Soooo, should I make my 3 year old suffer through Christmas?
OK, I'm hoping that the title got some people in here, but that you'll all read the post before thinking I'm a monster.
Here's the deal. My 3 year old son has a Tag Jr. He love it- it's pretty much hs favorite toy. I like that he enjoys it because, while we read to him and work on letters, he tends to enjoy being able to sit by himself sometimes and "read".
He knows he's not allowed to play in his cups of water, but he doesn't often have to deal with it because he uses my straw cups most of the time. So I can accept that his self control is a bit unformed about this.
He was playing with his water today and spilled it on the Tag Jr. It won't turn on now, even after I took it apart, made sure it was working, and put it back together (I used to work with circuit boards and electrical components). It worked when I put it together, but I'm thinking something shorted out the board and it's ruined now.
So my dilemma: We got him a book for his Tag Jr for Christmas. Should we take the book back? Should we buy him a new one and replace it without him knowing? Should we replace it after talking to him about it, and make sure he knows that this is why he has to wait a few days to a week to be able to use it again?
I'd appreciate any suggestions you can give me. I don't want to give him a new one for Christmas because he lost it while breaking a rule. On the other hand, I don't want to punish him for a long time because of something he couldn't fully help. So whaddaya think?
EDIT: OK, it didn't occur to me that the "take the book back" thing would seem like a punishment. I just meant should we wait for a while to get him a new one, take the book back, and use the money for a different gift?
We decided to get him a new one. We talked to him about it, explained that it's broken, but we didn't say he was getting a new one. He will, but not for Christmas. We don't really want to make it one of his gifts. We're just going to give him a new (used, actually) one, and talk to him about being careful with his toys again, then the book for Christmas. Then, the new rule will be not to use it in the dining room. Since his food stays in the dining room, it shouldn't be a problem after that. =) Does that seem appropriate?
I would get it for him from you (not Santa, if you do Santa) for Christmas, and after he gets all excited, remind him about taking care of it, set some rules, and supervise. That's just my opinion though.
Place it in a bowl of dried rice for several days, if it still doesnt work i would get him a new one.
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
It's not going to work. I took it all apart. It shorted out sometime after I put it together last time. There was water I didn't see when I took it apart the first time. =( It's OK though. He'll get another one and he'll just get a little talk about it when we give it to him.
Quoting Aamy:Place it in a bowl of dried rice for several days, if it still doesnt work i would get him a new one.
Quoting MamaRae85:
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:
Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
No, lol-I just couldn't stand thinking about his sad little baby face heartbroken over his favorite toy! Wait a minute, is this a Tag or Tag Jr? If it's Tag Jr you could probably have ours, no one uses it and we have like 12 new books for it. It just never caught on with my 3yr old, she always liked the Tag(We got in when she was 1 1/2)
Aw, how sweet of you! Well, he seems OK, since he realized what happened. We had to explain it a couple of times, and he seems disappointed but he's being very mature about it. lol We're getting him a used one (Tag Jr) to replace it, and we'll give him the new book for Christmas. He's only got a few. I honestly didn't even know they MADE more than about 6 books for it! lol
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:
Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
No, lol-I just couldn't stand thinking about his sad little baby face heartbroken over his favorite toy! Wait a minute, is this a Tag or Tag Jr? If it's Tag Jr you could probably have ours, no one uses it and we have like 12 new books for it. It just never caught on with my 3yr old, she always liked the Tag(We got in when she was 1 1/2)
Quoting MamaRae85:
Aw, how sweet of you! Well, he seems OK, since he realized what happened. We had to explain it a couple of times, and he seems disappointed but he's being very mature about it. lol We're getting him a used one (Tag Jr) to replace it, and we'll give him the new book for Christmas. He's only got a few. I honestly didn't even know they MADE more than about 6 books for it! lol
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:
Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
No, lol-I just couldn't stand thinking about his sad little baby face heartbroken over his favorite toy! Wait a minute, is this a Tag or Tag Jr? If it's Tag Jr you could probably have ours, no one uses it and we have like 12 new books for it. It just never caught on with my 3yr old, she always liked the Tag(We got in when she was 1 1/2)
Seriously, If you want them..they're yours. He sounds like he'd be thrilled to bits by them. The Tag itself only holds a certain amount of books, so if you want to switch them out you have to delete one temporarily and add a new one.
That's really awesome that you'd do that. I wouldn't want you to have to pay a bunch of shipping, though. If you're really willing to part with them, I could figure out how to pay shipping, I bet!
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
Aw, how sweet of you! Well, he seems OK, since he realized what happened. We had to explain it a couple of times, and he seems disappointed but he's being very mature about it. lol We're getting him a used one (Tag Jr) to replace it, and we'll give him the new book for Christmas. He's only got a few. I honestly didn't even know they MADE more than about 6 books for it! lol
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:
Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
No, lol-I just couldn't stand thinking about his sad little baby face heartbroken over his favorite toy! Wait a minute, is this a Tag or Tag Jr? If it's Tag Jr you could probably have ours, no one uses it and we have like 12 new books for it. It just never caught on with my 3yr old, she always liked the Tag(We got in when she was 1 1/2)
Seriously, If you want them..they're yours. He sounds like he'd be thrilled to bits by them. The Tag itself only holds a certain amount of books, so if you want to switch them out you have to delete one temporarily and add a new one.
Quoting MamaRae85:
That's really awesome that you'd do that. I wouldn't want you to have to pay a bunch of shipping, though. If you're really willing to part with them, I could figure out how to pay shipping, I bet!
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
Aw, how sweet of you! Well, he seems OK, since he realized what happened. We had to explain it a couple of times, and he seems disappointed but he's being very mature about it. lol We're getting him a used one (Tag Jr) to replace it, and we'll give him the new book for Christmas. He's only got a few. I honestly didn't even know they MADE more than about 6 books for it! lol
Quoting RLT2:
Quoting MamaRae85:
lol Do you hate it?
We're getting him a new one. He'll just have to sit through another "toy rules" talk. And no more using it in the dining room. =)
Quoting RLT2:
Oh geez, he can have our Tag....
No, lol-I just couldn't stand thinking about his sad little baby face heartbroken over his favorite toy! Wait a minute, is this a Tag or Tag Jr? If it's Tag Jr you could probably have ours, no one uses it and we have like 12 new books for it. It just never caught on with my 3yr old, she always liked the Tag(We got in when she was 1 1/2)
Seriously, If you want them..they're yours. He sounds like he'd be thrilled to bits by them. The Tag itself only holds a certain amount of books, so if you want to switch them out you have to delete one temporarily and add a new one.
Sure, can you tell me what titles you have, and if I have any you don't have I'll send you those. Did you buy a new Tag Jr yet, because if you didn't I'll send that too. Okay? :)
Since it would seem you can afford to replace it and since he enjoys it so much I would replace it. At the same time I would work on "how" things are done at your house. Mine is a Montessori background where a great deal of thought, planning and execution are invested in the how. It is good for the child's mind and, as a side effect, prevents this kind of accident. Toys are a child's tools and should always be treated with respect, even with a three-year-old.
I would set up a place that is to be used for activity with this piece of tech, with appropriate places to store the device and all its accessories. Work with him to set it up so he learns how to find his things and to put them away properly when he is done. When he is at that place to use this device he should not be allowed to have any food or drink at all. If he wishes to eat or drink he must put the device away and then go to the place where eating and drinking is supposed to be done.
That's the ugliest name everrrr!!!
- MamaRae85
on Dec. 7, 2012 at 7:19 PM