Mess Making Baby

This is normal behavior for a 15 month old. I suggest she's looking at you and laughing because she's having a good time. Also, at 15 months she has no impulse control. Her brain is still a baby brain and lacks the connections to have control.

Some parents try to battle this sort of behavior with punishment. I don't think it's worth the emotion and time it takes to make a child afraid which is the only reason she would stop. Learning to behave thru fear takes away from the baby's ability to become successful in learning to be self-controlled. Not that you're considering this method. I'm just being more thorough.

You may be able to train her to stay away from the drawers and books but it takes patient, consistent attitude and action. Every time she starts to do this remove her from the area, telling her no she cannot play with this and then take her to something with which she can play. This works with some babies bit it does take time and consistency. I have a friend for whom this worked but her baby had a mild mannered more compliant personality.

So, I agree with Mommyof2Boys. Move all that stuff out of her reach. Put drawer stoppers on the drawers. Block her from the area or room.

I allowed my kids to have fun with the books and the DVD's...seriously, it was their favorite game at that age!

They would pull them all out and I would put them all back...they LOVED it!

I also rearranged my kitchen bottom drawers and shelves to put in things they could get into and pull out!

Easy toys!

Time to cordon things off and baby-proof the home.
Put things you don't want touched, up high. Safely.
Shelves/drawers too. Making sure it cannot topple over.

They do this.
Exploring.
Its 'playing.'
And yes, its funny, They are having fun!

Kids this age and even at 3 years old, they do not have, fully developed impulse-control. So they will do it, and again and again and again.

This is only the beginning.

I let my kids play... doing things like this, as long as it was safe. Sure I moved certain things away. But not everything. They are learning. This is how they learn and explore.

Childproofing helps. Find childproofing locks for those drawers and knobs; if they don't work, securely and safely attach a smaller bungee tightly so she can't open them. Look over your furniture so you can know what will work best.

Know that, in the world of child development, this is not *bad* behavior, but very normal, essential-to-development behavior. The age of the toddler is the age of "dump and fill". She's learning she can affect her world, and taking out everything is one way of doing this. She's exploring. This is why she is taking every book off the shelf... because it is repetitive and interesting. Each one is similar but has a different color,different cover. They books fall! "I can make them fall!" is what she thinks. For her, despite your disapproval, this is *exciting* stuff.

When I had a toddler group at a daycare, I arranged the playspace primarily with this sort of play in mind, knowing that it was something the 'youngers' in my group were compelled to do. Even three's do this.

What I would do is offer baskets and containers of things safe for her to dump. At her age, big things she can't choke on like large pop beads and other large maniuplatives which can connect/be built are helpful. A basket of soft fabric balls or cardboard toilet paper tubes... these are endless fun for a child your daughter's age.

You will still be cleaning up many times a day... this comes with being the parent of the toddler. You can make some of it a game... I still tell my four year old "Here, you help me jump those toys right into this basket" and do it with the child. They are still at an age when verbal direction needs a visual example, and if you are loading a basket back up, she might imitate you (how she's learning) or dump it back out.

And limit how many materials you have out. Just two or three baskets of same-type objects, or a basket of "sames" and one "mixed". This will also engage her in sorting out like objects, another step up from the dump and fill, and very intriguing for little ones.

I went through that too, and it was really maddening because no matter how many times you say no and no matter how many distractions there are, they keep going back to doing exactly what you don't want them to do!!!

Ultimately, to save your sanity, move the books, and empty the drawers. Put toys and her books/puzzles in them instead. Or put child locks on the drawers.

Good luck!

Got to take things apart before you learn how to put them back together. My oldest was fascinated with our video cabinet. Everyday I had to put those things back until I just moved the videos out of the room. Let's see what else, kitchen cabinets, dresser drawers, linen closet, BOOKS (we have a LOT of books). The best advice I got was from a momma that told me to let them play. Get down on the floor and explore the mess with them and then teach them to clean up. Flour is fun to play in. Crisco is less fun. Sometimes it is hard, but nurture that curiosity. You'll both be better for it in the long run.

Ditto to Marda. Your baby knows she's having fun and that's about the extent of it. She has no concept that she's not obeying you. She's still a baby, just more mobile. Right now her thoughts lead her and she does whatever seems to fit her fancy.

The only permanent solution I know of is to rearrange everything. We've had to do this plenty of times. We also ended up buying shelves with glass covers over it (not breakable of course) so that she'd have to lift the front of the shelf in order to get anything out. Ours can't do that at that age. So it keeps things safe (we've also had several children, so it's been worth the money to buy those type of shelves).

With drawers, we also empty them of important things. We keep everything out of her reach.

I've only read Marda's comment, so I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned punishment, but I definitely would not punish at this age. It's pointless. They aren't mentally capable of getting it, and I think it's mean (it's very similar to punishing a six month old because that part of their brain just hasn't gotten it yet). Just modify your house so that it's safe for your baby. It is frustrating! But it gets much less frustrating when you change the house around. And use baby gates if you can/need to.

This is a pick your battles kind of thing. Child lock things that you want to keep safe or that are dangerous and allow her some kids books and toys to play with. In my kitchen I put locks on most of my cabinets but left I pot cabinet and 3 draws with plastic containers, utensils, etc But if you do have to stop her from something dangerous then a short (1 or 2 minute) time out in a play pen will work. When you put her in time out tell her a short sentence of why. When you take her out give her another activity to do. I did this for just a few things like touching wires and playing in the cat box. My kids got it pretty quick (maybe in 2-4 weeks). By about 24 months or sooner I was able to take the gates down.

It's just a developmental stage that she's going through and is totally normal. Babies this age are very curious and can't help themselves. My 16 mo. old does the same thing right now. She'll outgrow it soon enough. To deal with it invest in some of those kids cabinet locks and put them on the cabinets/drawers you don't want her getting into. Do leave some open for her to still rummage through! I keep the bookshelves a bit sparse right now, maybe 10-15 books instead of a whole bunch to cut down on the cleanup.

Yes this is a normal phase and yes it is extremely annoying and tiresome. At that age time outs can be somewhat effective, but she thinks she is playing. I know with my kids it took a long time to curb this behavior. Some things that saved my sanity were child locks on drawers and cabinets when possible. I also boxed up some of the books or moved them to higher shelves my children couldn't reach. Instead of 20 books to look at and pull off the shelves, I'd leave five board books. (I wanted them to have the chance to explore without the destruction and mess). Another option is to put things she can plunder in into the drawers and temporarily move the papers. I had to do this in our bathroom. I filled a drawer with a few toys instead of my nice towels. Baby gates can be a lifesaver and rethinking the furniture layout may help. For about four months, we had to keep our bar stools in our bedroom. Our daughter kept using them to climb onto the counter and anything else she could think of. It's annoying to have to make the changes, but it will save your sanity. When she is a bit older you can start slowly adding more items to the lower shelves.

My lower shelves are full of My 14 month old DD's books, a couple puzzles and a couple learning type toys. I have 2 big totes full of toys, 2 containers of mega blocks, a bucket of those clippy ring things, a basket of little people, ponies etc. She goes around & dumps stuff all over, again and again. :) cute. We also have a small table in front of the TV because she loves to turn it off and on... again & again & again. She has totally taken over the living room & we love it. Until we step on something small and hard, like a my little pony LOL

My son does this every day! lol! It can be quite frustrating but I got some cheap 3 drawer plastic organizer and put all his books and toys in them and put child proof locks on all the others, so now instead of getting into my drawers he gets into his own and plays with all of them. Its working pretty great!

Best wishes!

I have a little guy that does the same thing! Solution: move the problem out of reach or block the problem with a gate or something. In the playroom, we emptied all the movies from the tv stand cabinets, put my older son's drawing supplies and paper in a backpack to be used on the kitchen table out of reach, blocked the space behind the recliner (where he's mess with my powerstrip for the laptop) with an ottoman, put up a gate to keep him out of the kitchen where he was climbing the chairs and the table, and the list goes on and on!
It seems like a pain, but will make your life so much easier!

make them inaccessible. drawer latches for the drawers. Wrap the shelves with stiff cardboard, and duct tape, if necessary.

Its a matter of safety, not just the mess.

http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Lat...

Good for you... I had to rearrange everything around that age because my daughter threw stuff around and tore books lol. She still has a random day where she'll empty her toy box on the floor just because lol, but she's at the point where she'll pick it up without being told to. Things that don't break should be more accessible for her to throw or get kids books off craigslist or goodwill so if she does tear them it won't matter but I think it's fun for them to see cause and effect and before she tears it she can look at the pictures haha.

I had the same problem with both my kids and our DVD shelf. I would turn away for a second, and every DVD I own would be strewn about the living room! Yike! No amount of ''No!" or redirecting ever worked. I even tried lightly slapping her little wrist combined with ''No!'' AND redirecting, lol. Nothing. So I had to build ''diverters''. I would put laundry baskets or stuff in front of the shelf so she couldn't get to it!

Oh isn't it fun when they start to become toddlers? My son is 13.5 months and he makes as big of a mess as his two older brothers put together. I also am constanly cleaning up. But that is what they are supposed to do at this age...just exploring their world. Enjoy her and her messes!

My 16 month old walks around the house all day looking for things to mess up. He's not really interested in his toys. Just making messes. My 3 year old son is finally getting out of this phase, and the baby is taking up right where he left off. My best suggestions are: put away all unnecessary items, put most other things out of their reach. Make sure everything is baby-proofed well -- like furniture attached to the wall with straps so she can't pull anything on top of her. It sounds like you are doing the right thing when she does this. If mine does something that is dangerous I slap his hand to really get the message across. Most days I just kick things out of the way until the evening or if someone is coming over, then I'll do a better job of cleaning up.

Get yourself a good, sturdy high chair with a strong tray attachment and put her in it with a few toys or cars to play with on the tray. I have two boys, one year old and three years old. Let me tell you, I wouldn't get anything done if it wasn't for my high chair! LOL I put my one year old in it with a small toy or car and he stays confined like that until I can safely let him out. If I was to let my boys run free through the house, they would completely destroy everything in every room. Usually, if the younger one is confined, the older one will calm down too! They seem to feed off of each other, so getting one to sit usually results in the other sitting too! Not sure how many kids you have, but even if you have just one, a high chair is a MUST!