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AIBU?

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Original poster

To inflict this punishment on my four year old?

44 replies

EscapeFrom · 10/08/2007 12:54

he has covered my entire living room floor with blue wax crayon. SO I made him clean it all up with a babywipre, and made him put the blue crayon in the dustbin..

He has had prior warning about drawing on things - if I catch him drawing on things that are not paper then I make him put the offending medium in the bin

However now I feel really guilty. He is VERY upset.

OP posts:
Original poster
EscapeFrom · 10/08/2007 12:54

forgot to say, when I first found it I had a damn good shout and made him cry

OP posts:
Spagblog · 10/08/2007 12:55

Sounds fair to me...You warned him, he misbehaved, you made good with threat.

TheQueenOfQuotes · 10/08/2007 12:55

nope I would say that's perfectly reasonable. I would have done the same (infact I'd do the same to DS2 who's 3.8yrs).

NadineBaggott · 10/08/2007 12:55

well I'm from the harsh mummy school of parenting and I think you did the right thing. Bet I'm the only one though!

HappyDaddy · 10/08/2007 12:56

DD has to clean up when she's been naughty, as she KNOWS she's being naughty. She's 3.

I would feel guilty if I'd combined it with a shout though, cos I know she'd cry.

It's good that you have a good sense of discipline, though.

NadineBaggott · 10/08/2007 12:56

oh! okay then

haggisaggis · 10/08/2007 12:56

No - that's a fair punishment for a year old - and I've done similar with mine! (although somehow neither of mine have gone in for drawing on walls / floors etc)

Reallytired · 10/08/2007 12:57

Sounds fair but harsh. I think that its a good idea to make the child clean up after themselves.

Still it must be very expensive replacing all those crayons. If it was me I would conficate the offending article and let him have it in a month time.

I suppose it depends how much money you have to throw away on buying new crayons/ pens etc.

TheQueenOfQuotes · 10/08/2007 12:59

you can get crayons really cheap!

yellowvan · 10/08/2007 12:59

Nope, that's restorative justice, I'd have done the same (bit harsh on the binning the blue crayon tho, couldn't it have just gone in "time out" for a few days ). Bet he won't do that again in a hurry!

crokky · 10/08/2007 13:03

Take the crayon out of the bin when he is not looking so you don't have to get a new one

MaureenMLove · 10/08/2007 13:04

I'd have put all the crayons in the bin! He has to learn and I think he probably has! Once you've both calmed down, as long as you explain why you were so cross, he'll be fine. Don't feel guilty. If you give in now, the lesson will be 'it doesn't matter, mum always backs down!'

WanderingTrolley · 10/08/2007 13:05

Appropriate, I think.

Give him a cuddle. you will both feel better.

Do NOT fish crayon out of bin.

Original poster
EscapeFrom · 10/08/2007 13:06

Well, you would be surprised at how much it takes to get through to him that something is JUST NOT ALLOWED EVER. I can't afford to replace stuff like that, but I can't afford to keep decorating either.

I used to just tell him off. It didn't stop.

then I confiscated for 3 days. It didn't stop.

Then a week.

Then a week and I started losing my temper and shouting upon discovery of the newest 'art'.

He does have paper. Plenty of it, and full access to it.

I limit access to crayons to table only but short of frisking him at the end of each session, or every time he walks past the crayons, I can't really stop him wandering off with them.

It's not NORMAL for a 4.4 year old to still be doing this! I adore him but I worry about him going to school! He can be very tiresome when feeling destructive.

OP posts:
Original poster
EscapeFrom · 10/08/2007 13:07

Sorry, the above rant isn't aimed at anyone really, just frustration.

OP posts:
TheQueenOfQuotes · 10/08/2007 13:08

Escape - go to your 99p shop - they usually sell crayons really cheap.......and wait until he needs several new coloured crayons before replacing. He'll cope without green, blue, yellow and red for a while

MaureenMLove · 10/08/2007 13:14

Its completely normal imho! Maybe going to school is exactly what he does need.

ntsmum · 10/08/2007 13:20

hate to tell you this, but my 5yo is still doing stuff like this. He wrote on the wooden floor recently, but was foolish enough to sign his name!

Carbonel · 10/08/2007 13:22

My 6 year old still draws on the walls of her bedroom .....

PS I agree on the punishment and have done exactly the same (you can see how well it worked )

Original poster
EscapeFrom · 10/08/2007 13:23

Laaa laaaa llaaaaaaaa I can't hear youuuuuu

OP posts:
Greensleeves · 10/08/2007 13:32

I am MUCH crueller than you . My 2.11yo climbed onto a chair this morning and stole a fistful of the cake I had made as a treat for today, and then proceeded to distribute it all over the floor in three rooms I had just cleaned. So I threw the whole cake into the bin and then made him pick up all the bits and raisins he had chucked everywhere and bin thsoe as well.

I felt like an evil murderer as soon as I had done it, even though the boys are now laughing about it. Aaaargh!!!

WanderingTrolley · 10/08/2007 13:38

You put CAKE in the BIN????

That is just cruel to cake.

Next time this happens, put the cake in a study box and post it to

WanderingTrolley
Waitrose Car Park
Nowhere Near The Blardy M&T Spaces
I Thank You.

A stamp will not be necessary.
I will pay the postie in crumbs.

Elasticwoman · 10/08/2007 13:39

I don't think the punishment was unreasonable except for the shouting and that was understandable. In an ideal world perhaps you would have remained calm, but I know I couldn't have done it. It would not hurt to give him a cuddle and say sorry for shouting, but emphasise that what he did was still wrong.

TooTicky · 10/08/2007 13:43

GS I have been there. Never binned a cake but have thrown it around the kitchen a bit. Then shamelessly scraped it up and eaten it

PSCMUM · 10/08/2007 13:44

no i think thats totally fine. exemplary in fact - you made him repair the damage he'd done, so he learnt through constructive means how he had done something wrong. I wish I was that reasonable and sensible!