Do all toddlers go through this "I must destroy everything!!" stage?

Well, I have a 34mo boy, and that sounds like a typical day at our house. It is starting to get better at this point. It doesn't happen every day, usually when he's tired and/or bored and/or hungry. He's gotten a bit less destructive, but still can't be left alone with anysort of book except maybe a board book. Otherwise, it ends up in shreds. My nephew was alot like this, and is much better at almost 3 1/2yo. I do think though, that boys are like this more than girls. I didn't have to babyproof for my dd, but ds just defies any babyproofing, so we just cope and keep a steady eye on him. His room, though is now a safe place to leave him to play on his own or with his big sister. We did end up putting bars on the window though, after dh found him with one leg out on the roof trying to retrieve the binkys he had thrown out there!!!!!!
I don't know if this helps, but that is my experience so far.
Kelso

Hey! Alex is like this and he's only 13 months! Today he started climbing up the bookshelves. Everything that's off limits, he wants (big surprise). He figured out how to open the lid of the toilet and recently started climbing the desk drawers to hit the computer keys. He's also been incredibly fussy lately, which is driving me crazy! He'll walk around crying, not wanting anything you offer, not even to be held. He doesn't stack blocks, or talk or play with the sorter - nothing "creative", everything's destructive. Today he started to look like he was going to put one block on top of another, but instead started hitting all the other blocks with the block in his hand. : I bought him a big wooden jumbo puzzle, thinking that his fine motor skills were advanced enough to maybe try it out, but he just throws the pieces. Not that I expect him to really accomplish things beyond his reach, but as he's gotten older, he's gotten to be much more fussy about all of this. If I make him stop doing whatever he's doing, or take something away, or close a door, he'll start crying, which isn't a huge surprise, but it's really difficult to even redirect his attention anymore. It has to be something really good to do that, and he has to happen to want that at the moment. This is really starting to wear on me. Do I really have another 2 to 3 years (or maybe more) of this?

He has musical instruments...he is a drum junky! We have a drum set at church and during our rehersal this past week (my dh is a music minister) he played the drums...the kids got talent

he is doing better...I got a pic of him in the sink. It was not a good thing for him to do..but it is so funny I had to take a pic! the living room and his playing area is clean so that seems to be making the biggest difference.