Help! She’s ruining our house!

Before having kids, my home used to be immaculate. But then they came, and I had to shed some of my obsessive compulsive tendencies. It may seem impossible to keep your house clean with toddlers around.The minute you put away a toy or mop up a spill, another appears. The messiness can get so bad, you might think she’s purposely trying to drive you crazy. But 1-year-olds are simply discovering the world the only way they know how: by getting into everything and producing a lot of clean up work for mom and dad.

Curiosity, the drive to become more independent and the lack of manual skills drives your one-year-old to mishaps. It is precisely because they need to learn these skills that they get into trouble. Messy play may benefit them, but they don’t have to ruin your home and all your possessions. We’ll show you a few tips to tame typical toddler messes.

Toilet Paper Toil

1 and 2-year-olds just love to unravel toilet paper rolls. Rolling it back up can be a pain, but you should know that this messy activity requires a pushing and throwing motion that builds your kid’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

So what did I do at home? I give my toddlers their own toilet paper roll. My daughter’s is pink as opposed to the white rolls that we don’t want wasted. Make it clear this is the roll to play with and not the ones in the bathroom. Keep it as half a roll so it’s not to difficult to roll back.

Unplanned Wall Murals

Drawing in an upright position practices motor skills that your child can’t work on while in the chair-and-table position. Drawing in any position boosts dexterity, but teachers in my kids’ preschool suggest that the positions should be varied to train a wider scope of muscles.

So how do you let them work on their dexterity and practice creativity on your walls? Forget the expensive easel. Besides, it’s the wall they really want! I simply get inexpensive butcher paper and tape it on their walls. Voila, they can create murals to their hearts’ content. Placed nicely, they actually spruce up their rooms.

Playing With Food

Toddlers just love hands-on experiences. Exploring the varied textures, colors and flavors of food is a big come-on to play. Mashed potato needs to be squished. Jello needs to slip through their fingers. As they are also learning cause and effect, they want to see what happens when they drop that piece of cheese.

Place a large easy-to-clean mat underneath the high chair so you’re not worried about the inevitable mess. If you jump in to clean every time she spills or drops, you’re wasting your energy. This can tempt your toddler to play a game of Let’s see how many times Mom will pick up my cup! To learn to eat on their own, they have to make some mess. However, if more playing is being done as opposed to actual eating, then it’s time to end the meal.

Cabinet Chaos

Cabinets and drawers are places to explore. Kids love to ransack them since there are so many different interesting things inside. Opening up containers and exploring things with their hand is also a great exercise in dexterity and spatial awareness.

In our kitchen, we have one cabinet filled with plastic containers, old utensils and pots and pans they are allowed to explore. Others are off limits, but they know where they can tinker. Change up what’s inside every so often to keep it interesting. Same goes in my home office. There are actually two drawers my crafty toddler daughter loves rummaging through. Old ribbons, pens, paper clips and other knick knacks are in there for her tinkering pleasure.

One important rule is, when they’re done tinkering they have to put everything back into their designated cabinet or drawer. Now that’s cleaning up messes 101 for toddlers themselves!

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