Repo Mom?

The other day, the kiddo came home with a cute folding hair brush. She said that one of her friends gave it to her, and she loves it because it is pink. (I've already written about her aversion to letting a comb or brush anywhere near her hair, so the irony shouldn't be lost on you.) The kiddo herself has given plenty of her own possessions to her friends, things like stickers, jewelry that she has made, and drawings. Some of that stuff--well, I'm happy to see it go. But I got to thinking, what if she gives away something that has real value? She has received nice jewelry from me, her grandmother, her buddy, and my friends--not valuable, but nicer than the gazillions of pieces she makes from one of her kits. Then there are things that I have given her that used to be mine (a Snoopy necklace, a stuffed bunny...). Some of these things are absolutely not allowed to be given away. I'd be pretty steamed if they were even inadvertently misplaced.

So, what would I do if the kiddo did give away something she shouldn't? The first step would be to have her to tell her friend that she made a mistake and shouldn't have given the item away. The second step would be to ask for it back. But...what if the other child didn't want to give it back? Or had given it away or misplaced it? Hopefully, a true friend of my kiddo's would give something back if she asked. Or if I got really mad and asked. Otherwise, I would have to talk to the parent, and this is where I might have a problem. I'd be afraid of being too wishy-washy and come off way too mean and pushy. Kind of like this:

And if that didn't work, I'd have to do this:



So, in the interest of keeping my cool, I need to make sure that the kiddo knows what she is absolutely not allowed to give away. She seems to understand, so I'm hoping I won't have to do this: