Help! My 2 Year Old Is Destroying Our Home

Keep the crayons, pencils, pens, and markers out of reach as much as possible. Whenever my kids would write on the walls, the consequence was that they had to clean the wall with me, while being reminded the whole time that writing had to be done on paper or coloring books, and that it was hard work for mommy every time she had to clean up the mess. Time outs do not work as it seems they are always the consequence for every mis-behavior and kids don't really understand what they did wrong, just that their in trouble for making mom or dad mad. Tell him ahead of time that writing on the walls is wrong, and that every time he does it, he will have to help you clean it up, and stick to the same punishment every time. He'll get the message. It did for me.

The best thing for the wall with the dry erase marker is to use varnish or one that comes in a spray form to put on it first then paint over that. There are also large dry erase boards that can be attached to the wall at his hight so we will use it instead of the wall, a couple of these should help, it will not stop him using the other walls but once you get him trained to just use them it will be fun, you can even draw with him.

Here is a tip someone gave me :
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped
in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
If you put a child door knob protector on the bathroom doors and keep them closed he will not be able to open them.

Hi L.,
I have one of those too! and I agree w/ everyone on the magic erasers, and the 3m one too, they both work wonders. Do you still have your high chair or something w/ a seat belt? I put my son in the high chair for his time outs (he has a big boy chair for the table to eat at), I also use the high chair to keep him out of trouble, like when I'm getting other kids ready and can't keep my eye on him (I have 4 kids total), I do explain to him that he is sitting in his high chair so he doesn't get in trouble and move it from "the time out area" to the living room so he can watch his favorite show and then I proceed to get ready for work or whatever, trying to get everyone up and going and myself to work is a challenge! My husband works out of town a lot, so I have had to come up w/ things to keep my 2yr old out of trouble! and it has worked so far for me. I hope it helps!

Try magic erasers they are wonderful and hairspray.

My daughter is almost three...as for the other comment about who is the adult, time goes so fast we tend to forget: kids that age don't understand no, no matter if we punish, cajole, redirect or whatever. They sometimes even see it as a giggling challenge. I'm not in a position to confine them, but two caveats: make sure the room isn't too small and there's still stimulation, and make sure there is supervision. Bottom line, we still have to constantly supervise them - they are so quick!

As far as the writing - just put the pens, markers, etc. up in a high place like a high cabinet, and use locks if you have to. But they do need the outlet. I put her in her highchair w/paints and markers and let her go to town. I also have an easel that has a chalkboard on one side and dry erase on the other. I give her the tools and let her have at it, but make sure she is supervised. The other thing we did, is we have a marble surround in their bathtub. We let them take the dry erase in there and have fun.

As far as her getting into rooms, simply lock the doors. My little one loves my makeup, and because she is still sharing our bed (while we are getting her room ready. She's so ready for it!), she feels my room is hers, and freely tries to grab the lotions (yuck!), makeup and shampoos. I just lock the doors to my room and the hall bathroom. I keep the key nearby and ready.

But for their safety, supervision is the key. But you do have to go to the bathroom, do laundry and all!!!

I would definitely put all of your pens and pencils out of reach and then let him use ONLY washable Crayola crayons and markers. Tell him he is only allowed to color on the paper, and that if he colors anywhere else he will be in time out for 2 minutes. Those Crayola washables come off of everything my son has drawn on! Good luck.

I have read a lot of the responses people have given you and I didn't see anyone mention the "aquadoodle". (They are cheap enough and you can get them at Target, or walmart, kmart, wherever- in the toy aisle) If you are trying to encourage his creativity and encourage him to only draw/ write in certain places this may work for you. Its a play mat sort of thing that comes with a tube style "marker" to use with it. The reason I recommend it is because the tube marker thing it comes with is something you fill with WATER. It only writes or makes a mark on the aquadoodle mat and nothing else. (Kind of like the color wonder markers that only draw on certain paper but I think it is cheaper and not as easy to ruin since the marker can't be broken by leaving it open to air, you just refill it with more water...) When the water dries it is blank and ready to use again. It may help him to understand that if he wants to draw he has to do it on this pad,, and even if it takes him a while to get the idea at least it will save your walls because the marker won't do anything but get the wall wet if he happens to get near the walls/ tables etc. with it. It may help him realize there are places to draw and the wall isn't one of them. AS LONG AS the other markers/ pens/ etc are put away ( I know Its not easy to keep them put away, but theres no other option...)
I hope this has been a helpful suggestion. Be patient and give him an alternative and maybe the wall art will lose its appeal. If not, hopefully he will grow out of it. This helped my niece break her habit of drawing on leather couches and walls etc. So I thought it was worth passing on. Good luck!! -S

Ah a creative child is a joy:) Time to regiment the crayons, and other drawing tools and make a specific time for them to be a "yes". My kid liked the diaper doodle approach so be happy this is less...ahem...oderous. LOL.
Really, a time for everyone (other kids too) to play school and draw and use those tools the way they were meant is the best way to handle this, that I've found. You can teach so much in this special time as well. Also, I found that putting heavy newsprint (can be found at your local newspaper, left over rolls etc) can be taped on the walls in his room, so that an accident is not a catastrophe. Special drawing boards that are "yes" are good tools too. We always used a cheap desk clip board that served to hold his special tools were a boon as well. Ownership is responsibility. Lots of wonderful chances for teaching here. Notice here I've used "yes", no's don't work very well. Good Luck
Lyn

I had the same problem with my 19 month old. Magic eraser took off all the pencil, pen, and marker he used on my white walls! I was pleasantly surprised!! I hope this helps.

Mr Clean sponges are a miracle for everything from reg dirt to crayons to black marks on floors! Don't worry your little angel will outgrow it. Mine went through that where she colored on the wall downstairs and did a "mural" while mommy was upstairs cleaning. My little angel is now 6. My baby brother took black sharpies to his room when he was around that age( he is 11 now) and my mom had to repaint it a couple of times because there was no Mr Clean sponges.

I also use Magic Eraser on the walls with great success. We close a lot of our doors so that our daughter can only play in the main areas and her bedrooms. Instead of using the door locks on the door or replacing the door knobs (we have latch knobs which dd learned to open at 16 months), we put overhead door locks. You just screw a post into the top jamb and there is another plastic piece that slides over the door to lock it. So as long as you are tall enough it is pretty easy to either keep the door "locked" or leave the door closed and "unlocked"...

http://www.safebeginnings.com/WebComponents/Catalog/Publi...

Good luck!

I do know that the "Magic Dry eraser" sponge does wonders for anything on walls & yes including not kid-proof inks...LOL..I do not think confining him to 1 room sounds so bad...IF he has all he needs & all he wants (within reason =) ) in 1 room & it has been baby safed for him it could keep your "Curious George" baby in a safe enviroment & keep you sane.=) Of course- he could just hate it in there because he is gated up & not allowed to venture out like before & that it might just want to make him want to go out the gate more so see how it goes..Good Luck. =)

my son is 18 just graduated and this is wht we did for the creative little buger. and it worked. tape off a part of the wall in his room. give him finger paints or crayons and tell him that is the only place he is to draw it will be called johnnys special wall. i set a plastic tub underneath it to hold all of his art supplies. that wall is still there. he loved his special wall and never colored anything else. hewould proudly show it to anyonethat came over. i wish i dould send a pictureof his last project (he would paintit over in white paint and then re desing it occsionally. his last painting is form when he was 5 it is a black blue and purple rainbow. that piece of drywall moved withus when we moved to this house. i jst cut it out with a saws all and screwed it to another wall and replaced the hole with another peice . lots of work but i will keep it forever.

I know that children get into things, but put the things AWAY! Don't let him get to them. Your making your life crazy by allowing him to have access to these things. If he wants to draw or color, make him sit at a table and do it there on PAPER, and stay there with him. If he doesn't want to stay put and draw, then the crayons, etc, gets put away. Even if he crys. Better him than you! I would nip that in the bud right away. :-)

I would keep the bathroom doors shut and locked, or put those child handles on them so he can't get into them.

I'm not sure what confining him to a room would do. It may make him more anxious to get for your attention, and they might not be in a good way. Sounds like you just have to get through this tough stage and put on your running shoes! Take the temptations away from him until he can keep his artwork on paper! Good luck! :-)

We keep our toddler primarily confined to our front room - we have a baby gate on the kitchen and keep baby-proof doorknobs on the rest of the rooms. We also keep all art materials out of his reach and only give them to him during specific, supervised times. Two-year-olds are destruction on wheels, especially the boys!!

I don't see the problem in confining him to one room, in fact my daughter has her own little spot, which is actually the area underneath the stairs. She loves having her own space and actually calls it her room. She goes in there and plays, etc. Make sure to get one of those Mr.Clean Eraser sponges. It works like magic and it has become my best friend for crayon on walls, handprints, dirt, etc. I haven't tried it with pen, but I'm guessing it would probably work on that too. Good luck, I think us moms with two-year olds need some sort of medal when we get past that CRAZY stage in our childs life.

I see no problem confining your child to one room. we have a open loft in our house and when our son was born I put a gate up and made that is room. ONce in awhile I would switch and move him down stairs to the front room and confine him there. I dont' remember the exact age I finally let him have free roam of the house but I know he was much older than 2 and I know he was safe from the stairs.
I now have a 9 1/2 month old girl and pretty much doing the same thing. I have a gate in the loft and a super yard down stairs.
Not sure this will help you. Maybe someone will give better advice.

You could try mounting a dry erase board and/or large pad of paper on the wall at his level - it sounds like he is an artist and it's a shame to discourage natural talent and drive - do your best to appreciate him and what you can to accommodate his needs while teaching him what is and is not appropriate. As far as confinement - I have never agreed with baby prisons except when the keep a child from something harmful (ie: a hot woodstove/fireplace; stairs; water) and then it is usually the item that got imprisoned not the baby. Good luck.

You know that wall at Babies R Us that has all of the baby safety stuff on it? Looks like that wall might be for you. You will need to lock up all of the things that he can use to destroy the house. You will also need to put those doorknob covers so he can't open doors to the bathrooms. At 2, these kids are curious and don't know what the dangers are. All you can do is take preventative measures and discipline when he does something dangerous and hope he gets the message. Good luck.

My daughter went through a similar phase at around the same age. I had read somewhere that part of the reason kids in this age group draw on walls is that it is easier for them than to sit at a table and draw with the crayon pointed down. Anyway, I got an art easel so my daughter could draw standing up and I threw out any drawing implement that wasn't washable. Crayola makes a great line of washable art supplies. Then I had to re-direct my daughter, when I caught her coloring on the wall I would tell her no and then pick her up and move her to the easel and say "draw on paper only"
Eventually she got it.

I do think it's important to teach your son that it is not appropriate to draw on walls, ever. My reason for this is that my daughter's 5 year old friend recently drew in pencil all over our playroom wall. When I talked to his mom she said, "oh, he always does that" and proceeded to show me all of the drawing he has done all over their house. Don't let this happen to your son, or your house. If you work with him he will learn the difference.
Also, go for keeping him confined to a single space when he can't have your full attention.

I had a similar situation..My son would wake up from his naps and then wreck havoc in quiet...he was sooo sneaky. I now have him nap on a sleeping bag in our family room where I can see him. I have made him wash the walls which he has written on ( that phase didn't last long) and I have shut and locked doors so that he cannot get into some rooms. I think that confining him to one area is fine...you can let him into other areas when you think the time is right..but I would remove him quickly if he starts to destroy that area. I also have told my son that "big boys" don't do this or that...it seemed to work. Good Luck.

My son has gone through it all too.... I know that this may sound bad...but we have to lock our son in his room.. We sit in the hallway while he's in there, but it worked for us... And I did ask a pshyciatrist about the "laws" involving this and it was okay, as long as you are right there....but he could throw a fit and tear up his own room and when he was done, he got to come out... Just try to find things that he is interested in, or maybe take him outside and ride a bike or something........ i know its not too much help, but maybe it will work for you too..

Even the best parents can't watch their child every single second. If your two year old is figuring out how to get into things that you thought he couldn't get to on a regular basis, I think having one extremely child proofed room where you used a gate occasionally is a good idea for everyone's safety and sanity. I mean, you have to know he's safe while you shower and use the bathroom if nothing else. As he gets older and begins to understand boundaries - especially those related to safety - you can give him a little more free reign.

Go for it! I had two boys 13 months apart. The child gate was my lifesaver when they were little. Also, get him out doors at the park let him run ragged outside where he can not wreak as much havoc.

I think that giving him his own "space" would not be a bad idea. Just make sure that he has things that he can do. One idea may be to tape freezer paper, shiny side down, to the walls and let him draw away. Then you can save his artwork and not squash his creativity. Another is to paint the chalkboard paint on one wall and let him have his way with chalks. Maybe if he has his own room to do that kind of thing in, it will not be as tempting to color all over the house. Also I would highly recommend the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to remove unwanted coloring. It has removed ink pen from a couch, marker off walls and also pen from a board book that was wrote on. Just don't let your little one get a hold of them. I saw on an email where a child suffered chemical burns all over his arms from scrubbing himself with one. Good Luck!

I have a 2 year old also. He is becoming more and more hard to manage. I have to take it in stride and realize its just a stage and it will be over at about 31/2 or so. Maybe some different toys because I realized my son's toys weren't age appropriate for him which is why he wasn't playing with them anymore (and bored which leads to his mischievousness)we forget how quickly they grow both physically and mentally. How about some water play outside or in the bathtub when you notice he is bored and starting to get mischievous.

Hello L.,

I have a busy and hectic 2 year old in my house too. For the permanent ink and dry erase marker on the wall, you have to use primer to cover the marks and then paint over it for the marks to be gotten rid of. Get a toilet lock for the toilet in the bathroom and the childproof locks for the drawers and cupboards and that will make life a lot easier for the bathroom problem. When my son was younger I gated him into our family room, but now that he is 2, he can climb over it easily and all. Not sure if yours is a climber like mine, but it is next to impossible to keep a 2 year old gated in a room. I would put all the markers, pens, pencils, etcetera in a drawer with a child lock on it or in a high place where he cannot reach until you are there to supervise him in an activity with him. It is tough times as he is testing you right now, but you are doing great and I hope I have helpped a little at least.

D.

Use WD40 sprayed on a sponge and it will get the markings off the walls, it should work on pencil, crayon and marker.

As for you little boy, maybe try taking some time out each day to sit and color with him at the table. Get him intested in coloring books, now's the time to start teaching him what different colors are, and how to draw shapes, then once he gets good at shapes, teach him stick figures and move on to recognizing and writing letters of the alphabet. Also they sell washable markers and crayons, they are a bit more expensive, but they wash of very easily. Good Luck!

Put up a large white board on one wall and let him draw on that, so he won't be totally denied his creativity. Or get him washable markers and paint all your wall with enamel paint so the washing will not take it off.

Hey L.,

Isn't a child's curiosity just a ...blessing? :) Another thing I didnt see anyone mention was Crayola Color Wonder. If THOSE aren't the greatest invention I don't know what is. :)

When my son turned 2, my husbad had bought some cheap, water soluble markers for him. (Why I don't know but my opinion didn't mean much and dad meant well...) when the child decided paper wasn't fun enough, he colored HIMSELF from head to toe and EVERYTHING inbetween with the markers. Water soluble or not, you still have to scrub. Everything. It was WEEKS before the child got the purple out of the belly button and don't get me started on the other areas of his body!!!

The color wonder markers only write on the special CW paper. They also have all kinds of the kits now and finger paints and stuff too. After the "marker incident" as its now known (and I kick myself I didn't take photos before the bath...) the only markers allowed in the house were the Color Wonders. He liked them as he could draw or paint whatever shape he wanted and we liked it because if he used them on anything else, it didn't really write.

I don't mean to sound judgemental, but who's the "adult" here? Sounds like he is exploring with things and with you. He needs to know what the word "no" means. I have raised two daughters myself, a year apart, which was trying at times to say the least. I found that being consistent with them worked the best. I think the child gate works wonders and do not think he is too old for it.