Four Year Old Peeling Paint in Bedroom

fix the paint, then there is nothing to pick at.

Best,
F. B.

I agree. Fix the paint. Maybe let your little one help fix it (sand it, prepare it and then paint it). My daughter found a spot on a wall about a foot from the baseboard that had a little hole. Before I had realized what was going on, she made that little tiny hole about the size of quarter and 1/8" or deeper hole! I have no idea why these kids do these things....

Maybe you can be sure to check in after he goes to sleep a couple times and get up before he does. Also, if you can't fix the paint spot right away, can you maybe put a bookshelf, toy box or some other object to deter this?

Picking at peeling paint sounds like too much for a little kid to resist. Heck, I can't help but pick at my nails when I have polish that is starting to wear off.

Do you know why the paint is peeling in the first place? Normally wall paint isn't easy to pull off unless there is an underlying reason. Cheap poorly applied paint, moisture problems, super old paint that might need lead testing. Etc. Whatever the reason, it needs to be repaired.

The end solution will be to properly scrape and patch the walls, then have your little one pick out the new paint for his room. This will give him some ownership and pride in the new paint job.

As for the middle of the night issue, it sounds like you need a baby monitor so you will wake up when he does, and can get him back to bed. It is a good thing that he isn't wandering the house or going outside while you sleep.

paint the bedroom correctly so there's no peeling paint.
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khairete
S.

Sand it down and repaint it to seal the cracked edges he is able to get hold of. I'd also talk to the doc about doing a blood workup to see if he's missing minerals.

Disciplining him for this is silly. It's a compulsion that he's probably unable to manage on his own.

Before you can deal with it, ask him why he's doing it. You didn't mention that here. What enjoyment does he get from this?

Second question, why is he up in the middle of the night?

Kids do all sorts of funny things. We had one that wrote on walls (one time). About same age. We just asked him to stop and handed him a rag (he didn't actually get it off the wall, but showed him that it involved being cleaned..).

I would repair it and involve him. Have him help mom/dad repaint it - even if he just sits there and watches and hands you the paintbrush.

I usually tell my kids I'm disappointed that they caused me work and damaged our home. I require a genuine sorry and a promise they won't do it next time. At four ... he should be able to grasp this concept.