How do you teach your children to take care of things? I am getting fed up with my son breaking/ripping/pulling something to the point where it has to be thrown away or a tradesperson has to come in to fix it! I have just been up to my son after hearing him banging around in his room. He had pulled up all of the beading around the edges of the laminate in his room.
Obviously I told him off but today I have thrown away four toys (including my daughter's Christmas present) which he has broken. He is three and a half. I am sure he knows he shouldn't do it, so why does he? Will there be a day when he stops wrecking the place? I don't quite know what to do. It is frustrating and we can't afford to replace the toys, or get someone to come and put the beading back down again. My daughter really loved the toy which is now broken.
Part of me wonders if he is getting used to toys being sent to us to review and therefore just thinks that they are never ending. I hasten to add that we probably only get one new toy a month. Still though, it is more than we ever got before.
So, how do you teach young children to treat things gently and with respect? Or am I expecting too much of him? Is it because he is a boy? I don't remember being rough with my toys when I was younger. This new house is nice and I really don't want him to wreck it. Partly because we can't afford to fix it and partly because I just want to be able to trust him with our things.
What do you do with your children? Are they well behaved or do they break everything?
