My 2 year old took a magic marker to?

Question

the bedroom wall...my husband was furious that I didnt spank her...she always seems to get into something no matter how high we place it..she got in my purse and got a lip stick out and got it all over his paperwork he left sitting on the kitchen table..she climbs on tables...i am not super experinced being a young mother..help

timeout doesnt workshe always gets up and runs... and when i do put her back she screams bloody murder and kicks the wall

i guess im just to soft...my husband says so..and he wants me to toughen up

exactly my point....now my purse is up on the shelf..all the pens she gets hold of come out of his brief case when he leaves it open while looking at blue prints

shes just very active, she loves to jump on beds and run we live in an apartment and theres no yard so i usually take her tot he park but latley its been to cold,

Answer 1

Tell your husband to be greatful your child has the ability to climb with her legs, and draw with her little hands. Not all children have this luxury. She is a two year old and has plenty of years to learn. I agree with discipline but parenting is a two way street when two parents are involved. Maybe try being more active in play with her. Sit her down with a big book of scrap paper and draw with her on the paper. Insist that the only thing you draw on is paper. If the walls are drawn on again take the crayons and the paper off her, she'll get the drift. Parenting is hard work! Stick at it and I'm sure it'll get easier. Just make sure there are clear boundaries. Children need the word No. Good Luck.

Answer 2

The most important thing is not to give in! If you put her in a time out corner and she gets out of there, Put her right back there no matter how much kicking and screaming she does, If she doesn't stop take way something she looks forward to, whether its her Favorite TV show or playing a game, if she cant sit in where you tell her for that long with out behaving then start taking things away, Its kind of like the Parents in stores, "I'm giving you till the count of 3.......1......2.......3...........4..............5.........................6......." and they do nothing. Kids are not dumb, they know when they can get a way with something and they will exploit it, So stand your ground, and an occasional spanking is not bad, as long as its deserved and moderate. For the people who say you should never spank a child, almost any kid i know my age, 19, that wasn't spanked by there parents at least a few times, has DWI's, does drugs, dropped out of school, Cheats, Steals, all of these things and I'm not just talking about one person, I know of at least 10 kids in my small community who were all "babied" and they are the worst kids. Just some food for thought, violence and Crimes have been escalating since parents have become very soft on their kids. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

2 years old is old enough to understand that what they did is wrong. They understand when you speak to them. But, knowing that you have a daughter that loves to 'color' your husband shouldn't have left his papers out. There is just as much responsibility on the parents to teach and place things in inaccessible places as it is for the child to learn.

Consistency is key when teaching and disciplining. What ever method you choose use it every time. I am not against spanking or timeouts, each child needs a different form of discipline, not all kids learn the same way. If time outs don't work then perhaps a spank on her behind is what will make her understand. But only you know your daughter. I will tell you this though, if you allow her to get away with this behavior now she will always behave poorly. It's up to you to teach her right from wrong.

Answer 4

This is totally normal. All three of my kids went through a stage like this. Here are a couple of things that I have found that has helped:
1) I put all markers and pens in a container and either put it on a top shelf in the kitchen or up high in a closet. It might seem inconvenient, but it makes things like that much harder for her to get.
2) I acutally had to put a lock (with a key) on our bedroom door. I keep all important papers, as well as my purse constantly locked inside. You husband needs to start remembering not to leave anything "important" out where she might possibly might color on it or rip it to shreads. If you have a den, you might want to consider putting a lock on that door if you keep important papers in there as well.
Your daughter will find things that you did not even know that you left out. It is amazing the things that they find sometimes. My youngest son found an old tube of lipstick last weekend and decided that it would look real good on the dishwasher. It just happens. Getting really angry won't help. Just invest in some of those Mr. Clean Magic erasers. When she colors on something, have her help you clean it up with a magic eraser.
If you want to giver her a space to color on, and you are able, you could paint a part of her bedroom wall with Crayola Chalkboard Paint. This would give her a "safe" place to express herself and might help keep her from expressing herself on other walls!
Don't fret. It does get better, eventually.

Answer 5

Keep lots of magic erasers by Mr Clean in the house. I don't know one 2 year old that doesn't mark the walls even if they do get spanked they do it again the next day.
You might think about getting her a play corral and gate the doorways to the rooms you don't want her in.. but a good swat in the diaper area when she destroys important things isn't going to harm her any. She needs to know you mean business when you say, 'no'.

Answer 6

I agree you need to keep things out of reach - but she also needs to learn that just because she can reach something does not mean it's okay for her to touch it. Constant supervision and redirection. If she goes to touch something she's not supposed to you need to tell her no and then redirect her to something she can touch. Get her some of her own washable markers that are hers - that if she wants to draw with you will give her and a piece of paper to use. So the next time she gets into something like that you say no - you cannot have that marker that is daddy's but here you can have your markers lets sit down and color on paper. Children respond to redirection - instead of just saying no you can't do that all the time - folow up with well, here this is something you can do. Hope that helps!

Answer 7

If you cannot constantly supervise her, then you're going to have to properly train her to behave in the way you would want her to as if you WERE watching her.

Once you have taught her how to behave, you have to hold her accountable for that information. If she misbehaves you HAVE to punish her right away, and the same way every time. If she gets a spanking for drawing on the wall, she gets a spanking for drawing on the wall every time. Or time out, or whatever you choose.

Just be consistant.

Answer 8

My three year old did a similar thing and my husband wanted me to spank him too...but I didn't think that would be fair because I never specifically said "don't draw on the walls" (you know we MUST be specific w/these little people)... so I made my son scrub the wall w/one of those magic erasers...of course I had to help, but i think it taught him a valuable lesson and he hasn't done it sense.... I guess what I'm saying is maybe you should teach her the consequences of her actions... you color on the wall, you clean it up, you lose the privilege to color... whatever works for you...Good Luck

Answer 9

All kids go through that stage. My niece is two also. She spits out her food, says Shut up, likes to stay up until 2 in the mornin. Now that she's almost 3 a lot of that has stopped, but i say just discipline, like when she does somethin bad/ somethin shes not supposed to do, just pop her hand or the back of her legs. Then tell her wat she did was wrong, she understands. It's just the Terrible Twos, a few months to her 3rd bday and she should straighten up, but pay more attention to her. Like ask her if she wants to watch t.v. with u, make something together, ask her to help u put her toys away. they like doing things, when they actually think they're helping u.

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Answer 10

well his paper work should not have been left on the table number one. It's your job as parents to keep things of importance put away a two year old can't read.

I wouldn't spank a child for drawing on the wall. you need to put toxic markers in a drawer out of sight. sounds like you need to child proof your house. and make sure the only time she has pencils crayons or markers you have the time to sit down with her.

dad needs to learn to pick up after himself to kids can't get what isn't left out.