apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

But will the kids stop with the refridgerator?

What Cate said. :-) Actually, our kitchen has a safety gate so the toddler usually can't get in, anyway.

eh. i just think about how nasty dry erase boards get over time and how the dry erase pen just rubs off onto everything. no thanks.

Actually...dry erase markers work fine on my fridge anyway - or even the "wet" erase type you use with overhead projector transparencies. Admittedly, I've got no kidlets to worry about and I never write low enough for the white dog to wipe it off when she saunters by....

You're "so over" stainless steel and somehow the next "hot" thing is childhood pictures of trees and bugs all over your expensive appliances? Frankly, I'm tired of the "lets turn everything into a creative play surface for children to scribble" fad. Chalkboard walls? White board fridge? I thought our jobs as parents was to nurture our children and prepare them for "the real world." In "the real world" we don't draw on our appliances and walls, we are happy to draw on paper. I would hate to have a friend or loved one's child as a house guest if he or she expected to write on my walls or appliances. These products will create absolute monsters.

My child understands that there are different rules at home than at other people's homes. (E.g. perfectly fine to run around naked at home but keep your clothes on elsewhere; our dog will put up with a lot but you don't know about other dogs; we take off our shoes in our house but other people keep them on; we eat meat but some of our friends are vegetarians.) It's a very simple concept, which even a very young toddler can grasp. How ridiculous to think that the products and not the parenting would create "absolute monsters."

I have to paint my ugly beige fridge anyway. I might use white board paint, it's not a bad idea.

"Not surprisingly, he does not want to put his toys away, brush his teeth, leave the dog alone, give Mommy back her earrings, stop drawing on the couch, etc etc etc. Not surprisingly, explaining my reasoning, asking him nicely, and giving him all kinds of autonomy does not change his mind."

Everyone has these problems with their children and everyone would like to think that their children are the absolute icon of a perfect childhood thus making us (the mothers and fathers) the icon of perfect parenthood. When you say "My child understands" I just have to have a chuckle at your previous response, but please understand that I am laughing with you and not at you. Our child centered society has made it nearly impossible to satisfy the expectations of our children (to the point of turning every exposed surface into a place where they can scribble with markers, crayons and chalk, and because it's now a drawing surface, we praise them for their behavior that would otherwise result in *gasp* a spanking or punishment.) I don't adhere to the parenting methods that accompany a child centered home and that is how I choose to raise my child. That said, you can understand why a white board refrigerator represents more than just a doodle-station for my children.