Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk: How To Deal With The Small Disasters Left By Your Kids
It is inevitable that your children are slowly going to start destroying your beautiful home. No matter how careful you are and how tidy you teach them to be, accidents happen.
In the grand scheme of things nothing is ever too bad. You just need a few tricks up your sleeves and a box of good ideas and viola! You’ll soon have forgotten it ever happened. Here are a couple of examples of what to do when things go wrong!
The phone rings, you’ve been baking in the kitchen and your toddler is chatting away to you. You turn your back for what seems like 2 minutes returning to a scene from armageddon. Flour, egg and milk everywhere. The floors, the ceilings and the cupboards. Ok, it would be easy to lose your cool here, but don’t! Kids are expressive and love to do what their parents do. Make sure your child is safe and clean. Sit them at the table with a snack or a book and then tackle the task in hand.
Firstly, you’re going to need to get rid of that egg. Egg can actually eat into the paint on your cupboards and leave a nasty stain on natural wood floors if it is left too long. So ensure you remove all evidence of it before tackling the milk and the flour. Do not use your vacuum cleaner for these disasters. As easy as it would be to suck it all away, you’ll end up destroying the motor in one of the most important cleaning appliances in your home. We’re afraid a dustpan and mop is the only way forward in this instance. Above all reassure your child they aren’t in trouble but explain the dangers of touching things in the kitchen without an adult.
We wrote about dealing with unexpected costs, which is well worth a read after looking at this next disaster …
Someone has got a little too artistic with the paints, your living room now looks like an original Picasso. You feel your blood boil but don’t yell at your child. They’ve made your house prettier for you. Get them cleaned up as quickly as possible then pop on their favorite film. You are going to need to start with your carpet here. It might be worth calling in the professionals depending on the paint. Contacting a carpet store or your nearest major city can be helpful for advice on how to remove paint stains or replace your carpet! Then deal with the walls. Warm soapy water and not too much scrubbing ought to do the trick however there is a lady in the United Kingdom who loved the wall scribbles by her grandchildren so much, she painted around it and used it as a unique artwork! Each to their own I guess. To prevent the situation happening again buy a large square of vinyl and keep all paints locked up unless you are present.
The most important thing to remind yourself is that children aren’t malicious and often don’t know they are being naughty. Love their creativity and try your best never to lose your temper. A broken heart is much harder to fix than paint on your floor.
