For the Child Who Keeps the Broken Ones

Four lines you can say out loud tonight. Word for word. Free to save.

What to say

1. Broken toys leave the room today. Nothing goes in the bin without you seeing it.

2. Letting go of a toy that still has a story is genuinely hard.

3. We make a keep box and a broken box, and the broken box waits in the hall until Saturday.

4. You decide what counts as broken. I only carry the box.

When to use it

This is for the moment it actually goes wrong — not the calm version you rehearse in the car. Pick one line. Say it once. Then stop talking and wait three seconds. If they push back, repeat the same line, not a new one. Say the same thing for five nights before you decide it doesn't work.