Why do my kids always insist on breaking everything!!!

*Louise*

I have to hoover twice a day - after lunch and after dinner. The baby goes round eating bits off the floor otherwise :rolleyes:

I assume your DD will be going back to school soon, so you just need to survive the rest of the holidays? As for the paint/glitter pens - I would be binning them or chucking them in the loft, if my kids misuse them then they go back to using crayopns or pencils for drawing with.

I think you need to book a room at a B&B (or stay with a relative)and get yourself away for 2 days. Let your DP manage by himself and see how clean the place is when you get back.

If my OH comes home and the place isn't tidy, he knows it's because the 2 little ones have been playing up, so he usually helps out. The day he demands that the place is always spotless is the day he goes to live with his mother.

Carmina_Piranha_3

Spendless wrote: »

ok gone back and had another read, you also mention books out. On the organised home site it talks of how young children struggle with books and don't read the spines like an adult does, it suggests you get a washing up bowl or oblong basket and stack them in there, so the children flip them, more like the way they choose books at nursery/school. You can get bookcases like this but they are expensive, whereas a plastic baskedt or w-u bowl would be a few £s tops. I talso suggests getting down on your knees and looking at their room from their height perspective, in order to make things more organised for them.

My toddler has a tidy-books bookcase behind the living room door. it's only 7cm deep so it fits behind a door easily, and it displays books face-on so they are easy for young children to see and access. He has one in his room too (he is really into books lol!).

We have a teeny tiny 2-bed house and the lack of space is stressful, especially when the weather is so awful. Sometimes I just get on the bus and go to a soft play area so they get to run around somewhere dry, and I can sit on a squashy sofa with a coffee - and the house doesn't get any dirtier while we're out

Paparika

OMG poor you, kids huh?

Is madam at school yet? hopefully she is and that gives you a bit of breathing space, do you have enough room that the children can have separate rooms?

tbh i would let DD throw her wobblier ok so the screaming till sick routine is not nice for you to deal with but.... after a while she will get the message that the world is not revolving around her.

Perhaps the sticker system?

So what if she tells grandma and the neighbours that you are the nasty one, i'm sure they know you are not.

As for your OH perhaps when you know he has a day off arrange to go out for the day all on your own and let him see/deal with the little darlings (make sure your mobile is switched off as you'll not get to the end of the road before he's ringing in despair).

Go take a nice hot soak in the bath, you deserve it.

arthur_dent_2

Spendless wrote: »

Let your OH have the kids for a day whilst you go out, see how easy he finds keeping it tidy is.;)

Absolutly, walk out of the house, and don't return untill evening, he will soon find out what children are like. (When he is there of course)

lauren_1

If i did that my bags would be packed!

pukkamum

lauren_1 wrote: »

If i did that my bags would be packed!

I doubt they would love how on earth would he get his tidy house if you went?
Please stop putting such pressure on yourself.

Our children are little for such a short amount of time you need to take a step back and start enjoying being a mum.

You really need to sit dh down and talk about this otherwise somethings going to give you really don't want to get to that point.

Does your dh know how you feel? I know you probably mention to him in passing how hard it is etc but have you ever seriously sat him down and told him just how bad you feel?

What would you rather your kids childhood memories were of, a clean tidy house with a mum on the verge of hysteria or a messy house with a mum that smiles and has time to play?

I'm not saying leave the house to rack and ruin just spend at least a day only doing the essentials and have fun with your kids instead.

I give myself one hour every morning to do housework, then i spend the rest of the day with dd, and if that means the windows don't get cleaned or there are a few crumbs on the floor so be it the house isn't going to fall apart!!

I know it's easy for us to say all this on the outside but you really need to change something x x x

MissMotivation

lauren_1 wrote: »

Totally agree, i feel like im over a barrel with my parenting.
We have quite nosey neighbours (one being a teacher, no children of her own and always has to include phychology in to why children are naughty)

I cant shout at them of tell them off too much as the neighbour seems to be listening all the time then comes around to see if everything is ok, she quite often relays her concerns to dp too which p1sses me off. He thinks im either bing too hard on them or not punishing them in the right way.

Ooohhhh this bit made me so mad i had to reply.

Firstly she has no children of her own and teacher or not what the hell gives her the right to criticise your parenting. I would politely (when you are not stressed) go round and tell her that whilst she is entitled to her opinions she has no place commenting on how you discipline your children to you OR you partner.

Secondly If your partner thinks he can do a better job he should take a few days off and see what its like to be at home all day with the children (i wonder what the house would look like then!)

Sorry if this has been duplicated as I didn't read the whole thread first.

Steel_2

Hear, hear Miss Motivation. It's shocking how nosey and interfering some neighbours can be.

Hubby should NOT be taking his neighbour's side against lauren_1 when she tells tales. He should be telling her to mind her own business. No wonder Lauren_1 feels the way she does - it must feel like everyone's against her and her best will never be good enough.

Lauren_1 - you sound like you're a little scared of your husband or the consequences of standing up for yourself? Are you?

What do you imagine will be the worst thing that would happen if you told this neighbour to poke off and mind her own business, and then invite your husband to stay at home and look after the kids while you become the main wage earner so you could come home and criticise?

What would be his reaction?