Frustration
In my effort to be more “dooce”[aka open and honest about everything] on this website, I’m going to try to write about this.
I don’t know what to do with Honor. Jim puts it best, “Honor is good at what he does.” Seriously, the child is a professional destroyer. I just can’t keep up with him. He goes from one thing to the next destroying as he goes. I just don’t know what to do with him. I feel that some changes need to be made around here, but I don’t know what to change. Or maybe how to change? I need to figure out a way to keep him contained. Or at least keep the mess contained. I just don’t see any options. He is lucky that he is so stinking cute, sometimes you can’t help but laugh at the guy as he’s sitting in the middle of a sopping wet toilet water mess. I love the kid, I really do, but I think I’m about to lose it.
Category: parenting struggles 6 comments »
January 11th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
You are not alone! I’m right there with you. I searched my archive to find this post I wrote a while back. I’m going to cut and paste it here
I hate to do it, but I will be resorting to using the baby cage (I mean play yard) on a more regular basis. As I am insanely sick of following the Myles around from room to room, closing every drawer as he opens it, and trying to put everything back into the drawers as fast as he takes it out. He is all over and climbing on everything, and pulling everything off the shelves, and grabbing everything, and putting everything in his mouth. It’s making me crazy! He is so incredibly sweet and adorable but come on already stop with the ADD.
Last month I was at the end of my rope. All I seemed to talk or write about was how crazy Myles was making me and how he was destroying my house. I must have wrote about it in my blog at least 3-5 x. That was just a small bit I found, to help remind you it is partially the age and I guess in part maybe more of a boy thing? It’s been getting a little better over here lately, so hopefully you will soon find the same to be true on your end.
good luck-
:) Kelly
January 12th, 2005 at 9:35 am
Oh, my, the things I have to look forward to! How old is Honor now? (Read: how much longer do I have before this starts for me?)
You could always hire him out to a local construction company. He could be their lead demolition man.
January 12th, 2005 at 10:30 am
I don’t know what to tell you except that I’ve been there and it gets better. Looking back I seem to have blocked out some of the toddler years (I had 3 kids in 3 1/2 years) and came close to losing it, maybe did lose it, many times. Just know that others are there with you.
January 12th, 2005 at 10:58 am
I think some kids are just more precocious than others. My friend’s son used to drive her UP THE WALL with his antics. If it makes you feel any better it was a phase that he has (thankfully) grown out of… maybe Captain Destructo will mellow out a bit as he gets older?
January 12th, 2005 at 12:10 pm
You know, I don’t think that there is a thing wrong with putting your child “away” for a couple of hours a day. Not to say you should lock him in the closet or anything, but maybe in a child=proofed room with a baby gate at the door? I did that with my twins and it worked quite well…I could see and hear and talk to them, they could see me, they had toys and they were safe, and I could fix dinner or pick up toys or mop the floor without worrying that they were doing something dangerous or destructive. A half hour here and there throughout the day isn’t going to hurt Honor one bit, and it might make you a little less frustrated.
January 19th, 2005 at 10:03 am
Please forgive the unsolicited-advice-tone of this comment…
but…GIRL – do you know that they make these fantastic plastic thing-a-ma-bobs for the household with the more-than-just-a-little-curious-toddler-types? I swear it’s true. You can get them at Target or (god forbid you might shop there so forgive me for mentioning it) Wal-Mart. Yes – there are thingies that keep kids from getting into cabinets and drawers, toilets, even refrigerator doors. And, the real kicker is – THEY WORK. Not even the most determined child can foil the things. Honest – they just don’t possess the strength and size to work around them – that’s called good product design. Anyway – I highly recommend picking up some of these “babyproofing” type products at your local mega-store – because there is nothing more valuable than your own sanity – isn’t it worth a few bucks? I like to let my kids roam free through the house – and my house is by no means 100% baby-proofed – but I have invested in some plastic gadgets that make my life a LOT easier. For the bathrooms, rather than those annoying toilet seat locks (which work, but dang – if you have to pee really bad when it comes time for YOU to unlock the toilet lid – I defy you to open that sucker quickly) – anyway – keep the door closed and use one of those kid-proof doorknob covers – those work!
Good luck with Honor. I have a 5-year-old who STILL has not outgrown her destructive phase. When she was 12 months old I called her “Babyzilla” because she LOVED to stomp and destroy – it was her forte. Still is.