Back in November my husband and I purchased our first new TV ever. In our 31 years together we've always had hand-me-downs. When our old TV finally bit the dust we decided it was time to splurge and do something nice for us. We took advantage of the sales and purchased a 31" LCD plasma TV. 2 of our kids got us the surround sound system for Christmas. It's taken me almost this long to figure out how to use this thing with all it's bells and whistles because I'm kind of technologically retarded.

Two days after we bought it my then 2 1/2 yo grandson wrote on the screen with a ball point pen. I thought that was bad. Today he brought his sippy cup into the living room and for some unknown reason hit the TV with it. We now have like a kaleidascope pattern throughout the whole screen. My son, his dad, says not to worry about it. He'll replace it for us. But, I wan't to know. What was this child thinking?

Just venting. Not expecting anyone to solve the problem. But the rule now is "No more TV in the living room for him".

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I'm certain you know this but you really can't apply the same logic of an adult to that of a 2 year old. The fact is they are not thinking in terms of consequence but rather here and now. Hopefully he has learned that throwing things is not acceptable behavior.
I'm sorry about your tv. I know how it is to work hard and get something you really want. We purchased a large flat screen TV this past XMas as a treat to ourselves. (((HUGS))) I really feel for you and can understand your feelings of frustration.

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Wow, I'm sorry! I know if that would be my TV, my hubby would be furious. We have a 53 inch TV. I can't imagine having a plasma TV and having one of the kids ruin it.

I have no clue what was going thru your grandson's mind when he wrote on it OR threw the cup at it. Kids!

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

Was thinking he was having fun at Grandma's house and he loves to color and he was thirsty? or maybe the animal he saw last week that was really fuzzy?



Grandma needs to work with a rule no colors, drinks or food except in kitchen?

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Do three year olds really think?? I'm glad your son is man enough to pay for a new one. I'm sure there are a lot of sons who wouldn't even speak of replacing it for their parents. I think your new rule is a good one -- no more grandson in the living room at all!! Hope your TV is replaced real soon!

I may get yelled at for this but- I say let the son pay for the damage his child caused, and not feel guilty. I agree with the no food, colors, etc. rule. Unfortunate accident but at least his father is willing to pay for the damage.

Can you mount the screen on the wall out of reach of little hands?? All 3 of our kids have hit our big screen/hi-def TV when they were each about the same age as your grandson. We were just very lucky they didn't do any damage. And, my 2 youngest have "redecorated" with Sharpies on our furniture, walls, linoleum, etc. It's just the age. Still, not fun to deal with the results.

I really sorry about your nice tv..but atleast your son realize he should replace the tv for you. I would set certain rooms off limits for your grandkids. I would make a new rule drinks have to stay in the kitchen.

A 2 1/2 year old is still learning right from wrong. I remember walking into my little girls rooms and finding out she scribble all over her walls & bedspread with a magic marker..We ended up painting the walls and throwing out the bedspread. I also remember both kids banging their cups against the tv & at that age they thought it was funny But that they didn't think it was so funny when mom put them in time out!!!

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Well, they all just left. New TV in place. Thank God my son is in a position where he could afford to replace it. Whereas my husband and I have scrimped and scraped all our lives for our stuff, he got his Masters in Business and Finance and has a wonderful job.

And there definitely is going to be no kids in the living room for TV for them... playroom only.

All this was on top of burying my father in law on Saturday, this same child having to have x-rays on Friday because they thought he had pneumonia - turned out to be only ear infections, and my daughter in law having a golf ball sized cyst removed yesterday as an emergency procedure because it was so badly infected.

Next week has GOT to be better. LOL

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Well that was fast, him taking care of that! What a good, responsible son you have there.
Enjoy the tv!

KKain, I'm so sorry about your family's recent loss as well as the other scares within the last week.
Hoping things look up from here on.

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Real eyes...realize...real lies.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this.

Yes the Father should HELP paid for this but only part. Since this child was left in the Grandmother's care it was her Responsibility to make sure the baby didn't eat / color/ drink anywhere but the kitchen.
Since the Father wasn't there to control the child's behavior I personally feel the TV should be paid for by BOTH. not just 1.

Now if the Father was there and the grandmother had repeated to the child No eating/ Coloring or drinking in granny's front room and the Dad didn't reinforce what was being told and the TV was ruined then Yes the total bill should fall on the Parents.

Sorry don't want to fight about this with anyone. However,When someone else has ALLOWED a child to do such things and something gets ruined why does everyone think the Parents should Pay ??

The parents were not in control of said child till afterwords.

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FWIW I see your point and agree with you.

My guess is son may have felt it was financially easier for him to replace the tv rather than his parents. I also think he probably did it to keep the peace within the family.

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I agree with you also. You are probably right on point with this. The Father does have more finances to pay than OP and to keep the peace also. It was a very nice and sweet thing to offer and do.

Maybe I'm touchy about the whole PARENTS SHOULD ALWAYS PAY deal. My Mother is the WORSE in the world about this. She would allow my kids to do things she KNEW would harm XXX then when it happen Bit&ch at me to replace it .. Perfect example. My Nice had a Dig Cam and she left it down. well my then 3 year old got it played with it Mom saw her doing this, It got broke. I get home and she starts yelling at me ? WTH ? I told her

1st, Niece is 18 years old she old enough to put her things up and out of the way of a 3 year old NOT leave them down knowing something that cost as much as this did to leave on the COUCH of all places.

2nd I wasn't even home But had I been, I would have still felt the same about it. Keep it in your closet / room/ car anywhere other than the couch for Pete's sake.

3rd.Mom you are 69 years old and you SAW her playing with this what did you think would happen ?? You pay for it I'll never shell out 1 penny as long as YOU have the control to see to it she didn't get it/ ruin it, If you want it replace you do it because there's now way in Hell I'm doing it. (Needless to say it didn't get replaced at all by either one of us )

Guess when I read that comment it flooded me with the memories of what my Mother would do and then expected us to replace/ pay for her lack of control.

Came back to add, They all lived with me. This wasn't at their home where little ones didn't live full time.

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My kids did similar stuff to our TV, it's mostly for video games now, but recently we found our 6 year old daughter drew on the screen with crayons!

I have no idea why any of these kids do what they do especially at 2-3 yrs olds all I can say is I am so thanful my youngest is 3 & no more for me. My youngest isnt too bad but my middle one was a monster at about 2 or 3 I would have a whole head of gray hair by now if all 3 of my girls were like her.

Well I am so glad your son is paying for it. I think if you leave your child with your parents for an emergency sitter it is your responsibility to replace it not the parents & it does sound like it was an emergency but like you said you all had tons going on this week maybe the 3 yr old was acting out for attention.

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When my now 22 year old son was 2 he decided it would be cool to put dry frosted flakes in my new VCR!!! lol It must have been a good VCR because I ended up picking it up and shaking the flakes out and it still worked fine! Not anymore of course, but it took the cereal ok! After it worked out ok I thought it was pretty funny. And at the time my husband had said we would never buy a VCR so I went to Sears one weekend with my mom and I won one!!! lol Boy was my husband surprised when I came home with a VCR for free!! Hee Hee

I'm trying to decide if I had any part in his damaging the television and have come to the conclusion that I didn't.

I've done daycare in my home for 19+ years and this child has done things that no other child in my care has ever done. He is a handful and there was no way I could've expected him to hit the screen of the tv. It was out of the blue. Like some posters have said, my son is a wonderful man willing to step up and take responsibility and he IS in a much better place financially. And I did not ALLOW my grandson to do this damage it just happened. I was upset about it but now realize it's just one of those things that happens when taking care of children.

Last summer I was also taking care of a little girl who at the time was 10 months old. While settling some of the kids for naps the baby was playing in the playroom with my grandson. For some reason he decided she needed a bottle so he went and got the Hershey's Syrup bottle and fed her that. She was covered in chocolate and enjoying it immensely, I might add. I took a picture of this before I cleaned her up so I could show her mom when she picked her up. I and everyone else I've showed the picture to also thought it was hilarious. Mom didn't. She wouldn't bring the baby back here. It broke my heart to lose her but I didn't blame my grandson. It's just one of those things. Did I expect my son to replace the income I lost because his child had caused me to lose another? No.

Stuff happens when you're dealing with kids. I think my son saw how upset I was because of our limited resources and decided to do the right thing.

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I can imagine my son doing this very thing to my parents house...we, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to afford the plasma right away to replace it.
I have said from day one to my parents though...be the adult! Don't let my son play with anything you value...such as cell phones, cameras, digital equipment, etc...
The other day I caught my son drawing in permanent marker on his daddy's prized flat screen monitor...his daddy on the other hand, didn't catch my son drawing on my wireless keyboard and regular monitor. Thank G0D I know that rubbing alcohol removes permanent marker!! (a little tidbit for you young parents!!) Now, why is our son "allowed to play" with permanent marker, you ask? Well, he's NOT! His daddy is a tad bit Adult ADD and leaves things lying around and my son LOVES to color and since we don't have crayons readily available for him to play with, he picks up pens, pencils, markers, high lighters, etc... My dh is a manager at an office supply store so we have more than any household needs of any writing utensil.
So, I know the child threw the sippy cup at the tv and nothing short of a miracle could have prevented that but I agree with the no food/beverages in the living room rule! Though my parents don't give a hoot...since sippy cups have valves, they don't think it's gonna happen to them.
Remember...BE THE ADULT!! A child will cry but you won't end up crying trying to replace your prized electronics!

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We have a 61" Plasma, and 2 32" LCDs, and we have all of them mounted to the wall to avoid these kind of things. I'm sorta in this business, so if you have any questions Kkain22152 on a replacement unit or mounting, let me know. I would be happy to confirm that you are getting a good deal (on both the mount and the tv...also, the price of LCD is dropping, so you might want to consider looking at one of those units) and that you are using the right hardware on the wall.

As the mother of 2 boys 4 and 2 I have learned that no matter what I have thats new it will be destroyed or ruined . I can yell, spank, put in corner.. it doesn't matter.. they will find a way. i'm sorry about your television. I know your devastation and frustration all to well.

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