nights watching sports and I hope he feels a similar desire to have something in common with me.

My kid is 7 now and just starting to like his own sports and players (Dodgers and somewhat inexplicably, Vikings). I give him all my Vikings base and he enjoys them the way I used to - reading the backs, etc. I think the best way to get him excited is to make it a low-stakes game. If card gets 'bent" Eh. Everything being all hermetically sealed would kill the fun. There's time for that later.

[RogerGodahell]

I wish my dad collected

I feel like I’m the only the only kid who collects cards these days. God forbid anyone in my high school knew I collected cards because I would be picked on non stop haha. All I have to say to the older generation is there isn’t much time left until your cards will be worth nothing because this generation gives zero ****. It drives me up a wall whenever my friends buy Eli Manning or Odell Beckham autos that are authenticated by places I’ve never heard of. I try to explain to them that they should but from some reputable company and they look at me like I’m a dork.

That being said if you are investing for long term outside of 20-30 years, don’t it won’t be worth anything by then.

They wouldn't laugh at you if you told them you had Tom Brady rookie cards worth 10k lol. You could laugh at them and say who's dumb now?

[RogerGodahell]

Congratz Frenzy, i don't have any kids myself. But i still feel like one.

[TheFrenzy]

My PC grew to the point where it would become more of a hindrance, then a help, to my family. I kept what I liked, and I keep my stuff for me. But i sold off a chunk and put most of that in the bank. I couldn't image my wife and kids going throw boxes and bins of cards to try and sell if something happened to me.

This was actually a big motivator for me in shrinking my collection down from about 12,000 to just under 1000 cards. At this point almost everything is either graded or is part of a complete (or nearly complete) set and would be fairly easy to liquidate.

I have started a decent collection of unopened boxes. But I do pay attention to which products I buy and redemptions. For instance I have several 2015 - 16 hockey boxes where McDavid rookies are all live. But I stayed away from a lot of 2016- 17 where Auston Matthews was a redemption. I plan to keep rolling along and buying a handful of boxes a year. I’m not certain on how I’ll present them to him some day.

This is along the lines of what I am thinking. If he or a siblings gets into the hobby, they'll be in for an incredible birthday or Christmas one year. If not, maybe I'll hold to see if a future grandkid is interested. If not then I'd either bust it myself after 40 years or would sell.

The only issue I have with my collection and my kids/wife not being in to it is if I get hit by a bus, they have no idea what is worth anything and could very well give it away for pennies.

I've already got everything put into a nice spreadsheet and my wife has a ballpark idea of what the whole thing is worth. Still, maybe this summer I'll go through and add some price ranges and lot groupings in case the unexpected happens.

I tried to get my daughter to say Thank you Mr. Royal. However, she always said, Thank you Mr. Oriole

That's adorable.

I wish my dad collected

I feel like I’m the only the only kid who collects cards these days.

It'd be nice to hear more from BO's high school and college students. A few years ago I was tutoring at an orphanage and one of the middle schoolers had some baseball cards with him. I asked him about them and he said lots of kids at his school collected. Now, I have no idea how many is "a lot" or whether these kids were regularly getting dumped in trash cans along with their cards. But I do hope that the growth of professional sports means that at least a few kids in each generation will take up the hobby.

These days I collect for a future grandchild. The entire collection will be their's, but only after they endure countless hours of "grandpa stories". After that they can do what they want with the collection. Making memories is what it's all about!

Now I'm still a long long ways from that myself, but I did have a few special connections with my own grandfather. He ended up leaving me his coin collection after he passed because he knew that I enjoyed collecting things and took care of them.

Congrats on the new kid, that beats any 1/1 in your stash.

Funny you say that. We actually announced our pregnancy during our fantasy football draft (it's an all-family/close friends dynasty league) by me walking up to the podium, holding up a picture of the the pregnancy test, and announcing "Baby" as my #1 draft pick.

My son is 7 and recently took to liking cards. I think it's because he generally likes to be doing stuff with me so I have made it a point to open mailers with him there, or have him help me sort out low value sets, etc. I never pushed it on him, but he sees that I like it and therefore he's asked to do stuff with me.

This is my biggest hope. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my dad's lap watching the Cowboys in the '92 Super Bowl. Then, starting with my 16th birthday, he'd always seem to find a way to score tickets for the Texas-OU Red River Shootout. We sat through so many miserable games together, but it was a hell of a bonding experience. He didn't collect, but he was always interested in seeing what I had and giving me ideas for organizing my cards.

Congratz Frenzy, i don't have any kids myself. But i still feel like one.

Don't we all? Except most of us just end up acting like kids. It's always a surreal BO experience when you find out that the guy always posting poop jokes is actually 50+ while the level-headed guy who posts insightful analysis is like 19 or 20.

And thanks! :flex:

[mike1498]

They wouldn't laugh at you if you told them you had Tom Brady rookie cards worth 10k lol. You could laugh at them and say who's dumb now?

Well Tom Brady was a rookie the year I was born so I was a little late to the game haha

[TheFrenzy]

They wouldn't laugh at you if you told them you had Tom Brady rookie cards worth 10k lol. You could laugh at them and say who's dumb now?

Anyone else here ever get the feeling that some members would seriously consider trading a kid for a nice Brady rookie? :eek:

[Longshot18]

Anyone else here ever get the feeling that some members would seriously consider trading a kid for a nice Brady rookie? :eek:

Wife absolutely. Kid, well that's just over the top....:)

[papaperk]

Anyone else here ever get the feeling that some members would seriously consider trading a kid for a nice Brady rookie? :eek:

There are some days I would consider trading my wife for a Michael Egnew rc!
Just kidding?

[TheFrenzy]

Wife absolutely. Kid, well that's just over the top....:)

There are some days I would consider trading my wife for a Michael Egnew rc!
Just kidding?

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/18705423.jpg


:D

[unitasfan]

Wait til you catch them standing on your boxes so they can reach the candy on the counter....thank God for mags

[rittdk01]

I sold my collection to put a down payment on my house. With a wife and kids there isn't anymore "hobby money". So this is growing up?

[nfunk]

Congrats dude!

I have 4 kids and my oldest is turning 7 next week. He's into collecting now.

I think the most important thing is to get your kid(s) involved in sports. If they're going to collect sports card an interest in sports is a must.

When my son was around 5 I bought him an NFL sticker book with a bunch of packs. We worked on the album together and after about a week he could name every NFL team. After the NFL book was completed we bought an NBA sticker book. He started getting into certain teams b/c he thought the logos were cool LOL. He then began to draw the logos, etc.

Now he has a few albums with NBA and NFL cards. He organizes them and loves them. He even trades with his friends.

[SethMurphy]

Congrats dude!

I have 4 kids and my oldest is turning 7 next week. He's into collecting now.

I think the most important thing is to get your kid(s) involved in sports. If they're going to collect sports card an interest in sports is a must.

When my son was around 5 I bought him an NFL sticker book with a bunch of packs. We worked on the album together and after about a week he could name every NFL team. After the NFL book was completed we bought an NBA sticker book. He started getting into certain teams b/c he thought the logos were cool LOL. He then began to draw the logos, etc.

Now he has a few albums with NBA and NFL cards. He organizes them and loves them. He even trades with his friends.

My 4 year old does that with football teams. He tells me he likes the Jaguars or Panthers or some of the other animal teams like that because of their logos or the animal.

The biggest rule we have in our house is no Steelers, no Patriots fans out of the kids. I also won't allow any NFC East teams. GO GIANTS

[ssbledsoe]

I have a couple of kids under the age of 5. My oldest notices the stuff in the basement, but tends to not be too interested at this time. Time will tell if it becomes something he's interested in with me or not.

Living in Indiana, it may be tough to keep my kids interested in my collection (believe it or not, the Pats aren't exactly a popular team here...). My plan, to be completely honest, is to focus more on experiences (going to events - games, signings, etc) with them as opposed to the collection side of things. If they pick up collecting, fine. If they don't, NBD.

Welcome to the dad's club Frenzy. It's a fun club to be in. The first year or 2 (my experience, YMMV) brings a different change/experience every day. Enjoy it.