Only Using Soft Toys

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

I had my play room developed late last summer, happyface and since then my walls have seen better days.

You would never have known that they were painted in October.

My husband came down the other day and blew a gasket due to all the gouges and damage to the walls and said he refuses to finish the rest or repaint.

So I have been slowly eliminating hard toys, and adding soft toys, not only for the sake of my walls but for the kids that get wacked in the head by others.

Has anyone done the same?

[Martha Stewart]

Perhaps you should enlist rules that prevent children from banging toys into walls? Gouges in the wall can lead to chipped paint which would be a safety hazard. While all soft toys sounds great, unless all your children are infants, they won't be stimulating or age appropriate.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

the kids ages are 1-3.

[Martha Stewart]

That's the ages of my current group and they play with Little People, musical toys, phones, shopping carts, monster trucks, books, air planes, tractors, dress up clothing, lots of "housekeeping" items, and play foods. One little girl likes dolls, but the few soft toys i have on site are largely ignored.

[Blackcat31]

I had my play room developed late last summer, happyface and since then my walls have seen better days.

You would never have known that they were painted in October.

My husband came down the other day and blew a gasket due to all the gouges and damage to the walls and said he refuses to finish the rest or repaint.

So I have been slowly eliminating hard toys, and adding soft toys, not only for the sake of my walls but for the kids that get wacked in the head by others.

Has anyone done the same?

Meh. Wear and tear is part of the job.

Any repairs you need to do are a write off on your taxes so you can recoup his hard work that way.

Life is lived...stuff happens including dings, dents and chips.

My DH has his own list of "honey do" things for daycare and in our situation it's not just a room but a whole house.

I wouldn't take out all the harder toys and only have soft ones but what I would do is limit the kids who are rough to the softer toys until their behavior with them improves and they show you that they are ready and able to manage harder toys.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

That's what I have also and it seems to just get thrown, dumped, used as a weapon, ripped, or carried around and smashed into a wall.

I have cubbies that just get dumped ect. by lunchtime it looks like a toy box blew up.

I have a blue bin full of broken toys, the train tracks just get chewed on etc.

im kinda at my wits end. I had centres and the 2 dcg that I have just move the furniture around and make a huge mess.

I have had my play kitchen, dress up vanity, play house, ikea chairs and stools destroyed an im fed up.

[Crystal]

That's what I have also and it seems to just get thrown, dumped, used as a weapon, ripped, or carried around and smashed into a wall.

I have cubbies that just get dumped ect. by lunchtime it looks like a toy box blew up.

I have a blue bin full of broken toys, the train tracks just get chewed on etc.

im kinda at my wits end. I had centres and the 2 dcg that I have just move the furniture around and make a huge mess.

I have had my play kitchen, dress up vanity, play house, ikea chairs and stools destroyed an im fed up.

It may be a matter of just having to much "stuff" and they are overwhelmed. I would try removing some items and rotating items every month or so to maintain their interest. As they begin to exhibit being able to manage more, you can add more.

[Gemma]

Perhaps you should enlist rules that prevent children from banging toys into walls? .

Some damage to walls and toys is to be expected, but with a little discipline, kids can learn to play without totally destroy their environment!

[Gemma]

That's what I have also and it seems to just get thrown, dumped, used as a weapon, ripped, or carried around and smashed into a wall.

I have cubbies that just get dumped ect. by lunchtime it looks like a toy box blew up.

I have a blue bin full of broken toys, the train tracks just get chewed on etc.

im kinda at my wits end. I had centres and the 2 dcg that I have just move the furniture around and make a huge mess.

I have had my play kitchen, dress up vanity, play house, ikea chairs and stools destroyed an im fed up.

You're losing your mind cause the kids are running the show!!! Put in some limits and enforce them, you will feel so much better, and so will the kids!
:hug::hug:

[Martha Stewart]

You're losing your mind cause the kids are running the show!!! Put in some limits and enforce them, you will feel so much better, and so will the kids!
:hug::hug:

I agree with this one. It's tough when kiddos are this age. I find that the parents don't provide a lot of firm rules at home, it's easier to just let them dump toys, throw toys, generally make a giant mess and run wild - they don't want to deal with their little crying or making a big fuss for the 1 or 2 hours they have kiddos at home in the evening. I have found that kids this age can be taught to pick up, follow rules, and not destroy everything within their path, but it takes a lot of limits and a great deal of enforcement.

[laundrymom]

Listen to Gemma!!
I don't allow them to touch my walls. They get a warning and then they lose the toy.

[Annalee]

I had my play room developed late last summer, happyface and since then my walls have seen better days.

You would never have known that they were painted in October.

My husband came down the other day and blew a gasket due to all the gouges and damage to the walls and said he refuses to finish the rest or repaint.

So I have been slowly eliminating hard toys, and adding soft toys, not only for the sake of my walls but for the kids that get wacked in the head by others.

Has anyone done the same?

We painted our daycare room with what the sheetrock guy called "popcorn spray". We just put cream colored paint in a sprayer which spit it out so it is a rough texture look. We did this over 12 years ago and it has held up much better than the smooth look which seems to show every scrape. Another benefit was we did not have to sand the new sheetrock which saved tons of mess/clean up. Just sharing!

[Josiegirl]

Oh it's not just the 1-3 crowd. I have a 7yo that has broken, dented, destroyed more than his fair share of stuff.

I spent one entire weekend painting my living room walls last summer, all effin weekend. My plan was to do the tedious woodwork the following weekend. They looked nice. Really nice. I was so proud of them. By noon the next day, there were 3 gouges right above the couch. When I asked about what happened all I got was 'not me'. Until some one finally pointed the finger...dadum....yep, 7 yo dcb.
My woodwork never got painted. I am done trying to keep up with damage, let alone trying to keep things looking nice. It really gets to ya sometimes.

So I totally understand! What if you save one bucket or box of plastic/harder toys for when you can sit right there with them and play too? Otherwise, soft it is. Unless you know they can handle the responsibility a little better.

[Annalee]

Oh it's not just the 1-3 crowd. I have a 7yo that has broken, dented, destroyed more than his fair share of stuff.

I spent one entire weekend painting my living room walls last summer, all effin weekend. My plan was to do the tedious woodwork the following weekend. They looked nice. Really nice. I was so proud of them. By noon the next day, there were 3 gouges right above the couch. When I asked about what happened all I got was 'not me'. Until some one finally pointed the finger...dadum....yep, 7 yo dcb.
My woodwork never got painted. I am done trying to keep up with damage, let alone trying to keep things looking nice. It really gets to ya sometimes.

So I totally understand! What if you save one bucket or box of plastic/harder toys for when you can sit right there with them and play too? Otherwise, soft it is. Unless you know they can handle the responsibility a little better.

I don't mind active children but when their choices become destructive these particular children are limited to table toys.....doesn't take long for them to figure out what behavior is tolerated around here::

[sally]

My kidlets tried that - mine are ages 2-4 - but they learn it doesn't fly here. If they try using toys inappropriately they are all put up and they only have crayons and paper to keep them busy. A couple months ago they were playing with the kitchen/toy food and for some reason thought it would be fun to throw it. The first 1 hit the wall before I knew what was going on. I raised my voice, the kids sat and the toys were removed and then the kids were removed to another room. They finished the day with the crayons and paper. They had to "earn" toys back the next day by showing me they could use them correctly.