Toy Box Dumper

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

Does anyone have a child who just comes in and dumps all the toys, makes a huge mess, so messy that none of the kids can play, walk ect....and they refuse to clean them up? maybe it's just the mood im in today, but this child always does this and im stuck cleaning it, reorganizing hourly! I have tried puting the toy box's away but then the other kids dont have toys and then they all start fighting over one toy! Help!

[sharlan]

Teach him that not picking up the toys is not an option. He makes the mess, he helps clean it up. If he refuses to pick up, don't let him play with the toys in the box, hand him one toy and tell him that's all he gets.

[Sunshine44]

Yes, I had a child who would dump it and then SIT in it. ugh. I finally had to keep that child away from the toy box, he quickly learned!

[Live and Learn]

I only have a few toys out at a time....right now it is Lincoln Logs.

I would shadow the dumper and make him clean it up right away. If he refuses to clean up he doesn't get to play with MY toys. PERIOD!! If you want to play with MY toys you need to be nice to them.

[boysx5]

yes I have one who dumps everything now he only gets one bin of things at a time and when he is done with that he gets only something when all that is put away.

[AnythingsPossible]

I have one that does this, but he just turned 1, so the cleaning concept is foriegn to him. He likes to pull all the toy bins off of the shelf, then look at the mess he made and toddle off. It's tons of fun.

If your toy dumper is old enough to understand the concept of cleaning up the mess he made, every time he makes a mess, I would stand over him till he cleans it up. If he refuses, he gets to sit at the table till he is ready to clean.

When my 1YO dumps the bins, I have started having him help clean it up, however at this point I think he considers it an awesome game. Dump, uh-oh!!, clean up, dump, uh-oh, clean up. You get the idea.

[littlemommy]

I have a 2 year old DCG that does this. She is the only one good at picking the toys up when it is time so I don't make a huge deal out of it.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

Oh he is at the age to understand. So i just made him help me clean up. And the toy box lids are on and he is un-happy. But oh well.

[nannyde]

I don't allow any dumping at any age. They have to take everything out one by one. I don't have any containers that they are allowed to MOVE or pick up.

Year after year I raise kids who aren't allowed to dump and every single one of them is a master dumper from the time they can pull up on. Dumping does NOT require any practice. They are hard wired to seek and destroy.

[nannyde]

Oh he is at the age to understand. So i just made him help me clean up. And the toy box lids are on and he is un-happy. But oh well.

I don't like this part: i just made him help me clean up

I don't want to get involved in their cleaning up other than to TELL them to clean up. I don't clean toys. If they can take it out they can put it back.

If they can dump it out there is a high probability that they really CAN'T put it all back on thier own without an adult managing it. It's not overwhelming to dump in one fell schwooop.. but it IS overwhelming for them to clean up a sprayed dumping mess.

I just have them do what THEY can do ... take it out... put it back.

We allow them to take out a good bit of toys one by one and when the floor gets congested we tell them to clean. They usually clean up every twenty minutes or so.

Because we don't allow dumping they can easily clean up what they have removed one by one.

I encourage them to get their dump on at home

[lpperry]

Ha! All of them! All of mine used to be 2 and under, so it was really bad! Now, a few of them have turned 2 recently, so things are getting a bit better. I just live with the mess and clean up the best I can while they are playing and then do a big clean during nap.

[Hunni Bee]

Oh no...NO dumping here. And all my toys are in little individual bins....so easy to dump...but that's one of the first things my newbies learn...you will NOT trash the rooms. That's one thing I can say my kids are really good for (not obviously the ONLY thing ) is cleaning up their own mess. My rooms are usually so clean it surprises me that little kids did this.

As for the dumping, if they dump, they are immediately required to pick it all up (if you dumped out the entire 200-piece lego set, sorry) and put it away. If its just entirely too much, I'll help, but its rare I let it get to that point. They can then take it out again, but only some of it and only what they can hold in their hands right then.

If they cannot refrain from dumping, then I administer the toys for a while

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

Well i told him today, when he wanted to play with new toys that he had to clean up the other ones first, he whined, cried and cleaned at the same time. I told him that it is not fair for me and my own kids to clean his mess and if he is gonna make a big mess , he will soon have nothing to play with. I think he got the message cause he cleaned my whole dayhome!

Thanks y'all for the advice!

[cillybean83]

my dck's won the gold medal in toy dumping...they are 17 and 21 months, and neither one seem to "get" how to put things back, at least not is the overly organized way I like to keep things...so I just let them do their thing, I clean it up at nap time, then I clean it up again at 4 when things are winding down, then again at 9 after my own are in bed...my playroom isn't that big so it isn't a huge deal to clean up

[MissAnn]

Does anyone have a child who just comes in and dumps all the toys, makes a huge mess, so messy that none of the kids can play, walk ect....and they refuse to clean them up? maybe it's just the mood im in today, but this child always does this and im stuck cleaning it, reorganizing hourly! I have tried puting the toy box's away but then the other kids dont have toys and then they all start fighting over one toy! Help!

My living room has all of my manipulatives in science, math, reading, and art centers. Everything is in some sort of container. I have area rugs spread out through my living room with kids names on them (just tape). When they get out materials they can go to a table (art) or to their rug. No toys off the rugs or table. They can play with another kid, but they need to ask first. The kid can decline in a polite way. Every kid is responsible for keeping their rug cleaned up. The playroom has a little more freedom.....can get a little messy, but they know they have to clean up. I remind them that big dumping means a loooooooooooong clean up time....and they realize it. I don't help them clean up, but I do make sure there are no "hiders" whle cleaning up! Oh those hiders!!!!