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What To Do When Kids Start Destroying Property
There is quite a difference between imaginative play and destructive play, the only thing is, preschoolers toddlers and kinder children don’t come equipped with boundaries pre programmed so they don’t know where the line is drawn until we teach them and they understand fully. The best time to do this is before the first birthday. Teach and show your child what he can and can’t drag through the mud or the paper he can rip into confetti, and not the expensive encyclopedia collection handed down from generations. The last thing you want is your budding artist drawing a new screen saver with the inkpad he found in your desk draw while sorting your files. We need to teach our children that we look after our belongings and proud to keep in an orderly fashion, this will eventually teach your children the same, praise how neatly he has kept his toy box, how much nicer it looks, and how much easier it is to find what he is looking for. Teaching your child to care about his own things will also help him learn to respect his own surroundings and others. It may take a little time as it’s not an over night cure but it is a start, and the sooner the better results. Preventing The Problems: Provide Tough Toys You must admit, when you were young you wanted to take toys apart and reassemble them, even though they were not meant for this type of play. If that is the sort of nature your child exhibits then there are particular toys you can get that are built for this, to keep your child interested, toys that can be stacked up, knocked down, pulled to bits and rebuilt, toys that don’t do nothing to activate your child’s imagination, the way activity toys do. Plenty Of Wear And Tear: We must expect the wear and tear in the clothes our children play in, as they crawl in the dirt mud and grass, making mud pies run through puddles and other messy games, not to mention climbing the trees and ripping there clothes. Therefore it pays to have out side gear ready when they are, this will prevent every pair of pants or jumper having a hole or a stain you have trouble removing, and less pressure on you both for you will be organized for their out side adventures. Be Specific With the Rules About Caring For Things and surroundings: Children don’t automatically know if they are playing with some item of value or something cheap, or how everything is suppose to be played with accordingly. So the best thing we can do is teach them, or show them. Pencils and crayons are used in coloring books and for drawing on paper, not on walls or their older brother or sister’s schoolbooks. Have them understand by telling them, “you will only get your pencils, paints or crayons if you can use them in the right way.” Same goes if they want to cut out pictures let them know you are happy to have them cut out pictures, but just not out of anything they want. Tell them you “would like to help them by finding an old magazine or paper they cut out of.” Gentle Reminders About Caring: To help minimize the destruction level of things around the house, a little praise goes a long way and quite rewarding to your child, telling your child when he’s doing a good job taking care of his things and others helps him feel good about his behavior and himself as well as feeling proud of his possessions. Solving The Problem: The
Do’s… Say for example, your son has just done a little redecorating on the wall in his bed room, tell him he must now must clean the mess off the wall, but, not only does he have to clean up his own mess, he now can clean the other walls as well. The over correcting not only teaches your child to fix any wrong doing it also teaches him to have respect for his surroundings, and to be proud. Reprimands For The Under 2’s… If your child has not yet reached two years old, the best way to handle to little one is a stern but brief warning, telling him what he did wrong, what he should have done and why it was wrong, to help him get the idea of what’s right and what’s wrong. Time Out… If your child continues to repeat his actions, Time Out, would be recommended after of course setting your child straight about his actions. The Don’ts …. If your children break something or tear up your important paper work, there is absolutely no sense in you throwing a tantrum. That only displays to your children that if someone breaks something that belongs to them that they can do the same. Just have your children understand the disappointment you feel in their behavior for the lack of respect for destroying others property. There is also no need to march them in front of the firing squad. Have the punishment fit the crime and don’t just “fly off the handle” in anger for the small genuine accidents.
Article contributed by Theresea Hughes,creator of http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com a site dedicated to providing parenting resource articles for toddlers activity & child discipline with positive parenting tips, free kids games, recipes, arts & crafts, including articles about potty training, temper tantrums, kids sleep problems, parent tips for fussy eaters, including free child development toddlers activity and toddlers discipline parenting resources.
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