Redirecting a 2yo who likes to take apart/break/destroy toys?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

DS is 2 and constantly taking things apart. This week it was the little support pieces that are screwed into their toy kitchen that holds up a shelf in it. He somehow got the screw out, I found them and the brackets on the floor in the midst of the play food and dishes. In the past he has discovered that certain toys make marks on the walls and made murals for me. Another current favorite activity is to take all of the arms, legs and heads off of his older brother's Star Wars figures. I just find heads lined up on a windowsill, and piles of arms, legs and bodies. All sorted. I know he isn't doing these things as an intentional act of destruction, he is just figuring out how things are put together and what they do.

I would love some suggestions for positive activities, toys, and things for him to do that will satisfy his curiosity.

[NannyMcPhee]

Sorry doll. At that age there isn't much you can do, except keep the toys you don't want pulled apart up high somewhere. On a positive note, maybe he'll grow up to be an engineer ;)

It really isn't deliberate destruction either. Its completely age appropriate and he is actually learning from it.

Maybe you can set him up with lots of blocks or newspapers he can rip up, legos he can take apart, art space where he can play with paints and stuff with his hands and feet, playdough (easily made at home) he can stick in things and use cutters with, stuff like that :)

[Wachee]

I agree with having some stuff he can destroy but on the spot redirection can be done as well. If you were there with the kitchen set and he starts taking it apart, let him start for a second then put your hand on his and tell him, no, that is not the way we play with the kitchen set, we do this and show him a different action he can do with it. or if there is certain actions he likes to do - such as unscrewing - when he goes to do it with the kitchen set say no, we don't do that with the kitchen set we do that with the board and screw and bring out a toy screw set or a real one if you can find one that is appropriate for him to play/ work with.

I do agree a certain amount of destruction is going to happen with a two year old but if he is smart enough to figure out how to unscrew the shelf from the kitchen play set you are going to have to teach him more often and in more ways appropriate times and places for the destruction/play than you would for a kid who just plays.

[nathansmum]

Yep, I gave my son paper to tear up at that age. He was just so busy with how everything worked/unpacked/opened/closed. THere were things that I just let go on (unstacking my bookshelves, all his clothing drawers, unfolding all the diapers (not so much joy for me!)), but I redirected as needed.

Are there construction type toys that you could redirect him to? Building blocks, wooden train tracks that are not limited to single-track use (my son eventually moved on to balancing his wooden train tracks on top of the wooden blocks, so he elevated the entire system at graduating levels which took a lot of patience and determination). He's still very much that way at almost 8 (without the impulse now though).

Less toys too - if he's a dumper for the sake of dumping, reduce the amount of toys to be dumped. I also found things available for tossing into a large basket (balls, scrunched up paper, homemade rice bags). Could you get him his own lego people to pull apart? I also used to find our play kitched upside down being deconstructed more than it was beign used as a kitchen lol.

Also, you may find the "perfect" activity/idea one week and he will move beyond it the next week. In true style, once they've satisfied their need to learn/figure out of one thing, he'll possibly never play with it again in the same way lol.

Was so different to my DD who was not this way minded at all. 

Good luck! It's frustrating dealing with it in the moment, but I really love the creative ideas my ds comes up with. He's now moved onto unscrewing an old video player, fixing dd's electronic toys that need batteries replacing (screw ones), constructs with his tools as he wants, figured out on his own how to make a pulley system with a bit of string and something weighted on the end.

From around age 3 you may want to investigate getting a little tool kit for him (real stuff, just lightweight enough to use), and have times when you can do that together (you can use plastic milk lids, bottles etc as well as small nails and soft wood).

[LynnS6]

I'm thinking if he already has access to his brother's legos and hasn't choked on them, he might be able to do a take-apart toy:

Toolbench (this is actually rated for under 3)

EZ build and play

Take apart airplane

You could also think about setting sorting toys for him -- sorting and filling are huge things for this age, and it sounds like he's driven to do that.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I'll come back and read more in depth later, but at a glance I'm reading some great ideas. Thanks!

He does love lego and begs to use the tiny ones instead of his duplo, but that only happens when DH or I are playing with them. And paper, oh the paper. He will carry around small pieces of it all day. He likes to fold it all up. In fact, we have to keep watch on my older DS's baseball/hockey cards because if the 2yo gets his hands on them you can count on them being folded into a small wad within moments.

He is reminding me of my brothers at this age. My middle brother at 2 or 3 went out to play in the garage, came back in to get a different screwdriver, went back out. My mom went out to check on him (he said he was "working on his bike") and he had taken the headlights off her car. My youngest brother was constantly taking things apart, building contraptions with anything he could find, and if the scissors and tape were missing you could always find it in his room. He is graduating this year as an electrical engineer. Both can fix cars and are very handy, as is my dad. So maybe he got those genes! My older DS has never been anything like this. I feel like I just need new ideas for encouraging his interests. Having said that about my brothers, maybe I'll call my mom and ask her advice as well. She has certainly been through this. Twice!

[crunchy_mommy]

My DS is like this but it doesn't really bother me... We don't really have any toys you can take apart though (well, except a few that are meant to come apart) because he doesn't really like toys... he takes apart other things like DH's flashlight or the remote to the CD player. The toys we do have are mostly puzzle toys, and he has 2 tool sets (1 has a work bench and building elements that screw together), which get a lot of use, as well as his own real tools (though he can only use those with close supervision). He is not interested in things like blocks or legos, he really wants REAL things to explore, so we just kind of go with it (and keep certain things out of his reach!). Other things he likes are scissors & glue (though he is often more interested in trying to take apart the gluestick which is apparently impossible), sewing with a needle, and playing with my jewelry... also sometimes if we have something broken that we're planning to throw out anyway, we let him go to town with it...

[hildare]

i've been reading about preschools that have a 'tinker table' with REAL tools like screwdrivers, etc.  and electronics or whatnot that the kids are allowed to take apart and try to put back together, etc.  maybe that's something you could adapt?  provide the materials to explore, wood and screws and things to take apart and encourage that to only take place in the area provided?  or would it lead to dismantling of other houshold appliances? 

kind of like how we tell dd that "markers are ONLY for paper" you could tell your lo that "we ONLY take apart things on the table?"  dunno whether it would be tempting fate or not, i guess it depends on your child...