How should I handle a messy toddler?

Cookie_monster_7

My dd is 2.5 yrs and makes a huge mess out of anything. Mealtimes are a nightmare, whatever has been served up gets mashed up with her hands and chucked on the floor. She can use her fork or spoon really well but she just likes to get her hands in there and play with it. Tonight we had cous cous and it ended up everywhere:eek:

She, obviously, loves playdoh but she breaks it up into tiny pieces rather than making things with it and "feeds" it to her toy people or uses it as a bed/bath/car for them, she is quite creative with it but not in a traditional way. I love to see what she comes up with but I am fed up picking it out of all the toys little crevices and off the carpet and finding it stuck to my shoes. She gets playdoh at playgroup so I'd love to ban it from the house.

She went through a horrible horrible phase of playing with her poo because she loves squidgy things.

If she has her pens out she'll draw all over herself, same with paint. If I give her a basin of water to play with she'll pour it all over the kitchen floor, I slipped and fell really badly the other day so she's not had it since.

I don't know how to handle this messiness because I spend so much time cleaning up her messes there is less time to read her a story or sit and play with her. How can I explain that to her though. I give her the playdoh so I can get on with something then spend twice as much time cleaning it up.

I don't know how much time I spend on my hands and knees clearing up food/playdoh/wiping things down etc. Wish I could keep her in some sort of pen that I could hose down several times a day just kiddding


Any advise for this sort of behaviour?

ontheroad_2

From what you've posted, I'd suggest only letting her have playdoh, pens, paints and water when you can supervise her. Its less likely to get everywhere if you're there and can see where she's putting it. To be honest, at 2 or 3 I never let my DD have any of that stuff unless I was playing along with her - she once got her crayons upstairs and drew all over the wallpaper. If your DD has her toys to play with, books to look at etc when you're busy, that should keep her occupied for a little while.

The food I really don't have any advice for that - hopefully its something she'll grow out of - playgroup might help there if she has snacks etc there, she'll be seeing other children eating without sticking their hands in her food.

Gingham_Ribbon

Ah, what a lively, bright, lovely little thing she sounds!

She's obviously very creative and interested in her environment and she gets lots of things to keep her amused. I know it's irritating for you but this really is a lovely post to read, in my opinion.

Both mine have been Very messy and this stage was 'interesting' to say the least.

As a toddler, the eldest would pour water into bowls for himself then do 'experiments'. Naturally, the floor would get very wet. He'd lie on his back and climb his feet up the wall wearing different things to see which ones had the most friction. I'd fine him with the art box, with everything tipped out and half of it over his head. He still isn't interested in making pictures!

The youngest will build pictures out of anything he can find and I have had to unstick the play scissors, sharpener and even spoons from his creations! He draws on himself still and both of them have painted each other while I've had my back turned.

One day I came into the dining room to find all the flour on the floor and the kids sitting with their buckets and spades. :rotfl::T

There are ways round it without stifling their curiosity.

I have all the messy stuff in the cellar head, where they can't reach and aren't allowed in. They get it while I can sit with them and they tidy it up when they're done.

They do all their 'experiments' with water in the bath or the back yard.

You can try giving her chopped up veg to feed her dolls? Or something else a bit larger and less messy to shift!

I think food is partly about time. You can reward her for using her cutlery and you can try bringing out couscous, rice, pasta shapes, beans etc and letting her feel and play with them when it's not meal times. Then when she has them at meal times you can remind her that 'at meal times we don't play with food'?

Just a thought.

No great words of wisdom, given that my 2, who are now 6 and 3, managed to get babybel wax all over their hair recently. Now that was an adventure! I don't recommend it!

tiamai_d

A cheap blow up paddling pool is a wonderful thing for them to play in.

Beyond that... avoid messy play until you have time to clean up afterwards.

There is not much you can do really, she sounds like a normal, happy healthy toddler!

Violetta_2

Sounds normal, but I know it's annoying, it will get a wee bit better as she get's older, tips I can suggest are a shower curtain on the floor (carefull can get a bit slippy though) we also use a childrens plastic garden table doesn't matter if it gets messy. Maybe we should devise a mummy utility belt with baby wipes, kitchen roll, tissues & 1 of those small handheld vacuum cleaners that would be great lol. Actually do you have one of those cordless handheld vacuum cleaners, I wouldn't be without mine.
As my wise dd who has just turned 5 say's "creative people don't keep in the lines".

meritaten

oh wow - you have a super creative child there! she is obviously a touchy feely child! please dont limit her creative activities...........a paddling pool (empty) with her play doughs and freedom to create would limit the mess. as would putting the pool under her chair at meals. I trained the grandchildren to eat nicely by instructing them in 'princess manners' when they were about 3. and into dvds with mermaids and princesses! until then have a think about the amount of 'messy' foods vs non messy foods.
she sounds delightful hun, a little mess is a small price to pay for letting her indulge some creativity now - but I would teach her manners in a few months.

milliebear00001

It's not only normal, but really, really important! Please don't take away the messy play - it is essential for all sorts of development that will have a massive impact on how well she does later on at school.

Practically, I have wooden flooring and wipe-down walls. I allow playdough only in the kitchen and bite the bullet and accept I will have to clean up afterwards. Painting is also only for the kitchen table, newspaper underneath, although on dry days mine paint outside on an easel (or paint he garden fence with water which they love!) If you can get her outside with water/apint/chalk/sand etc then so much the better.

There are lots of ways around the mess, but you do need to accept that mess and toddlers go together, and that making a mess is a really important part of her learning.

julie03

my DS age 3 is extremely messy, can use a fork but prefers hands, only has to look at a felt tip pen and he has it all over him.

he also has a fixation with bags, constantly emptying his toyboxes and putting them all in carrier bags or canvas bags

pandora205

Your daughter is at an interesting developmental stage and shows very positive signs of creativity and exploration. It's great that she has lots of messy activities at home - but these do need close supervision and some boundaries (such as only sitting at a table with you, or outside when it's warm). It's probably easiest to restrict this sort of play to times when you can join in, or at least watch carefully, and have other activities for independent play. And she needs to learn that it's okay to play with play dough/ paint, etc. but not with food (though this is very common at this stage). Sometimes young children mess about with food because they prefer finger foods and see more mushy stuff as less appealing, though this probably isn't the case here.

The other thing to consider is making the environment as child friendly and easy to clean as possible, e.g. having laminate flooring in play areas, wipe clean surfaces in the dining room, washable paint on walls, etc. and investing in lots of Stardrops for cleaning up time!

ailuro2

Take her to playgroup or nursery a few days a week - that's where DD used to do most of her painting and playdohing ( is that a word?:p)

Have you tried lego mega blocks, stickle bricks that will let her explore her creative side without leaving you wuite so much mess to play with.

Have you got a beach near you for sandcastles - take a paintbrush and brush her off before you come home.

Give her food that isn't squishy for a bit to see if it's just a habit or if she's just plain determined to make a mess and get a reaction from you.;)

Try and get her to clean up after herself, with help of course.
Bodypaint soap just for the bath might be a good way to get her clean and let her make a mess at the same time.;)

fernliebee

Like others have said mess and toddlers go hand in hand, and it is very important for them to have some messy play time. That does not mean that rules and boundaries can't be enforced without ruining their fun.

My DD is just 2, and we do loads of painting/ sticking/ playdoh etc together. she has to sit at the kitchen table, and she wears an apron. I cover the table in newspaper and we have a plastic sheet that goes on the floor. We also have a plastic mat that goes on the table (like a placemat) for playdoh. I don't mind her exploring with the mess but if she is just getting silly I point it out and say, try and keep it on the table.

The meal times I see as a separate issue, my DD can use cutlery fine, and while I don't mind her using her fingers to put food in her mouth, if she is squishing stuff I tell her no. I feel that I put a lot of time ensuring she has messy play opportunities and dinner is a time for eating IMO.