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Extreme frustration with toys

MadameFancyPantsMadameFancyPants member
in Attachment Parenting

Does anyone have a toddler that gets over the top frustrated with certain toys/household objects?  DS isn't a big tantrum thrower, except when it comes to our vacuum cleaner.  It's to the point that we can't vacuum when he's in the house. 

It all started with him pretending to vacuum with me.  We have a central system so he just drags the long hose around with an attachment on the end.  He had tons of fun.  Then over the course of a few weeks he started insisting that certain attachments be connected.  They didn't fit together.  He would try himself, then insist that I help him.  I tried explaining that I couldn't make it work.  Square peg, round hole issue. 

 Now, every time I try to vac, he starts this cycle that leads to screaming, throwing, beating the walls and with one of the metal pipes for the end of the hose. 

Today, it happened with the carpet cleaner.  Last weekend it happened with he wanted 5 different spray nozzles all attached to the same garden hose, at the same time.  

 Is this normal behavior for an almost 2 year old?  I feel like we can have fun "cleaning" the house, watering the garden, etc.  He doesn't lose his mind when playing with his real toys or other types of objects were you have to fit something in a space the right way like puzzles.

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Re: Extreme frustration with toys

  • rosiemommarosiemomma member
    He sounds frustrated! well I would just keep the frustrations out of site and focus on household tasks he can help with successfully. If my dd is too frustrated I remove her from the situation and we will have a quick 'talk' about it where I usually just help give her words like "I know the hose is complicated, that is frustrating!" and then if she is still struggling I will find a distraction.

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  • Brooke81Brooke81 member

    I have been struggeling with this with DS for the past month or so too. He gets very frustrated with toys and other things. I am tempted to take away the toys because his frustration drives me crazy after a while. He will not be distracted and sometimes I'm allowed to help but not always and He woun't even listen if I try to talk to him and aknoledge his feelings. It is really hard to know how to deal with it. I guess in your situation I would try to avoid those activities for a while or maybe just hide all the attachments you aren't using so he can't demand to put them on.

    Good luck!

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  • MadameFancyPantsMadameFancyPants member

    Thanks for the tips.  I will start telling him that I'd like to help him but I can't.

     I think its a mix of being situational and the exact toy.  He seems to only have these tantrums with the vacuum and garden hose, but those are the only things that he can't make fit together in the order he'd like.  

    He can make the remote fit between two couch cushions and get the the car adapter plug for something to fit into the weird keyhole we have in a wall.  It's only the above mentioned things that he/ I can make fit together in any order he wants. 

     We bought him some more puzzles today along with those mega legos so he could make *pegs* fit into *holes.*

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