Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Broken Home

We are raising our children in a broken home. In fact, it is because of them that it is broken. I absolutely believe that my children are trying to make my head explode, with their constant destructive behavior. You remember (an are still probably horrified by) the potato peeler-on-the-kitchen-drawers episode. Well, last week, someone stuck a tree limb in the door lock of the van and broke it off in there. And, then, today, after running a couple of errands, I was met at the door with an accusation that someone (else, of course) had broken a cabinet door in the kitchen. This turned out to be more appallingly true than I'd even allowed myself to imagine upon hearing the words. It isn't just one kid, either, though some seem to be more destructively inclined than others. They all seem to be in on the action, working sometimes as teams and sometimes as individuals. We've been in our house only just over a year, and I can already see its ruin spelled out in the ominous handwriting on the wall garage door.

I do not hear other people talk about this kind of all-out destructiveness from their kiddos, and I do not remember it from my own childhood (though my mom may have clearer memories of that than I do). Is anyone else out there experiencing this kind of thing? If so, what are you doing to curb the destructive tendencies? Perhaps one of you has lived through it and is now willing to tell me all your parenting survival secrets? I feel like I'm beating my head against an already damaged wall over here, and short of running away or locking the children up for the next 17 years, I'm not really sure what to do. I will take any advice, commiseration, encouragement or bottles of alcoholic beverages you can give.

4 comments:

  1. It's the boys. Gus has done more damage to my body and this home than anything else. It HAS to be the boy factor. It spreads like a virus.

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  2. Oh, let me make you feel better.......my carpet looks like it's in a school and they don't even bring drinks in the living room. Its from feet! My recliner has had to be professionally clean from barf falling in the cracks. My daughters white dresser has 3 orange pumpkin ink stains(I plan to blog about this) from a window cling left on it. The kitchen cabinets are beyond chipped. Paint is cracked off of door frames-I've repainted it at least 3 times. Marker is on my new bedspread. There's a huge crayon mark on my living room wall. The trim in the kids bathroom has water damage from a spill I didn't know about. And I won't mention the number of toys, dishes, frames, jewelry, light bulbs, books, and baskets that have been destoyed my by my kids. So I would say yours could right a tight race with the Smart Family! ; ) A phrase I often repeat to my husband, "We can't own anything nice....EVER."

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  3. Well...I was once referred to as my dad's pet coon. You might want to talk to him about how to get through destructive phases. I don't really remember breaking anything. I was just helping put them where I thought they needed to be, or fixing them, or, sometimes, showing how useful certain tools could be for other things. For example, I bet nobody ever thought of using a potato peeler for a router. Which is better a $100 cabinet door or a $150 router? You just saved $50.

    Although Dad may have gotten through my destructinve phase, if you want further advice, you can consult Bekki.

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  4. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not all alone here, guys! Sometimes just feeling like there are other people out there experiencing similar things makes it more bearable.

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