Is there anyway to deal with this?

[lil_stinkyfeet]

My 2.5 year old ds loves to get into EVERYTHING... I walked downstairs today to get something and came back up and he had dumped my liquid makeup in the sink and mixed it with toothpaste. In the last 2 days he has got into more things than I can count. He found the lotion smeared it all over my bead. Went outside and got a handful of sand and dumped it on my freshly mopped floor. Basically he is into everything. I try my best to baby proof and to keep an eye on him but he is constantly getting into things.

I know that he gets bored and is just looking for entertainment but I can't watch/entertain him 24/7:

What is even a natural conseqence for doing things like smearing toothpaste all over everything? Cleaning up for him is more fun than doing it in the first place! The annoying thing is I will make sure that every possible bottle of lotion,diaper cream ect... is put away he will find the one and ONLY bottle. I could throw them all in the garabage and he would still find one to cause trouble with lol.

Any advice for me??

[alegna]

Treat him like he's much younger. Like those things are safety hazards that you must keep away from him (unless you don't mind the cleanup....)

-Angela

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Originally Posted by alegna

Treat him like he's much younger. Like those things are safety hazards that you must keep away from him (unless you don't mind the cleanup....)

-Angela

Thanks, I try to I really do it is so hard though to keeping everything up high all the time.

[alegna]

I hear ya....

It's amazing what kinds of messes they can make if they want to, huh?

-Angela

[Shaki]

How about setting up a special time to make "potions"? (My sister and I loved doing that.) Set up a space that won't be too hard for you and your DS to clean up when he's done. Get a bunch of safe but interesting ingredients (baking soda and vinegar is a great combo, very fizzy and exciting) and let him go to town. Mixing, smearing, pouring. Maybe that'll help him explore whatever impulse he's feeling in a way that doesn't feel so crazy-making to you.

I remember someone posting awhile back about how her DC was driving her nuts pushing buttons all the time (on the VCR, stereo, in the car, etc) so she invented "Button Pushing Day" and let him push buttons to his hearts content. That seemed to satisfy him for awhile and (If I'm remembering correctly) he stopped pusing buttons all the time. Then when he started feeling the button pushing impulse again he asked for another button pushing day. (I hope I'm re-telling this accurately). Obviously that post really stuck with me, I thought it was so brilliant. Maybe the same approach would work here.

[BabyBugsMom]

No advice, since I've been dealing with this for years with no end in sight!

Just try to keep your sense of humor. I'm a scrapbooker, and I've documented more than one mess for each of my children. Great blackmail material for when they are oh-so-cool teens!!!:

[kkeris]

Firstly, maybe you can try to childproof everything as much as you possibly can? And then tell him (and mean it) that if he needs to conduct some experiment, please tell you and you will help him with it. I realised that when I am supportive about my DD's need to explore n experiment, she is more likely to come to me. If he knows that coming to tell you about what he wants to do will only be faced with opposition, then there is no incentive for him to do so. Whereas if he knows that you will be as encouraging as possible, then he would want to share with you his latest ideas or 'discovery'?

[SublimeBirthGirl]

My 1st was like that at that age. Into EVERYTHING! I just had to childproof the hell out of my house.

[angel_miette]

Originally Posted by Shaki

How about setting up a special time to make "potions"? (My sister and I loved doing that.) Set up a space that won't be too hard for you and your DS to clean up when he's done. Get a bunch of safe but interesting ingredients (baking soda and vinegar is a great combo, very fizzy and exciting) and let him go to town. Mixing, smearing, pouring. Maybe that'll help him explore whatever impulse he's feeling in a way that doesn't feel so crazy-making to you.

Hey that's a great idea, but to expand upon that why not set up a toddler "science lab". Make a designated area (like a mud room or spare bathroom) for "messy" play. Do a set up like an art desk with storage space. You can put things in baskets like bowls, cups, spoons, sponges, and the Ooie Gooie things. Make sure to stock the room with the cleaning supplies so the child can clean up after they're done. For mess control on the floor just lay a sheet of plastic down then take it outside and hose it down and let it air dry. If it's nice enough out the child could have fun doing this too. And with all that play they'll be tired out, unless you have the energizer bunny.

Angel Miette

[mommy2abigail]

I found with dd (who sounds very much like your ds) that if I honor her impulse to mix, smear, and concoct experiments, she does it, and then moves on. As opposed to me constantly saying, "dont touch the lotion, makeup, toothpaste" I gave her her very own bottle of lotion, bottle of deoderant (a roll on kind with water and EO) and 'make up' (burt's bees chapstick) Same goes with the kitchen. She is allowed into a LOT of things there. She has her very own spray bottle with water and vinegar and a rag so she can 'clean' when she wants. She is allowed to get the little vacuum thingie when she wants. I find the if I just work *with* her on showing her the appropriate way to use the item, instead of trying to keep her from it, we are all much less stressed out. I dont have anything baby proofed at home. Maybe some outlet covers I forgot to take off. But basically I just made the house totally accessible to her. HTH

[heartmama]

I have to agree that the best solution is to put out of reach any items that would really upset you to see used in toddler experiments. I think it's important to be engaging your toddler with concepts on what are "his" items and what he should ask to use first--but don't put yourself through the emotional upset of actually expecting him to remember these discussions and act accordingly. If he only remembers 10% of the time right now, that's still progress.

I don't think "consequences" will go very far in stopping this kind of mess-making behavior. Supervision, prevention, redirection etc. will go much further. Yes, invite him to clean up his mess, yes talk about how important it is to clean up, and not to waste, etc. but do not put yourself through the mental stress of expecting this to work quickly in changing his behavior, kwim? That is just going to set you both up for frustration.

I second the idea of an "experiment station" in the yard or the bathtub. Great idea!

[lil_stinkyfeet]

thakyou for the great advice ladies :

[hubris]

My 2 y/o has been doing many of the same things. He's very interested in how different things feel and what they look like when smeared on various surfaces.

In terms of natural consequences...well, frankly, when he smears my mascara all over the bathroom, that's a natural consequence of MY not having secured the drawer and shut the door. My problem, not his. I don't think I need to impose a "logical" consequence on him for doing this. I do sometimes (depends on the mess) offer him a cloth to help me clean up the mess. This helps him to learn that when a mess happens, we need to clean it up.

But mostly, at this age, the best way to handle it is to give him parent-approved ways of being messy, and control the other situations by removing temptations from reach. And then taking a lot of deep breaths for the next year or so. They do eventually grow out of it, but there might be a lot of zinc oxide in hair and carpets before then.

[a-sorta-fairytale]

I agree with the pp's about giving him messy time. Things i used when i taught preschool were shaving cream, differing aounts of corn startch with water, vegetable oil, cornmeal-flour-water, etc. Sometimes we added a few drops of food coloring to mix it up a bit. The kids could play with this stuff for a good chunk of time and get a good sensory buzz on.