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Parenting

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Original poster

Does it upset you when your children break their toys?

15 replies

emkana · 18/02/2006 21:48

Or do you think "Well it's their stuff, so their loss, not my problem"

I can get ridiculously upset if they are careless with their stuff, especially if it's new.

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Pixiefish · 18/02/2006 21:51

yes it does- i've spnt hard earned dosh on it and she's rough with it. I try and get her to respect it even though she's only 2

moondog · 18/02/2006 21:52

Yes
I hate waste of any sort
I often hold back stuff so that it isn't all out in a big jumble at one time.
Lack of respect for possessions drives me insane.

Original poster

emkana · 18/02/2006 21:53

Last night I spent the best part of an evening threading beads onto a string which was the handle of a sparkly bag which we had bought for dd2 only two days before

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sansouci · 18/02/2006 21:54

I don't get upset if it's an accident. Carelessness drives me wild.

moondog · 18/02/2006 21:55

That's just the sort of thing I do emkana.
Have a special toy and book hospital (shelf in my utility room).
Dh is the visiting consultant.

sansouci · 18/02/2006 21:56

Christmas is an exercise in restraint for us. each member of the family takes turns opening one present. I hate the mad jumble of consumption!

mszebra · 18/02/2006 23:18

Depends on the toy, how much it cost me, whether I like it, whether it was carelessness or unforeseeable.

I HATE it more when they lose toys, probably, esp. if I think I could have foreseen the loss. DS lost a glittery soft plastic tiny sea turtle a few weeks ago (fell out of pushchair) and it still pangs to think about it because I could have retrieved it when he fell asleep and I LIKED IT too.

Spidermama · 18/02/2006 23:44

My kids are unbelievably careless and destructive. They seem to have no respect for their things and yet they complain they don't have as much stuff as their friends.

I find it really upsetting. I wasn't like this as a child. Actaully I'm really down about the sheer quantity of stuff they trash, even before it gets properly played with sometimes.

Sansouci we used to do that at christmas when I was a kid. I did it for the first couple of years with my kids but dh doesn't like it. He says it places too much focus on the presents part of the day. Last year was a scrum of consumer frenzy and I think he may come back round to my way.

threelittlebabies · 18/02/2006 23:56

Yes, and am really anal about putting everything away properly. My friend takes the mick out of me, because if she tries to put something away after our kids have been playing I follow her round and put it "where it belongs"!

oops · 19/02/2006 00:05

Message withdrawn

nannyme · 19/02/2006 00:10

Oh I have SUCH a hang up about this. It's not even as though my stressing about it actually prevents the things getting damaged either. Dh is as careless as the children so I am the raving mad woman shrieking at everybody to pick up and put away their things.

Get especially aggravated/upset if:

Item has sentimental value (this week's example is daughter's first teeth to fall out which I was saving and which were in danger of being vaccumed up).

The item was a gift, especially if from a family member.

Item is expensive or especially delicate.

Also hate things getting food on them, so get very irate if toys end up in the kitchen, which the often do for some reason.

I think I am bit freakishly paranoid about all this. Don't say "you don't say!"

chipkid · 19/02/2006 00:44

Hate it!! hate it even more when ds chants "where is ...." every 5 bloody minutes when he doesn't give a damn about putting stuff away!
am really annoyed about disrespect for property

TinyGang · 19/02/2006 01:18

Yes it does upset me if it's carelessness. I don't think my children are very rough on their things though. I also collect bits from things that have got broken and stick/rethread etc .

I hate it when their toys get all jumbled up or lost and get anal about putting the right things back in the right boxes. I know how you feel Ooops; I spend ages trying to track little bits down, but it really bugs me if things go missing. I wish it didn't bother me so much, cos it's a never-ending task really.

I also have difficulties in clearing their toys out - I can get very attached to things like that.

I was always careful with my toys and want them to be too. I remember getting my nephew a car for Christmas some years ago and watched in sadness as he deliberately played so roughly with it got smashed to bits in a couple of hours in front of me. No-one said a thing to him. It was pre-children for me then, so I said nothing, but it did seem a shame. I wouldn't let my own children do that now.

bobbybobbobbingalong · 19/02/2006 01:24

Ds only has a couple of broken toys and one of those was dh!

I think some children are more gentle than others.

sunnydelight · 19/02/2006 10:20

My kids are generally careful with their toys, so very little gets broken. What drives me CRAZY then is when other kids come over and proceed to break stuff. We're lucky now because since we moved we have a playroom, so things that are "special" stay upstairs. If the boys choose to bring their friends up to play in their rooms it's up to them to manage, DD's friends are always kept downstairs in the playroom (she's 3). It means that I don't look like a stressy anal cow (or not too much of one anyway ) and the kids don't get their stuff trashed.

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