As a parent, the days when you come back from work and find that your kids destroyed something around the house are many. One day they paint the walls in the living room, the other they break your favourite mug, and the examples could continue. Children seem to have no limit when it comes to home destruction, they could damage everything from the furniture to decorations and even their toys. The Internet also came a long way over the last few years, so they have more inspiration than ever. You often feel like you don’t even fix something, they have already started thrashing another area.
This article is meant to provide you with some recommendations so you can prevent your kids from destroying the house. There are many years left until they reach adulthood, and you need to implement some strategies, so you can minimise the damage.
It’s Crucial To Understand Why Children Have A Destructive Behaviour
Children are curious
There is no secret that children are naturally curious, and therefore they want to explore their environment and things surrounding them. They don’t damage things around the house because they’re bad or naughty, they are genuinely interested in them and want to learn as much as possible about them. This might mean that they take objects apart because they want to find more about the components, and so on. Even if you find it highly disturbing, their destructive behaviour is healthy in their early years because it enhances the learning process.
Children want to communicate something
Sometimes your children do something you find challenging to understand, like painting the walls or breaking some of their toys for seemingly no reason. However, there’s often a message they are trying to communicate when they engage in activities like these. Experts state that children break things when they want to draw attention to something they cannot put into words. So instead of looking for ways to ground them, try to figure out if they are trying to communicate something. Suppose this is the case, you could always teach them better ways to share their thoughts.
Stressed or anxious children act out
Children also suffer from stress and anxiety, and because they don’t know how to manage them, they are tempted to take their emotions out on things. You might think they’re only naughty, but there are greater chances they’re trying to capture your attention and tell you something is wrong through their destructive behaviour.
How Can You Prevent Your Children From Damaging Your House?
Integrate rustic elements into your interior design
An effective way to stay ahead of your children damaging your furniture is to use items that already look slightly rustic or weathered. Of course, you should still care for them and regularly use a wood oil to maintain their characteristics in the long term and prevent wear and tear due to age. You should place these furniture elements in high-traffic areas or in the rooms where your children spend most of the time. Suppose your kids have the tendency to play a lot around these elements, you can find at Rubio Monocoat several other products that enable you to care for them.
Opt for performance fabrics
Sturdy and performance fabrics are a great solution for households where children or pets tend to wreak havoc. You can replace your existing fabrics with better options that resist stains, moisture, and odours. And worry no more, they’re still looking good, as the industry has invested more resources into creating fabrics for high-traffic environments.
Another way to hide the fact that your children are little destructors is to mix colours, patterns, and textures. Patterned fabrics and thick textures are more appropriate for a house where children run around. These fabrics hide dirt and stains better, so they’ll prove quite helpful.
Purchase machine washable items
This tip will also save you a lot of money because you can easily handle a situation when your kids spill something on your couch or chairs. Every time they stain something or spill food or drinks on items, you can remove the covers and pop them in the washing machines. Search for toys, sofa covers, rugs, and even decorations that could be thrown in the washing machine.
Don’t make the mistake of buying upholstered furniture or rugs that can be only spot cleaned because you’ll find it quite challenging to handle all the stains your kids will cause.
Cover the walls in washable paint
You’ll find on the market high-gloss interior and exterior paint to cover the walls. You can use it for painting the walls, cabinet doors, room doors, and other home elements. It’s advisable to switch to a stain-resistant formula so you can clean it easily when your kids spill solutions.
It will be more expensive to paint all the walls and surfaces in stain-resistant alternatives, but they allow you to save more in the long run. The saying you get what you pay for rings true when it comes to paint because it allows you to clean surfaces easier. The same goes for furniture and decorations, it’s best to spend more money upfront and invest in higher quality craftsmanship now, so you can prevent issues in the future.
Keep your children busy
Kids are sometimes destructive because they have too much energy and nowhere where to spend it. Children don’t know what to do with so much energy, so you need to guide them into activities. One solution is to take them outdoors when the weather is warm, so they can engage in physical activities that drain their energy. Teach them how to ride a bike, take them for walks in the park, or even enrol them in sports. The key is to be too tired to damage the house when they get inside.
You should also use their short attention span to your advantage. When you notice they’re showing signs of destructive behaviour, gently take them away from that situation and direct their attention to something else.
