My 2 and 1/2 year old daughter is only letting mommy put her to bed. Daddy can read her a book, but if mommy is home, she sobs to hysteria until I come upstairs. We are expecting another child in the fall and need to get her use to daddy putting her to bed.
Yes, if you buy toys for her all the time, she will start to expect that. A kid does not need a hundred different toys to be entertained. You should be able to run into Wal Mart without a scene.
If she already has a ton of toys, sort through them and give some to charity. You can also box up some of them for a month or two, and then bring them out again--sort of a toy rotation.
we have our children (2 & 5)earn stickers for brushing teeth, doing good at school, cleaning up etc....when they get so many stickers they earn real money...they can use this to buy stuff at the store like gum, lip gloss etc...it teaches them that they need to earn their money, save up for something special, and helps us get off the hook every time we go to the store...they are learning that if they want something special they need to work for it. dont get me wrong, i buy little things thoughout the year to reward them too, but save major purchase for birthdays and christmas.
It's not too late to change this. It will be much easier to change her attitude and perspective at 2 1/2 than at 10, for example. I totally agree with the other responses.
We hardly ever buy anything for our son (2 years old) because grandparents buy him so much. He will typically get new toys for Christmas, his birthday, and anytime he sees his grandparents (they live 1000 miles away, so it is a couple of times a year). Also, his grandparents sometimes ship toys in the mail to him. We even try to limit the things his grandparents buy for him because we do not want our son to expect that he deserves toys all the time (and we don't want to have to store them and pick them up constantly).
He has a few toys that are very special to him, but most of the toys are not important to him because he so many. Our child is also quite content playing with non-toys as well (a spoon, a bowl, etc.) I periodically box up some of his toys while he naps or is sleeping. A couple of months later, I will switch out some of his toys. For him, he feels like he got something new.
When my son gets older, I want him to help us pick out which toys get donated to Goodwill and which toys should be kept. I want to make sure he learns how to earn and appreciate what he gets in life (whether its toys, money, a job, or anything else) and how to give back to others.
Your child is probably getting too many toys. Without going into great length....I recommend a book called
"No: Why kids of all ages need to hear it and Ways Parents can say it" by David Walsh. Here is the link to the book on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/NO-Kids-Ages-Need-Hear-Parents/dp/B...
I heard David Walsh speak at a seminar that my workplace provided and was fascinated with what he had to say. I then bought the book and am in the middle of reading it now. It goes into detail about not just spoiling our kids with toys but also how to build real self esteem, etc. He is a psychologist from MN. Studies have linked the ability for children to delay gratification with many successes in life (including school). David Walsh also talks about having a balanced discsipline approach neither too lenient nor too strict (like a dictator). It is very interesting and I highly recommend it. You may change your view on buying lots and lots of toys for your kid after you read the book.
I'm guilty of it too but yes it's bad. It get's out of hand quickly trust me. It's to the point with my daughter that she never has any ideas of what she wants for holidays birthdays because she has it all and it's not special because she's always getting something new year round.
I can relate! The only way I've found is to allow the crying. It doesn't last long and they do learn that they are ok (important for them to realize!) If I were you, I'd leave around bed time, explain that you are going to work for a little bit and come back with a kiss while you are asleep & Dad is going to read some books, help you brush your teeth and count sheep/rock/dance your to sleep. ...then follow through. My husband knows that our son may have a break down and at first it was hard, but every time is gets easier. Then, after a while, you could consider being available and go through the same routines Dad does or just explain you are going to work (and stay in the house) and Dad'll help you for a little while. Good luck! I know it's hard~ M.
In *my* opinion you're starting a bad habit. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 14 month old and we rarely buy them toys because they get so much from their grandparents. If we do buy them something they are never with us. When we go shopping they never even ask for anything because they don't know any different.
I wish they mamasource had existed when I had my first child. I made huge mistakes with the buying. I have three boys 10, 5 and 19 month old My boys have so many toys that they don't, have anything that is particularly special. All I do is trip over the clutter. When we go shopping all I hear is I want..I want. I think that I did it, because my parents didn't buy me anything outside of holidays. Now I know why. I never asked for anything when my mom took me shopping. I learned how to save money. Don't make the same mistake that I did. I should have raised my kids as I was raised, they would have special toys that they appreciate. I still have a chance with my little guy. I have also started giving toys away to charity. Good luck to you. It is hard not to shop!!
