Babyproofing & Christmas

I have 3 yo twins and a 19 month old. All boys. Very rambunctious. We are trying to teach them about treating things nice, etc. Its not working very well. So for Christmas of course I couldn't put out any of my nice stuff (snow globes, etc.). I got one nice flameless Christmas candle. I thought oh this is pretty and put it on my dining room table. It didn't even last a full 24 hours before I just found it smashed in 2 pieces on the floor. I just lost it and started crying. I know this sounds so stupid but I felt like it was the one nice Christmas thing I could put out. I have a few other things but of course they keep moving them (one tinsel tree they completely tore apart and I had to throw out).

This is just par for the course, right? I just need to suck it up for a few years, right. We haven't even put up the tree yet and the way I feel right now I have no desire. We'll just put the unbreakable ornaments on it (which kind of stinks because I got so many nice ones when the kids were born, with their pictures, dates, etc) but I would be hurt if they broke so in the box they'll stay.

Anyone else feel like this? I know in the grand scheme of things, this is so petty, but it's really bothering me. Maybe because Christmas was my mom's favorite holiday and she would go all out decorating and I'm really missing get this year.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

5 and 3... That's all dh and I say...it will be better when they are 5 and 3. (I have almost 4 year old twins and a crazy 20 month old)

My house will be decorated some day...for now I put a few things on the wall out of my little ones reach and will have a tree.

Hang in there you are not the only one!

Babyproofing & Christmas

My boys also twins just turned 3yrs & Have no problem with tree. Last yr at 2yrs we had it gated.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

right there with you. we have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old and we are delaying putting anything up, especially the tree, for as long as possible.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

Babyproofing & Christmas

I have a 22 month old DS - we put a gate around the tree last year and have it up again this year. I put everything breakable up high and have come to terms with the fact that I will have a house decorated from shoulder up for a few years... DS2 is a few days old, so by the time the older one learns to respect my decorations, I think DS2 will be destructive. Right now, every decoration that is below shoulder level is sitting in a pile in the middle of my living room. We only put the crappy ornaments on the bottom of the tree because, even with the gate, he finds ways to get to them.

Babyproofing & Christmas

I have a 9 month old and he keeps grabbing at the tree and anything that he can reach for..there are no ornaments on the bottom of the tree and everything else is beyond his reach...No will be his first word cause that is all I have been saying since the tree went up

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

I HIGHLY recommend shatterproof ornaments. They are really, truly, indestructable (got mine at Home Depot).

It's just a period of time....

Babyproofing & Christmas

My DS is 4 and from the time he could walk and touch the tree we always said No touch. Same with other things we didn't want him to touch for Christmas. If he touched once or twice then fine, with a warning. After that, there was a time out and he really hasn't touched anything again. We have never gated the tree and I've always put out my breakable items (just higher up).

IMO, your older boys should not be smashing things to pieces that you have specifically asked them not to touch. The baby I can understand a little more since he's still learning. Your older boys though - that wouldn't really fly with me. I know every child is different, but there needs to be some boundaries with your stuff too.

Babyproofing & Christmas

double post

Message edited 12/8/2014 1:06:32 PM.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

Yes. We are working on it. My baby believe it or not could care less. He doesn't really care about the xmas stuff. It's really one of the twins. This kid does not listen! He has been punished so much. He is just so curious. I don't think he means to be destructive but pushed the candle across the table and of course it fell off the side. His brother if I even look at him says sorry mommy and starts crying.

Ugh. We put the tree up, no decorations yet and one keeps sticking his dinosaurs in the water saying they want to swim. It's terrible but I almost busted out laughing. The other one keeps hiding his toys in the tree so if I walk away for a second there's a car or whatever sticking out of it and needles all over. I am getting a fake tree next year!!!!

Babyproofing & Christmas

We gated off the tree his first year and since then we have not had to. LAst year he barely touched the tree and this year (almost 3) he wanted to help decorate and every now and then is touching ornaments. I just keep telling him they are not toys and not to play under the tree. Most of mine are shatter proof so worst that will happen is that I have to pick them up.

Other decorations I put up and he's not too interested except for the Nativity scene.....I bought him his own so he can play with that.

Babyproofing & Christmas

My dd is two and this is the first Christmas that she can walk and is very active, so we only out shatterproof ornaments on the tree. She is constantly pulling them off and I find them all over the house. It's annoying but at least she can't get hurt from them and I don't have to worry about any of our special ones getting ruined. Any other decorations I have out are up high out of her reach, and she begged me to let her play with them for the first day or so, but now she doesn't ask about them anymore. Once she's old enough to understand to leave the tree and other decorations alone I'll go back to decorating more.

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Our 16 mo DD has been surprisingly good, although she did go to town on a large stuffed gingerbread figure today. I thought we would have to gate off but haven't and it's been fine. We don't have anything breakable towards the bottom and she keeps grabbing a couple of bell ornaments, which are fine to play with.

We leave out other things though outside of Christmas and just continuously tell her no. She does test limits and knows when she shouldn't be doing something because she looks at us first, gives us a smile, and then we reinforce with no. Mostly it works, sometimes not.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

I have 2 yo rambunctious girls who do the same. We have very few breakable ornaments on the tree and they are clasped way up high. They pull the unbreakable off all day long. My tree looks like poo. I brought my coffee table down to have ppl over and they stand on it and jump. They rip everything off display shelves so I can only put unbreakables on there. They RIPPED the back stand off a picture frame. Who does that?!? LOL I wanted something nice for the kitchen table but that's not happening. Oh well.

Re: Babyproofing & Christmas

I am having a hard time too! I am in my third trimester pregnant with twins and I have 3 yr old twin girls. I watched DH and my girls decorate our tree. I had a meltdown and cut them all off after three of my ornaments from growing up and one of DDs baby's first christmas were broken.

When the girls were running around with my ceramic gingerbread house that they stole off the shelf somehow, I almost lost my mind!!! I fear that this is par for the course and we will just have to suck it up for a few more years and either not put out our favorites, or pray our favorites don't get broken!