My 4-year-old broke 4 TVs in one month... What should I do?

[LunaDream0]

Hi all,

I'm feeling a bit frustrated and overwhelmed at the moment, and I hope someone can offer some advice or support. My 4-year-old son has somehow managed to break four TVs in the last month! I’m not even sure how it’s happening, but each time I turn around, there’s a new screen crack or malfunction. It’s honestly starting to feel like we’re living in a nightmare!

I know kids can be rough on things, but I’ve never had this happen before, and it’s really making me question if I need to be doing something differently. Should I be more proactive in teaching him how to treat electronics? Or maybe I need to find a way to limit his access to the TV altogether?

Has anyone else dealt with something similar? How do you handle a situation like this without completely losing your mind?

Any tips or reassuring words would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Teach your child not to touch the tv and supervise him!

I wouldn't get another one. Get a projector - much smaller and less of a visual prompt to want to watch things. We have one and we don't get that feeling of "well, it's there so we might as well have it on" - it goes on for a specific purpose then off again.

Tvs r expensive how on earth do u afford 4 in a month
How does a 4 yr old break 4 tvs in a month
Does the child know tvs r not toys

A four year old is too young to learn that way.

A four year old is too young to really blame. If they can break 4 TVs without a parent knowing how they need better supervision. You can only address the behaviour that causes it - don't throw toys or don't hit the TV, if you don't know what is causing it is hard to address.

Tell the child that Santa does not come to those who are so naughty.
Then stick to it

My autistic son used to break tvs too. We got a screen protector thing for it. It’s just a thick plastic thing that goes over the tv. He doesn’t do it anymore, thankfully.

It's baffling why OP isn't answering simple questions like ''HOW'' did they break?

If it's wanton destruction {hitting} it's very different to knocking them over {but common sense would surely be to fix the TV high up on the wall.

My son broke a few victorian windows {Brittle old glass} in his childhood playing with a tennis ball indoors with dogs- but this was accidental. Modern glasses much stronger.

I really hate threads like this. Throw in a vague, sensational statement then give equally vague one line answers to very valid questions or don't answer them at all. It should be obvious what information is needed to help more with this situation so if OP is genuine she should be making more effort to have a ln actual discussion otherwise it's like trying to get blood out of a stone. Right now it kindof feels like it's the 4 year old posting...

Our cat broke our TV recently, chasing a fly. We didn't realise until we turned it on and there was a big crack with a pawprint next to it. I was slightly astonished how easily the screen had been damaged. It's entirely possible the OP doesn't actually know how the TVs were broken - if not for the telltale paw, we'd have had no idea.

Nothing for Christmas isn’t appropriate. But some form of consequence should be… and that was?

It's baffling why OP isn't answering simple questions like ''HOW'' did they break?

Possibly the OP doesn't know, as they weren't in the room at the time I reckon.

Get a screen protector. Then work on figuring out what he's happening.

Modern TVs don’t stand up to much. <bitter experience> DS broke two in the first few months of lockdown when he was 5. I can’t remember the second one, but the first was because he threw a plastic cup at the bad guy on the screen. If you’d done that with an old solid glass screen one it would have lived to fight another day. We called him “DS two TVs” for a while, which really wound him up. He hasn’t done it since.

But how often is her 4 year old just left alone that he has been able to whack and break 4 TVs without ever being seen?

If she doesn’t know then it’s due to really bad parenting because the child is unsupervised so much of the time. You don’t need to supervise your cat, so you wouldn’t be looking out for the cat to see that happening. You do need to supervise a child, especially after the 2nd time it happened! She should know and be able to answer the question.

He’s broken 4 tv’s in a month??? How?

This is ridiculous, parent your child.

How are they being broken?

If you don't know how it has happened 4 times you are not supervising your 4 year old well enough.

It's clearly written by Chat GPT.

Get a wall projector. And supervise him more closely.

@LunaDream0 have the tv in your room
. none in the sitting room .
Loads of stuff for 4 year olds to do other than in front of a screen.

Does he attend nursery. ?
Foes he play outside ?
Draw. Paint. Read. Games ?

Oooh. It’s 60% (likely) ChatGPT written or OP could be autistic as a lot of autistic people’s writing is flagged as a high percentage ChatGPT.

You gould put a fire guard round it, like the ones we had in the 80s.

https://www.diy.com/departments/homcom-fireguard-fire-safe-guard-extending-fireplace-wire-mesh-screen-cover/5060265998301_BQ.prd

Make sure he has no TV for a month and explain its because he broke it. If he doesn’t feel the pain of his actions he’ll keep doing it, there have to be consequences to this kind of behaviour or he’ll never learn. He’s 4, he’s old enough to understand that if he breaks another TV that’s the end… no more TV because mummy doesn’t have the money to buy one. It’s your call, discipline him.

It can actually be done really quickly. I'm sure everyone on Mumsnet either follows a 4 year old round the house constantly, or pulls them about the home on reigns to make sure they can't be accused of not supervising properly.

But....my son broke our TV and it was done incredibly quickly. I was in the next room and had only popped in there briefly. He had picked up a piece of den building kit with one of those balls on it, basically found himself a small home made mace and walked over to the TV and popped the screen and it broke in an instant. He got a good telling off, of course.

We just made them watch the tele with a massive crack in it, but after a while it completely died. We had no TV for a few days and finally replaced it. Made sure the den building kit was out of reach too.

We haven't had another mishap since. I think OPs son has obviously found a way to make tele go pop and for some reason can't fight the urge to do it. OP you don't say if these are replacement TVs he is breaking or multiple units that he has broke but I simply would let him live with the consequences for a while until you think he gets it.