Other people handling your dolls

I'd be panicking, too. If you want my imput, I'd hide them (the dolls, that is ... you could hide the kids, but they'd probably escape). I'd take them out of hiding only when it's safe, even if it's hard to not see them every day. Maybe you can hide them in your bedroom and take them out after the kids go to bed or leave the house. Hide them in your clothes drawers, or something. Good luck with it. :wink:

 

Perhaps your mom has a place she can lock them? I know it seems extreme but putting them away for the duration of the visit might be the best call, and the safest one for them. perhaps you cna take them out to play when you know for *sure* they will be out and away?

 

Hrm...That's a tough one. I have a few suggestions, and I'll go ahead and say the nicer ones first. hehe

One alternative is to buy some toys you know will occupy the kids while you and your stepsister are visiting. Perhaps purchasing a game system and a few games will occupy them, or get a kids sprinkler toy and tell them to bring their swimsuits. You can also go to any dollar store and get some cheap water guns. That will keep them outside and out of your studios and rooms, for a while at least. You could also try and set up a "craft table" in one of your studios for them to play with Sculpey, paint, I dunno...bead, anything really. There are a lot of kid crafts out there you can get them to do. I would suggest heading to www.michaels.com for more ideas. They have a TON of stuff and they give directions and everything. Having a few projects for them to do would help their inner creativity and give you and your sister time to visit without stepping on her parental toes.

If none of that works, simply sit the children, and your sister, down and let them know your house rules. Children will usually respond fairly well to other peoples rules (it has something to do with respecting others who aren't their parents or something, I'm sure), so you may not have a problem at all. I know that, from my own personal experience, that my son (who is only 5) knows what he can and can't do at all of his relatives houses. You don't have to be explosive about anything either. If the girl really wants to see one of your precious dolls, no problem. Go with her and let her pick out the dollie she wants to see, maybe let her look through the clothes, eyes, wigs etc...and let her dress the doll up. Educate her on what to do, perhaps she will use that information and pass it along to her own dolls. Make sure she is in the room with you, and that you are helping her, teaching her how to put things on, how to take things off, etc...etc...The boy will probably get bored at some point and not even care. This is where video games will come in handy. =P

I hope this was helpful. I'd be more than happy to talk with you more about stuff if you want. I'm no expert, just drawing on my own life experiences, with my son, my nephews and other kids I've dealt with in the past.

=)

 

Here's my very opinionated advice:

Don't tell her in a roundabout way. Tell her straightforward and serious and give her a price tag consequence of her hellions breaking your property. Jack up the price if you need to bring that look of shock into her eyes.

I personally have ZERO patience for parents who won't control their children and would have no problem with kicking even blood relatives out the door if they didn't know how to act like human beings in someone else's house.

I would honestly say not to allow them to come over. Keep the door locked and don't let them in. DO arrange a few nice outings with them at places where the kids can be brats to their heart's content, but don't feel that you have to sacrifice your possessions and your sanity for their sake.

It might be difficult to turn away family, but if they can't have any respect for you, why do they expect respect from you?

7 and 9 year old children - hell, many THREE year old children I've met - have the capacity to understand the basic ideas that actions have consequences, that you don't wantonly break another person's things, and how to generally behave when you are a guest somewhere.

Don't put up with it from them or your stepsister, and don't let them make you feel like you don't deserve better than to be trampled on.

If you do let them come over, lay down the law before they get in the front door. Tell the children what is off limits and tell them what will happen if they disobey (for example, they will have to leave and will not be invited back) and follow through with the consequences.

Some children will understand the idea that different places have a different set of rules. Let them know that at your house, bad behavior isn't tolerated. It may be that these children have never been told what is considered bad behavior - so tell them specifically what you do not want them to do. If they've never been told that grabbing and breaking things is wrong, they won't know not to.

You might even try offering them a reward for good behavior. Tell them that if they keep their hands off, they'll get to go out for ice cream or a movie later. Surely they have the brainpower to understand that, and it can work surprisingly well.

What won't work is waiting until they start misbehaving and then trying to entice them to stop by offering rewards. Why? Bribes to stop misbehaving will only instill in their minds that Bad Behavior=Reward. Offer the reward first, and then they have a tangible consequence if they don't behave.

And finally, good luck!

(Disclaimer: I do not have kids of my own, but I have worked in professional childcare for the past 10 years and I am currently a nanny)[/i]

 

I would just put the dolls back in their boxes and put them up in the garage with something to cover it so no one would be curious as to what is in the boxes. I would not trust anyone to "handle w/ care" or "be on their best behavior" as accidents do happen. So just to be on the safe side and for your peace of mind, put all your dolls and stuffs you don't want others to touch or play with away before they even see it.

Best of luck!

 

Put locks on certain doors.

On the studio of glass, and other studios if needed. On your bedroom and put your dolls in there. Move the breakables in there too while you're at it.

Don't stay indoors. Arrange to have some stuff set up outside, sprinklers, craft table and such. Purposely turn the heat up in your house, say your air conditioner is broken. They won't want to be in your house.

And I agree with Kiriko Moth, you gotta be hard on them if they step out of line. You don't have to be mean to be firm, and if you value your things you have to set rules.

Tell them you're busy, and uninvited stop overs will result in the door not being answered. And lock the doors. Arrange to go out to dinner and a movie and crap once a week and call that your bonding time with them.

Do let us know how it turns out.

And if they want to touch the dolls and you hadn't/forgot to move them, tell them that they are broken and can't be touched too much until you've fixed them.

Get a whip. x3

 

I'd put locks on certian doors, or put the dolls in their boxes. I have absolutely no tolerance for children who misbehave, and my brothers know very well that if they misbehave or embarass me or my parents in public; they immeadiately lose electronic privledges for the rest of that day, and that taught them pretty quickly not to act up. I get sickened by seeing other kids running their parents ragged, so I know how you feel. I would tell your stepsister and your mother up front what these dolls are worth and see what you can't do about protecting them.

 

definitely hide your dolls.
if you like the kids see them, they would want to touch, even if you put it way up the shelves, they would want t you to get the dolls for them... maybe they will cry if you don't, you won't want to upset your sister or anything. she might even think you are been really stuck up or something...
i've this problem with my sister and my mom gives her everything she wants -___-

 

Hide them. Put them in a box on a shelf in your closet, or somewhere you know they can't reach.

Tell the parents that should the children damage the dolls, they are responsible for paying for the damage.

 

I agree with packing up your dolls and putting them away. Out of sight, out of mind. If locked doors are involved, children might be intensely curious for a little while, but if you have something set up elsewhere (especially OUTSIDE -- this is summer, after all), then they should quickly lose interest in what's behind the doors.

Also, you might want to emphasize that calling before coming would be appreciated -- so you have time to put your dolls away, lock things up, and plan other activities, instead of a mad dash each time the doorbell rings.

Good luck!

 

As soon as they arrive, hide them in their boxes. Or put them in one of your mum's glass cabinets (preferably with a lock) so they can look at them, but they're not able to touch. At some point they've got to learn how to behave and they can't always break what they want. And to respect others things!

I stupidly left my doll out when my friend and her daughter were visiting, I went out and when I came back I found that my doll's back had been drawn over in black ballpoint pen!!

 

Oh geez. My little cousin is the same way, she also steals my things. D:




Talk to your stepsister about trying to show the children some sort of discipline. I would hide the dolls when you know that they are visiting, put them in their boxes hide them very well, and when they leave take them back out, that's the best you can do. It's hard to put them away but it must be done if you don't want to end up with broken peices of resin. ;;

 

I'd say hide them. My entire family...even the adults have issues understanding rules. My dog has nearly been killed a few times thanks to them. He runs off, so we only let him outside either on a leash, or in the enclosed backyard. Needless to say they think all dogs will stick around when let out, I can't even count the times I've had to call neighbors asking them to please watch for our dog when he gets loose. At one point my mom and I took our vehicles out and blocked the road off, I wasn't keen on having the poor dog become roadkill.

Now when anyone that doesn't know how to follow rules comes over, both my dog and I go downstairs to my room, and we stay there for the duration of the visit, he gets put on a leash inside the house and I don't hand him off to anyone.

And since I doubt you can be babysitting your dolls AND the children all day I would certainly suggest locking your dolls away. And DEFINATELY let their mother know that calling before they come over is a must, if you don't want to sound harsh tell her that you could be out of the house when they try to come over, and there's no sense wasting the trip. Myself I think it's very rude to just show up at someone's house if they have no notice of your arrival.

But on the room of glass for instance, I would suggest getting locks. Cleaning up glass is no fun, neither is taking a careless child to the emergency room for stitches. And as others have suggested, set something up for them to do. Busy kids tend to stay out of trouble.

 

I agree with everyone else, hide them as best as you can ^ ^
I may not have children, but I come from a family full of little kids and I had to babysit most of them at one point and I know how grabby kids get with things they think are 'toys'.

If they don't see it then they can't ask for it ^ ^ Best to put anything breakable behind locked doors. And if the kids ask what's in the room(s) just tell them you don't know because the door won't open, let them try to open it, and when they realize it's 'stuck' they will lose interest and go find something else to do :grin:

Please tell us how it turns out ^ _ ^ I wish the best for you!

 

As others have suggest, just plain don't let them in. I know they're family blah blah blah. I have the RUDEST (okay maybe not the rudest in the world) inlaws ever and if they are planning a trip they don't come into my home. I'll meet them at the door and leave for whatever we are doing, right then.

Plan trips away from your home. Go see a movie, go to the park, the zoo, anywhere but home. If they aren't in the house, they can't break all of your beautiful things. If you feel that not letting them in is rude, well block off most of the house. Lock all the doors but the bathroom. Locks can be fairly inexpensive. Just go down to the hardware store and pick up one for each door. They run anywhere from $3-$6 around here. Plus it could be useful in the future. *shrugs* I hope this is somewhat helpful.

 

I agree with Kiriko. I sooo agree with Kiriko.

 

I agree with the idea that you guys should have outings instead of being in your house. It would save you a huuuuuuuuuge headache. If you did have to have them in your house, I would definately hide your babies. Definately hide them. Even if you did let them see them (with you around and observing) there is no guarentee they will come out unscated. Not even my 21 year old friend can grasp the concept of "Don't touch his face!!"... I wouldn't expect two kids (who are known for grabbiness) to either.... Poor Gabriel's missing a good chunk of faceup now... (T_T)

 

Thank GOD most of my relatives (most of whom I can't stand) are old enough to understand that certain objects are off-limits and certainly not to be touched.

However, if they're coming over to your house I suggest padlocking the doors and being firm with them that whatever's been broken had better be paid for.

It helps if you jack up the price.

 

Well, personally, if I lived alone right now, I wouldn't let anyone with kids stay for any longer than a day visit anyhow, so this wouldn't happen. xD;; But that's hardly useful.

There are definitely some hellions in my family. When any of them come to visit, I try and stick Vale up in the closet and close the curtains. The other day, my grandmother was over, and I had my back turned to her. When a looked back around, she had been playing with Valerius's hair and his wig was crooked! It just made me so mad that she thought she could just go up through and touch him like that. Grr.