destructive behavior - in a 3-yr-old

my2monkeyboys wrote: My son Will has recently started tearing up his toys... like pulling his men apart, particularly. I've tried telling him that if he does that he'll get no more toys, and one day I even took most of his favorite toys (his Power Rangers and Spiderman men) and put them on the kitchen table so he couldn't play with them. just a few days later though he went and broke the leg off another man. He'll show them to me and act like, oh he needs to go to the doctor! Look how funny he runs now! He's not angry acting or anything, so I'm not sure if this is just a phase or what, nor do I know what to do about it. It has rethinking Christmas presents... who wants to spend money on toys he's going to break, ya know? My DH is very upset as he never broke (according to him, anyway) any of his toys and is as lost as I am.
Any suggestions?? Please?? I posted this in the 1-3-yr-old section, but I think maybe more will see it here. I hope you don't mind.
Sorry so long! wacko.gif

mckayleesmom replied: I don't know.....I remember alot of boys being that way....I have 2 brothers and they were distructive too......For example...lets see how far Stretch Armstrong can stretch.......I think its kind of similar to when girls undress their dolls 10 minutes after they get it. Im pretty sure they grow out of it once they realize how much their toys mean to them.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I don't have a lot of experience here but it sounds like normal little boy behaviour to me too... boys like to take things apart. As long as he isn't acting violent or angry I wouldn't worry about it.

redchief replied: Oh the things I did to my GI Joes.

Boys like to see how things work. Often when they're finished... they don't. Perhaps a building set of some sort that he can take apart and create with?

mckayleesmom replied: OOOH....Linkin Logs (sp?)

redchief replied:
That's what I was thinking... Something like that Brianne! I didn't want to recommend anything in particular because I'm not up on the age recommendations for those types of toys anymore; but that's exactly what I was thinking.

mckayleesmom replied: They also have these new toys for boys....most are cars, but they can take them apart and work on the engines.....very creative for a boy...because they love to take things apart to see how they work.

my2monkeyboys replied: Thanks for the replies. So you think I should just let him do it, without punishing him or anything? He does tend to do it more when he's kind of bored, I've noticed. Maybe the Lincoln Logs would do good. He has some of the really large duplo-type blocks, but doesn't find them as interesting as the smaller legos my nephew has. I've just been worried about him putting them in his mouth, though he doesn't much do that anymore. I just hate seeing him tearing up everything I paid good money for, you know? Like I said earlier, my husband claims he never tore up anything, but most every other guy I talk to says they did. I just don't know whether to try to stop it or just work around it...
Thanks for all the help so far!!!

PrairieMom replied: It sounds like he just figures out that things come apart, and is excited to see how now! I would tell him that it isn't nice to break your toys, then take them away until he is ready to play nicely with them. Until then, I would encourage his "mechanical " side by getting toys that are meant to be taken apart and put back together.
good luck!

my2monkeyboys replied: Thanks for all the help guys!

SOUTHERN MOMMY replied:
Oh yes it is very normal . Well that is here or at least i hope it is normal cause if it ain't i'm in trouble

holley79 replied: My brothers favorite thing was to take apart my barbies. My mom was HOT. She started getting him Transformers. (Do they still make them?) He would be busy for hours with those things.

my2monkeyboys replied: Oh, what a great idea! Although he may be a little young for them, if I'm with him helping I bet he'll love them!
Thanks!

jacobsmama replied: I would say his behavior is normal just trying to figure all this out how things work ya know?? But I would say trying toys he can't really break like the logs, leggos or something so he can put them together and take apart that way he knows how works and can't break it and as he learns then slowly give back other toys.