She will just walk around the house, picking up toys that happen to strike her fancy, and pile them on one particular couch in our living room. If anyone tries to touch or move those toys, she has a complete meltdown. She isn't even actively playing with the toys, she just has to have them in a certain place, a certain way. And it is only after asking her numerous times that she will take the toys off the couch and put them back where they belong. I was wondering if this behavior is normal for her age and how we can peacefully end it. It is particularly frustrating when we have company over and she doesn't "allow" anyone to sit on "her couch."
2006-12-08 05:48:35 · 5 answers · asked by K-Mom 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
I'm pretty sure it's normal. Even if she isn't playing with them, she's still is actually "playing". Maybe she's pretending that pile of toys is a mountain or maybe she's saving the toys from the monsters on the floor. You never know with 3 yr. olds--they have a wild imagination at that age.
Maybe you could get her a small couch and make that "her couch". They make child-sized furniture and I've seen some really cute little couches and chairs at Toys R Us.
Also, if a majority of her toys are in the living room, maybe move them to her room instead. That way, she'll put them on her bed or somewhere else instead of on the couch. Maybe even make her a playroom so she knows "this is the room for my toys...not the living room, not the kitchen, THIS room is the toyroom".
2006-12-08 05:54:57 · answer #1 · answered by CelebrateMeHome 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
That is funny, annoying to you probably. She is in a way playing by making the pile, but you do need to let her know that it is not her couch. The tantrum is normal, my son does the same when you move a toy. When she starts the pile on the couch take them off and tell her that we don't put toys on the furniture, this may be hard for a while depending on how long the action has been going on.
2006-12-08 05:52:20 · answer #2 · answered by The Invisible Woman 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That's funny. I babysit ( week days, 7am -7pm ) for a 3 year old and her brother and two older sisters, she does the same thing. I think it is her way of saying that the toys are hers. Even when they are not. We have compromised the placement of the bunch of toys and came up with a chair in the corner. I will often find her there with a book "reading to her babies".
Try to find a different spot, just for her. If she want to "gather" let her.
2006-12-08 05:57:43 · answer #3 · answered by Shawn 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because she's flexing her power and it's working-- she has you trained to ask her numerous times before she decides to listen. Who's in charge? She is. Who runs the household? She does. YOu say "no toys on the furniture" and let her throw a fit until she learns you mean it.
2006-12-08 05:58:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
That's cute! I'd say she does that because she's three!
2006-12-08 06:44:00 · answer #5 · answered by memichelle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋