They're trashing my house...

So what is up with this? Everytime I tend to one, the other runs off and trashed the house. As I "help" the trasher clean up their mess the other will hit another room. It's never ending! As I was changing Heather diaper this is what Connor did... it took him all of 10 seconds! Is this a 2.5 year old thing or a twin thing? OR BOTH?? LOL :blink:

 

CAn I just say I am SOOO happy you posted this bc now I don't feel like its just me!!! My kids do the exact same thing. I follow them and clean up all day but it seems useless. I keep telling myself that it has to be helping.
Funny enough the other day I was cleaning up the playroom, I do circles behind the babies cleaning up what they play with and my 4 yr old ds was in with us. We made about 2 rounds around the playroom before my ds finally said "mommy you are going behind me and messing up everything I just made", oddly enough I thought it was quite the opposite!!!

 

:laughing: I keep mine out of as many rooms as possible to minimize damage

 

Now I don't feel so bad about not keeping toys in place. I think my boys are worse. We really had to block off most of the rooms for them to walk around, just the whole down stairs. There is a gate on the stairs so they are not allowed to go up freely. The family room is always a disaster after the whole day play. Many nights after I put them down, I am too tired to pick up the toys everywhere. I found out it is easier to put away some toys, and bring them out after a while and they think they are playing with new toys again. And it is easier for me to clean less mess as well.

 

QUOTE(TwinxesMom @ Apr 11 2007, 04:17 PM) [snapback]215468[/snapback]
:laughing: I keep mine out of as many rooms as possible to minimize damage


I try that (I keep them out of the bedrooms mostly) but man, when I cross over that gate you'd think they were being tortured! LOL


QUOTE(DWJJ @ Apr 11 2007, 04:57 PM) [snapback]215524[/snapback]
I found out it is easier to put away some toys, and bring them out after a while and they think they are playing with new toys again. And it is easier for me to clean less mess as well.


Yeah, we rotate our toys (we have 4 sets) and they like that. I guess I need to put more drawer locks on. They are a pain, but they would save me from messes like this. :blush:

So those with older toddlers... do they outgorw this? Will they ever mind me when I tell them to pick things up or not do this or that??

 

So those with older toddlers... do they outgorw this? Will they ever mind me when I tell them to pick things up or not do this or that??
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Depends on their mood :laughing:

Mine can still destroy the house in minutes, but can also clean up all on their own - when they feel like it

 

Not good but totally awesome. I hope I get to experience that seriously. Oh what a joy!

 

I think your kitchen looks pretty normal! Mine are only 16 months, so I don't have quite an expectation yet of them picking up their messes. I don't even exert the energy needed to pick up after them unless they're asleep & can't make it again.

 

Yes, mine can make messes too. I am one of those neat mom's, so messes/clutter make me tense. So we basically have a rule that we stay on one level at a time and clean up that level before we go to the next. The upstairs level still has a gate up, so that keeps them in the LR and their bedroom (doors to our bedroom/bathroom remain shut with childproof knobs). The downstairs has the family room and playroom, but I can't keep them on that level to well - they offen wander to the main level (kitchen/dining room/laundry room). When I get stressed, they get hearded upstairs and get gated in!!

Also, I rotate toys often. I only have one laundry basket of smaller toys in the LR plus a few bigger toys (vacuums/train table) to play with at a time. They get board so quickly, and part of their fun is taking the toys out and messing everything up. So if they/I don't clean up, they have nothing to take out and make a mess with - which seems to be their version of "playing". Our bedroom walk in closet is half full of bins of toys that I bring out one at a time to play with, this works well (ie. a bin with legos, a bit with dress up clothes, a bin with little people, a bin with dinosaurs, ect). It is trying isn't it???

 

Looks like home to me.
I know I try and allow them to blow up there toy in one room only. So when we walk we don't break our necks. Just teach them to have fun cleaning it up. Barney clean up song helped us. Doesn't always work but I know it helped the sanity. DOUBLE THE MESS! :huh:

 

Someone asked awhile back will they ever listen to me and the answer is yes and no. Liam and Bridget turned 4 last month and while I think they're at an age to understand what I'm asking them to do, they don't always do it. I figure my job is to set boundaries and their job is to test them. And there are days I swear they're ucommunicating silently trying to drive me crazy. One will go on a tear and then just as they're running out of steam the other starts.

My kids basically have one room (with a laminate floor in case of spills) and I don't stress very much over whether the toys in that room get put away or not. I usually try to keep things light at first to get them to p/u their toys, but at they're age, I am using positive discipline (we do alot of counting in our house and time-outs in our house). And since the actual number of time outs seems to be going down, I think it's working.

 

Can someone call Joe and please tell him that it's not just me that this happens to. He wants to know why the house is always trashed, if I say I've been cleaning all day.

 

Oh yeah, that looks very familiar! My house any given day!

 

QUOTE(kathylandb @ Apr 13 2007, 12:53 PM) [snapback]218587[/snapback]
Someone asked awhile back will they ever listen to me and the answer is yes and no.


That was me... I think that's part of what make messes like this one so frustrating. They do it even though I tell them not to. Or they are in the middle of making a mess and I tell them to stop and they look at me, giggle, and keep right on going! Makes me crazy! :crazy: LOL

 

Rebecca!!! That's mine exactly!!! The eggs are a different color, but the scene is EXACT!!!! I finally threw the darn things away while they napped one day. They are none the wiser!!

Welcome to NORMAL!!! Looks like a =@ went off around here right now!!!

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Apr 13 2007, 03:54 PM) [snapback]218945[/snapback]
Rebecca!!! That's mine exactly!!! The eggs are a different color, but the scene is EXACT!!!! I finally threw the darn things away while they napped one day. They are none the wiser!!

Welcome to NORMAL!!! Looks like a =@ went off around here right now!!!


:rofl: I think it's getting worse as they get older! I guess it's just a normal 2 year old thing, but they have the advantage as they out-number me... one distracts while the other destroys! LOL

 

I so feel your pain. I don't know what to tell you. My older boys just add to the madness!

 

My oldest was like that when I had my daughter. He was two when she was born. I remember everytime I would sit down to nurse her I would hear him start emptying cupboards and closets!

 

:rotflmbo:

I LOVE your pictures!