Mynyel Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I am dumbfounded. I mean I can't even be mad I am so dumbfounded. Ds is doing his math lesson. i look over my laptop at him and he doodling ON THE TABLE! IN INK! Out table is old and the finish is coming off. So it isn't a matter of just wiping it off. So suggestions? I just can't think?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 :grouphug: :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 My first thought was to have him clean all the doors (around the handles) and the stair railings, maybe baseboards??? I don't know, I'm not very good at thinking of these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Well, since he enjoys writing so much that he has to write on the table, I think maybe 100 lines of "I will not write on anything inappropriate again." I said 100 because it isn't a long sentence. If you think of a longer fitting sentence you may want to shorten the number of lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 If I don't involve my kids in the clean up process for this kind of stuff they'll just do it again. A little elbow grease of his own & some of his personal time and he will think twice about doing it again. Magic Eraser has saved many pieces of furniture in Calicokat's kingdom. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I agree. He needs to scrub that table for awhile and get that ink stain off. If it takes forever, so much the better. If it comes off quickly, find a few other tables or countertops in the house that could use a good scrubbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I feel your pain... I recently found my (normally sweet, responsible, lovely) 8yo had written her name on the wall outside the bathroom door. I was shocked! When I asked her why she did it she said she just wasn't thinking, had a pen in her hand, and next thing you know she was doodling. I talked to her about the importance of not destroying property and let it go. I know she felt bad and it really was a momentary lapse of reason, so I couldn't see what good any particular punishment would do. (Cleaning up is a natural consequence, and I don't consider that 'punishment'. Magic Eraser is great for this.) How old is your son? Does he normally do things like this? What did he say when you asked him why he did it? Do you think it's something he is going to turn around and do again? Those are the questions I was asking when trying to determine what to do about it when it happened here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 If I don't involve my kids in the clean up process for this kind of stuff they'll just do it again. A little elbow grease of his own & some of his personal time and he will think twice about doing it again. Magic Eraser has saved many pieces of furniture in Calicokat's kingdom. :D :iagree: We went years without a table big enough for our family. Then one year we had a table custom built. We don't have much money so this was huge for us to do. It wasn't a week or two later when my baby, who was @ 2ish, colored on the top with black permanent market. Magic eraser took it all off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Do you let him use the Internet? I would have him look up how to clean it off, whether it required staining it, and then a trip to the store to pick the stain, which he needs to buy with his own money. He would just have to be the primary problem solver for the mess he made. Also, does he prefer doing his math in pen? I always did. I would switch him to pencils since he can't be trusted with a pen for a while. This is coming from my experience as a child who did stuff like this--not from my experience as a parent, since I have only a 5 and 2 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Thanks everyone! This is the first time he has done it so I wanted to make sure not to be too harsh but harsh enough for a deterrent. He finished his math lesson and cleaned the living room floor, and is sweeping. He will then empty the dishwasher. He said, can I write sentences? I figured if he wanted to do it then it wasn't a good punishment to choose :glare::D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Well, since he enjoys writing so much that he has to write on the table, I think maybe 100 lines of "I will not write on anything inappropriate again." I said 100 because it isn't a long sentence. If you think of a longer fitting sentence you may want to shorten the number of lines. It's even better if he has to write 20 *different* sentences regarding the proper use of a pen and how to treat furniture.:D ETA: I meant 20 sentences he has to make up, punctuate and capitalize properly. Get some writing AND grammar in there. :) I have a 9yods, too. I probably wouldn't let him try to clean the table because of the finish. However, he would be doing some major time with other cleaning jobs around the house while I cleaned the table. A natural consequence would be not being able to use pens for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 If he's a doodler by nature and just didn't realize what the heck he was doing - I wouldn't 'punish' .. I'd just have him clean it up. I'm a doodler - you don't even want to know what sort of things I've doodled on without thinking. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterflymommy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 One of my daughters did this. She lost all privileges for a week (computer, TV), had early bed time, and had to apologize to everyone in the house, also to her grandmother who had given us the table. She bore down so hard the name is there permanently. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I don't know about punishments, but just an FYI: insect repellant removes sharpie ink from wood. Try it and see if it works for pen ink, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Seriously, I've done stupid things before, too. So, remember, it probably wasn't malicious. I would have a time of cleaning and just remind him that it wasn't his property to doodle on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Seriously, I've done stupid things before, too. So, remember, it probably wasn't malicious. I would have a time of cleaning and just remind him that it wasn't his property to doodle on... I tend to agree. I know it's really annoying and a total PITA when it won't come up easily. If this is the first infraction (or a very rare one) I would remind him not to do it again and have him clean it up. If it didn't come up I'd take him to the thrift store and have him purchase (with his own money) a table cloth of my choosing to cover the marks when company is over. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 That reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes, when Calvin is pounding nails into the table. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I'd have him clean it up, one way or another, or if that's not possible, some other cleaning. And take the pen away for a while. It won't hurt him to write in pencil, and it's a lot easier to get off should he accidentally (?) do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks everyone! This is the first time he has done it so I wanted to make sure not to be too harsh but harsh enough for a deterrent. He finished his math lesson and cleaned the living room floor, and is sweeping. He will then empty the dishwasher. He said, can I write sentences? I figured if he wanted to do it then it wasn't a good punishment to choose :glare::D Probably. Now, I would have come up with a sentence 6 lines long. Lots of filler, adverbs and adjectives. I'm just contrary like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Seriously, I've done stupid things before, too. So, remember, it probably wasn't malicious. I would have a time of cleaning and just remind him that it wasn't his property to doodle on... :iagree: I've had one of those :001_huh: moments with each of my kids; where they did something that seemed so age-unexpected and provoked a "what the _______ were you thinking" response from me. One was my oldest poking holes in dining room chairs, dd chewing a bite mark on the cord of a game cube in nearly perfect increments from cube to tv, and my youngest writing something unmentionable on DH's truck. :lol::auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Tonight my dh spotted our 5yo practicing his cutting techniques (butter knife and fork, and he was holding them properly) on the dining room table... About a year ago our eldest ds, then 11, wrote his name in ink inside of our van?! When I asked him about it he said he didn't realize he was doing it until he was done doing it. He was sorry. It was just one of those things I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Oh, yeah. Mine carved pictures into the wooden bathroom countertop with a nail. He is going to sand it out and learn (with supervision) how to refinish it. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Probably. Now, I would have come up with a sentence 6 lines long. Lots of filler, adverbs and adjectives. I'm just contrary like that. :lol::lol: Your kids must groan when you say "sentence"!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I am dumbfounded. I mean I can't even be mad I am so dumbfounded. Ds is doing his math lesson. i look over my laptop at him and he doodling ON THE TABLE! IN INK! Out table is old and the finish is coming off. So it isn't a matter of just wiping it off. So suggestions? I just can't think?! BTDT, the consequence was re-finishing the wood furniture that was ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks everyone! This is the first time he has done it so I wanted to make sure not to be too harsh but harsh enough for a deterrent. He finished his math lesson and cleaned the living room floor, and is sweeping. He will then empty the dishwasher. He said, can I write sentences? I figured if he wanted to do it then it wasn't a good punishment to choose :glare::D Writing sentences was too easy here...cleaning worked much better. I agree with another poster, make him figure out how to repair the damage. Also, take away all pens and markers since he 'can't be trusted to use them in a proper way', which is what I told mine when that happend...we also had tacks used as writing instruments on wood furniture...lets just say, dad had to come rescue son from mom, because as soon as I got loud saying, "have you lost your mind? What possessed you to scratch your name into your bed with a tack?!" dad figured it was going to get ugly, :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Ugggh. You just reminded me I need to find out who scratched a tic-tac-toe board on my dining room table. I think I know how it was done and probably which child but I didn't take care of it when I found it because the timing wasn't right. I also needed to make sure dh heard about it, AWAY from the children. Heading off now to find out whodunit! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Have HIM purchase a bottle of WD 40 or Goof Off and clean it up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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