A Real Dilemma for Bathroom Baby

[Morton Fan]

instagram.com/p/U1To_zLqur/

Please note TW's comments on her Instagram ... wtf??

thatwife

Jan 23: Last night as we were drifting off to sleep TH and I heard some strange noises. T1 was still up (we tell him he can "play with his toys as long as he stays in his room" when we put him down for the night) and he took every single toy basket that I had carefully sorted by type and dumped it all out next to his bed. I asked him what he was doing and he said "I be so careful with my toys mama". I'm assuming that he saw what I was doing and thought that toys are meant to be dumped in big piles? I would laugh... if I wasn't 9 months pregnant and dreading being on my hands and knees redoing all that work. Fellow moms: should I just scoop it all up and dump it in his toy drawers and call it good? I feel like he has more fun playing with his toys when they are accessible/sorted though.

Is it really that difficult to deal with an upturned basket of toys? I guess maybe it is, when your child usually only has five total toys that are all stored out-of-reach ...

[BlondeAgent007]

Right. Because kids really need organized toys to play with them :::eyeroll:::

Yes, TW. Dump them all into a toy box. He can take the time to look through it to find what he needs.

[Morton Fan]

Right. Because kids really need organized toys to play with them :::eyeroll:::

Yes, TW. Dump them all into a toy box. He can take the time to look through it to find what he needs.

I like how she seems to think it was a one-time occurrence. Um, TW, it will probably happen again. And again. And again ...

[ILoveJellybeans]

Im happy that he has toys. Im sure before his mom threw them all away.

Kids make messes and like emptying toy boxes. Deal with it.

[BlondeAgent007]

I like how she seems to think it was a one-time occurrence. Um, TW, it will probably happen again. And again. And again ...

The fact that he was this fucking old before it happened the first time is absolutely mind-blowing. A kid shouldn't be 2 years old before he makes his first mess that is more than a stray shoe and a block.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

I don't understand how a Mormon woman with a baby and another one the way can know less about basic child development and age-appropriate behavior. Even childless me can tell you that there is nothing unusual or noteworthy about a toddler getting out of bed to play with toys and make a mess. She just does not seem suited to motherhood at all.

[Libby Liberal]

Did she never read a book about child development? Everything she whines about this poor kid doing regarding his toys is normal kid development. And since her genius parenting has already caused him developmental issues, she might want to encourage things like sorting toys and imaginative play.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

I don't understand how a Mormon woman with a baby and another one the way can know less than I about basic child development and age-appropriate behavior. Even childless me can tell you that there is nothing unusual or noteworthy about a toddler getting out of bed to play with toys and make a mess. She just does not seem suited to motherhood at all.

ETA: riffles.

[meda]

Do parents really sort toys by type and expect kids to keep them that way? I mean, I can see making sure to keep that which is not age appropriate and messy well out of reach, but do various types of squishy bright colored things need to be sorted? Let child play with them, then throw em in a toy box to get them out of the way. Sheesh.

[Koala]

:shock:

#1. She needs to put him to bed properly. Bath, brush teeth, pajamas, story, hugs and kisses, lights out. Not "stay up and play in your room as long as you like, but leave me the hell alone".

#2. He is 3 right? Sing him the clean up song and show him how to toss his toys back in their basket. No sorting needed, no perfection needed. Clean is what you're shooting for, not the cover of Pottery Barn.

My kids always used their toys to pretend they were other things. Legos got mixed with a tea set and became pretend food. Blankets were turned into tents. Occasionally I would go in and sort it all out, but it only took them an afternoon to get it back like they liked it. For goodness sake, let the boy use his imagination.

**side note** I do think it's important for a child to have a clean place to play in. We never left toys all over the place and we did "quick cleans" throughout the day to keep it from turning into a giant mess.

[formergothardite]

Is this is the first time he has dumped out toys?

[Buzzard]

Are we sure that these are really "toys" and not random empty tissue boxes, blocks of wood, a wooden spoon etc? She may need to keep them "sorted" so as not to be confused with actual garbage.

[Koala]

Is this is the first time he has dumped out toys?

It's probably the first time he had any to dump out. I think she used to keep all 5 of them up high so he couldn't reach them.

[Conuly]

Do parents really sort toys by type and expect kids to keep them that way? I mean, I can see making sure to keep that which is not age appropriate and messy well out of reach, but do various types of squishy bright colored things need to be sorted? Let child play with them, then throw em in a toy box to get them out of the way. Sheesh.

Why not? Day cares do, preschools do, why not homes? Throwing all the toys into a box isn't cleaning any more than tossing all your clothes in a closet is cleaning. It's just hiding the mess. In a big toy box, kids have no choice but to take out all the toys to get the one they want, and this does create more mess. In my experience, it also makes kids more reluctant to help clean up, because if they do that then they can't find anything! Toys are also more likely to get broken when they're just dumped all together. God, how many times did I find a toy broken and forgotten at the bottom of the toy box as a kid, when it would've been safe and remembered on a shelf? And it really is no more effort to put the blocks here and the dolls there and the trucks somewhere else than it is to toss them together, especially since for small children it can be slightly more engaging to clean by sorting the toys, breaking the big job down into smaller tasks.

[meda]

Why not? Day cares do, preschools do, why not homes? Throwing all the toys into a box isn't cleaning any more than tossing all your clothes in a closet is cleaning. It's just hiding the mess. In a big toy box, kids have no choice but to take out all the toys to get the one they want, and this does create more mess. In my experience, it also makes kids more reluctant to help clean up, because if they do that then they can't find anything! Toys are also more likely to get broken when they're just dumped all together. God, how many times did I find a toy broken and forgotten at the bottom of the toy box as a kid, when it would've been safe and remembered on a shelf? And it really is no more effort to put the blocks here and the dolls there and the trucks somewhere else than it is to toss them together, especially since for small children it can be slightly more engaging to clean by sorting the toys, breaking the big job down into smaller tasks.

Ok, I was referring more to TW's unwillingness to alow a 3 year old to mess up a perfectly decorated and "sorted" room than to common sense sorting of small parts and fragile things, but I accept that this will be probably be a parenting fail on my part.

[Nothing2CHere]

OK, I confess - last night I sorted my child's toys into different bins. But, it was more for me than for him, because he's only 8 months old and of the three bins we keep toys in, one was almost empty while the other two were overflowing. So our oh-so-detailed sorting system for the time being is Toys That Make Noise; Toys That Do Not Make Noise; and Stuffed Animals (regardless of whether they make noise or not). I fully expect that in a week, they'll all be jumbled up again because Mr. Nothing and I will continue to just toss them into whichever basket is closest as we attempt to tidy up our living room.

[lilwriter85]

I don't understand how a Mormon woman with a baby and another one the way can know less about basic child development and age-appropriate behavior. Even childless me can tell you that there is nothing unusual or noteworthy about a toddler getting out of bed to play with toys and make a mess. She just does not seem suited to motherhood at all.

I agree, she isn't suited for motherhood. I don't think her husband is suited for parenthood either. They are basically just having kids to keep with their fellow Mormons.

[DoozerEquinox]

My experience with kids that are T2's age is that they are very excited to help. Let him help you put away the toys a few times and he'll know how to do it on his own soon.

[Morton Fan]

I agree, she isn't suited for motherhood. I don't think her husband is suited for parenthood either. They are basically just having kids to keep with their fellow Mormons.

Exactly. I wonder if they will stop with two arrows or not. In my experience, two is an entirely new ball game.

[BlondeAgent007]

Exactly. I wonder if they will stop with two arrows or not. In my experience, two is an entirely new ball game.

does anybody else misread "Mormons" as "Morons" every time? Maybe I just keep thinking over and over, "TW and TD are Morons" as I read through this stuff.

[greek_chorus]

does anybody else misread "Mormons" as "Morons" every time? Maybe I just keep thinking over and over, "TW and TD are Morons" as I read through this stuff.

All the time

[OkToBeTakei]

Lindsay?

I'm kind of afraid to ask. But what is happening in your avatar?

[BoomerLynn]

The fact that he was this fucking old before it happened the first time is absolutely mind-blowing. A kid shouldn't be 2 years old before he makes his first mess that is more than a stray shoe and a block.

This. When my oldest was 1, he would not only dump his toy bin over, he would also pull all the clothes out of his dresser drawers and drag them throughout his room. And at 8 months pregnant at that time, I picked them up and put them away. Every day. And why the hell is she not putting her kid to bed before she goes to sleep? WTF?

[BlondeAgent007]

Lindsay?

I'm kind of afraid to ask. But what is happening in your avatar?

I'm still wondering what yours is!

My horse crashed through a car avatar didn't have many fans, either. So I rediscovered pictures my friend and I took of barbies having graphic sex. This one was one of the least graphic, lol. We were drunk, 20, and bored :P

[ADoyle90815]

I agree, she isn't suited for motherhood. I don't think her husband is suited for parenthood either. They are basically just having kids to keep with their fellow Mormons.

I agree, neither of them are suited for parenthood, as they're only having children to keep up with their ward. Then again, this is the same woman who used Mormonism to manipulate her husband to marry her when he wasn't that into her in the first place. Still, once they were married, they started having children because that's what Mormons do once they get married.

I also misread "Mormons" as "Morons" all the time.