What can I do when my son dumps my face lotion and astringent on the carpet?

Question

This is like the 20th things he has broken or dumped something this week. And yes I watch him constantly but I also have a little 5 month old I also have to take care of and he is VERY Hyper! I am SO sick of him destroying everything. Does this happen to you? what do you do? How do you feel better? Thanks.

Answer 1

I can feel your pain with the older child getting into things while you're attending to the baby. Been there! I have found keeping doors closed that are off limits and using a plastic childproofing doorknob that easily attaches over the existing knob helps keep the older one where you want him. I use these on the inside of my kids' rooms so when I want them to stay in their rooms for time-out, nap or bedtime, that they can't get out until I say so.

I would also suggest little baskets with toys, books and stickers to be placed throughout the house so you can steer him toward appropriate things while you are busy multi-tasking. If age appropriate, keep a spray bottle with only water in it for him to use to "help" clean up his messes so he has some responsibility in taking care of the mess.

My favorite parenting book that deals with this age is Love and Logic Magic for 0-6 by Jim Fay. It is an easy read and is most likely available at your local library or its network. The website is www.loveandlogic.com. Definitely a great resource. I am reading 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan and it's worth checking out. Both authors have books on CD, DVDs and books. Check them out in your "spare" time!

Continue to be vigilent in keeping off-limits stuff out of reach when possible. I sure hope your cleaning products are stored up and out of reach. If he has managed to get into the fridge, it is my experience that raw egg is extremely difficult to clean up. There is a fridge latch that easily adheres to most surfaces.

This too shall pass.

Answer 2

I'm right with housebug2 here. How old is your son? If he's three or older he should understand by now that there's a difference between playing and destroying stuff.
1 - Lock doors, and put messy or fragile stuff out of reach as far as as possible. Just avoids the problem altogether.
2 - Require that he clean up his own messes. If he's spread stuff all over the floor, you really need to make him clean it up himself. I know that's going to suck with a young baby to watch too, but stick with it. It's not your job to clean up deliberate destruction.
3 - Notice when he's NOT doing terrible things and praise his good behaviour - an important and under-rated tactic.
4 - Get him involved as much as possible in helping you care for the baby.
5 - If you are giving him pocket money, require him to pay for the broken or spilt things from his own money. They don't like that. He's continuing to do this because a) it gets him the attention he wants and b) because it's not costing him anything. It costs YOU time, money and stress to clean up, but so far it's not costing him anything - he's only gaining from it, because you have to pay attention to him. So make it cost, and try to keep him busy with non-destructive things, and be as persistent as you can.
Tactics 2 and 5 will probably only work if he's three or older, by the way.

Answer 3

I am right there with you sister, except my daughter (2 1/2) is in LOVE with soaps and lotions. I also have an 8 month old son.
I haven't found any tactic that works as of yet other than taking the stuff away and hiding it somewhere they can't reach. This is a HUGE inconvenience, but I would rather take the time to go get what I need than take the time to clean it up or sit there for four hours while she tries to clean it up and then have to go behind her and clean it up.
I wish you all the best and if you find something that works, please let me know.

Answer 4

it is no longer about regulations - it is about lives! the advice from protection experts and the yankee Academy of Pediatrics is to rearface (RF) to the bounds of the seat it is 30-35lbs on all seats bought interior the U. S.. my personal daughter rode RF until eventually she became 2 years, 9 months and she or he were given very on the threshold of the 33 lb weight reduce on her Britax Marathons. I grew to grow to be her lower back RF at 3 years because she lost some weight. She complained the entire time she became FF about having nowhere to positioned her ft. She loves RF. I have lined quite a few hyperlinks with tremendous pictures and videos of what occurs to little ones’s necks even as they're FF in a crash. maximum all and sundry is in touch about their youngster's legs being scrunched or damaged in a crash. there is fairly no data that shows a baby's legs are in chance and that i ought to a lot quite manage a damaged leg, than a damaged neck.

Answer 5

I would not recommend only putting things up. He needs to learn at some point to respect property. However, I do understand your frustration! If it is hyperness ( verses disobedience out of jealousy) that he has, you can make it a special point to help get some energy out of him. If it is cold outside, make an action game for him indoors. With my son , I blow bubbles and he chases them to pop them before they land on the floor. I also have him stomp on any thing that needs recycling.

Answer 6

you have some very good answers here -
I just wanted to add that he could be expressing some jealousy. My son was very jealous when his little sister came along, and he took it out on his mother, not her, thank goodness.
Give him frequent reassurance of how you love both of your children equally, and tell him about when he was a little baby how much time you needed to spend caring for him, just like his sibling gets now. Talk to him a lot about how loved and special he is, and you may find the destructive behaviour slowing down.
When he is bad, tell him his behaviour is bad, but he is not bad boy. Tell him he is a good boy, but his destructive behaviour is hurtful and has to stop.
My son's teacher pointed out to distinguish between the boy and his behaviour, and it worked for us. He still felt loved, but was affected that I was disappointed in what he did.

Answer 7

little boys need a lot patience and love because they are famous for destroying certain personal articles that you value the most. may I recommend that you lock any and all valuables (like gifts from your mother, father, personal writtings and/or pictures when you were young) in a safe place and put the fine plates under lock and key so that he can't open it at all.

I hope my response was useful and it merits the 10 points and some lovelt comments to tag along with it.

Answer 8

If after trying all the preventatives, it happens again, make him clean it up. This may entail getting the paper towel/washcloth/towel etc, putting it in his hand and holding his hand while cleaning. But if he starts to recognize that every time he makes a mess, he has to clean it up, it may help curb the outbursts. At the very least, it will teach him responsibility for his behavior.

Answer 9

Keep everything up high, higher than he can climb if he's sneaky enough to move a chair over to reach something. You can use one of those hook and eye locks that you screw in to the door frame to keep them from opening things.

I know what you're going through, except my son has found the scissors, opened apple juice, and toilet paper. It's a never-ending battle.

Answer 10

well clean it up tell him no, keep things were he cannot reach, then bundle up the baby, get him dressed and take him outside for a walk and let him play, the more time he spends outside the less time you will spend cleaning up messes and he will sleep better too so will the baby, he will eat better, he will be all around happier and so will you