Kids and Tools...

My ex-husband used to borow tools and forget to return them. I was always embarrassed when someone came to get the. My husband has a lot of tools he uses for work and he gets irritatated because he has his own way and order of his tools which noone seems to notice. He hates for his tools to get thrown around or misplaced. That is one reason he hates to lend them out. They either never come back or they dont take care of them.

We dont have that problem thank goodness. No one ever borrows anything of ours. I must say we borrowed a tool once from a neighbor but we returned it within the week.

Actually, we had 3 daughters so they rarely used any tools. Once in a great while they would use a screwdriver or hammer but they always returned them to the toolbox. Don't think my husband knows what a toolbox is so there wasn't a problem there.

I don't have a toolbox but my husband does. Our son is only 17 months and he takes tools out of there. We always take them from him immediately so he doesn't get hurt but he still tries to take them out again. I don't know what it is with kids and tools. My husband's uncle is always talking about how his little 3 year old takes his tools out all the time and then he can never find them. So for his 3rd birthday we found a toolbox with tools, hardhat and everything made for a child. When he opened that gift that was his favorite thing. He said look daddy I've got my own toolbox now. It was so cute.

My husband is always complaining about this because the kids love to get into his tools, but they never put them away. Last year for christmas all of our boys got a set of tools of their own. We thought that this would stop our problem of my husband always having to replace his, but it didn't. The kids wouldn't be able to find something of theirs so they go for his. I think it is a never ending battle.

Not only were they left laying around, they were left at someone's house as well. I cannot even count the number of tools that have gone missing either because my son let his friend "borrow" it and it never came back, or he himself took the tool needed to "help" his friend and left it there. Now there are NO tools for anyone to "borrow".

I think this is a big kid problem not age but most kids. My grandson does this with a lot of things not just tools. Every time you want something you have to run the kid down to find or get it. You tell them and tell them to put things back but most kids have selective hearing.

Nah, it is more like dad leaves his tools everywhere then I go around picking them up. Why do dad's do this, then blame it on the kids? Gr.

I know that kids are really bad about this ...My husband was very strick in this line when it came to his tools.he kelp evertthing in its place.He would let the boys use tools,and he made it very plain that they were to return those tools to their correct places,if not they were not allowed to use them again.he kelp a lock on his tool shed...My sons ,now grown are the same way about thier tools,they have everything in order and they do just like thier Dad did...They feel that if you want to use a tool you are suppose to return it to its correct place...I never was involved with this tool thing ,he handled that with our 3 boys..I do know a man that had a few boys and he was not like my hubby,his boys would use his tools and leave them laying out all over the place and they were always rusty,and all he did was complain but really never took any course of action..

my step dad was the one with the tools in our family till we became adults then i had the tools and so did everyone else except my mom and my sister. we never had to sneak my step dads tools tho he was always more then willing to teach us the proper ways of uding them

I used to leave tools lying all over the place when I was a kid with my cycles, then motorcycles and then first car. Kids do this, until they learn that if they lose something, it may cost a lot of money to replace, so then they start to look after tools and keep them in the proper places. I am very careful with mine now! :-)

This happen all the time with my children if I did not watch them.I have had to replace everyhthing one time or another.My younger son would sell my tools as fast as I would buy them.I could mow the yard and pick up a handful of tools.I can still do that here at my oldest son house.

We had the same problem with our boys. They'd leave stuff all over. My brother-in-law is like that as well. We finally got to the point of locking the garage, inside and out. No one gets ANYTHING unless one of us lets them in and sees what they take. They get one mess-up with this system. You leave something out or lose it and you will have to go buy your own tools. The really expensive stuff never was a problem. The usual wrenches, sockets and screwdrivers are the ones to lost. If something was lost then we would make the boys go out and find it. They never did any work to actually hurt the tools. Leaving them out to rust got you a job of cleaning the tool, oiling it and putting it back. If you did this to a few tools, you got to clean any extra ones my husband thought needed cleaning as well. After a few times of this new tools started showing up in the boy's rooms. I guess they figured out it is less stressful to mess up their own tools than their father's.

Oh my goodness! I always would pick up cheap dollar store tools for minor house repairs, but then I had this big job and bought some expensive tools, including a $25.00 hammer. I loved it. My son took it to make his fort and lost it. This was two years ago and I still remind him of my hammer. I laugh about it now, but always tell him with a giggle yes you can borrow my "whatever" but remember my hammer? Make sure you put it right back when you are done. So far he hasn't lost anything else. But I am sporting a cheap hammer now that can't get a nail out without losing its head. LOL

I just hate it when some one takes a tool and dont replace it I am forever on my son in law to put the tools back in hubbys pouch that is the tools for the house! and we have 4 tool boxes 3 small ones and a stand up one. When my son in law gets out his tools my grand daughter gets them and runs around with them I do get her to put them back when I see her but he is just as bad at leaving them out some where where I find them and he cant lol

Kids? HAHAHAHA! I have adult children that love my tools. My son is the best at not returning borrowed or used tools. he borreowed a screwdriver and wrench to put his bed together awhile back and has yet to return them. HAHAHAHA! I've many missing tools lately. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

That's exactly right... Those tools don't belong to them. First step is they have to earn the right to use them by a) asking permission, b) being shown and told how to use the tool safely and c) showing that they know how to safely use the tool, and put it back where it belongs. If they can't take care of it properly, including putting it away - their rights to use it get revoked. These are not toys, and shouldn't be treated as such. Parents need to teach kids responsibility, they don't learn it on their own,

I can't say that my child does this, she isn't a tool kind of person. She won't touch a broom unless there's money involved lol. My husband on the other hand is the tool thief in this house. When I came into this marriage, I had a tool kit for minor repairs and such that I had when I was a single mom and had to depend on myself. I am very religious about keeping it nice and neat and everything in it's place. Well, we move in together and I can't find my screw driver, my bits and I swear my hammer takes legs and walks away sometimes. Since he has been gone, I have been foraging the house to find the rest of my tool set lol!

Hi twoey, When my boys were young, they were always taking the tools out of their Dad's toolbox to fix their bikes, motorcycles, and the lawnmower. Of course the tools were never where they were supposed to be when Dad wanted them. The amazing thing was that "nobody dunnit" was the answer he usually got. Now that the boys are older and have their own tools and tool boxes, they are very picky as to who uses their tools. I guess they figured out how much it costs to keep replacing them. LOL Happy posting..