What do you do when they're destroying things?

[sausages]

DD is 27 months now and we have started to use our version of the naughty step for when she's naughty. She gets a warning - asked to stop the bahaviour and then if she doesn't stop it she gets put into her playpen for 2 minutes (there's no way she would sit on a spot and it works for us).

Now, she can be a really, really destructive little bugger particularly with her books etc. She is always tearing pages out or pulling flaps off. Just now i found her ripping up my mothers day card from her and her brother. She must have pulled it off the side.

Up until now i just take the books of her and put them in my office to mend, but this takes me ages to get round to doing, so they kind of dissappear for a while. This never bothered her at all.

Recently she tore up her most favourite book in the whole world "Stick Man" so i told her it was going in the bin. That was a few weeks ago and every so often she will go "Mick Man! Bin!" cause she remembers where it went, but isn't at all bothered!!!

So what do you do when this happens? I am guessing mine isn't the only destroyer? I don't want to tap her hand or smack her or anything for personal reasons, but i do need ideas!!

 

[Siyren]

obviously lyssa is much younger, but we just remove her from the situation and distract her. or whatever she's destroying is taken off her etc.
not much help im sorry
x

 

[sabby52]

Tbh it seems like it is just an age thing, a phase she is going through, Dec was the same and still can be now and again (but he is a lot older). All we done was remove him from the situation and take whatever he is destroying away from him, while reminding him that what he is doing is not acceptable. He grew out of it pretty quickly, he only does it now if he is angry or looking attention.

 

[ClaireLouise]

Maybe tell her she wont be getting a nice treat is she keeps being naughty? The treat being anything of your choosing xxx

Star charts?

And can i just say your children have the most gorgeous unusual names!

 

[lynnikins]

when my boys destroy stuff they get time out and while timeout happens i take away most of the toys and put them out of reach/sight and when they prove they can be trusted with a few things they get the rest back

 

[sausages]

Thanks for the ideas! I do keep telling myself that it's a phase which she will grow out of. It's just hard when you're in the thick of it, as i am sure you all well know! At the rate she's going she will have no blummin books left!!

 

[sausages]

And can i just say your children have the most gorgeous unusual names!

Thank you so much!!! I love unusual names. Probably because i am a Sarah, so i grew up with at least 2 other Sarah's in every class i was in!

 

[hardworknmama]

My oldest used to tear books up like crazy until we started going to the library and checking out books. At first I wouldn't leave him alone with the library books so that he wouldn't tear those up. What I would do is if he tore one of his books I would tell him that if he continued to tear up books then we wouldn't be able to borrow from the library anymore. I would also take away the book he had torn up for a few weeks. He has since stopped tearing up books because he loves borrowing books from the library.
So if you can find something that she does care about, maybe take that away when she tears up books along with a time out?