Danielle McCarthy
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Toddler destroys $159,000 worth of antiques during visit

A mum has shared the horrific story of her toddler destroying $159,000 of antiques while they were visiting a relative.

On parenting forum Mumsnet, the British mum asked the question, “What is the most amount of damage your toddler has caused in someone else's house? Come and make me feel better."

She then went on to explain that over the weekend her two-year-old son pressed a button on a small remote control which had been left on the coffee table at a relative’s house.

"This caused the lid on the side cabinet to open and a TV to start sliding up," she explained.

"Only problem was that the sideboard was currently being used to display a collection of antiques, which came spectacularly crashing down, one by one. 

"Estimated damage: one hundred thousand Euros.

"And that doesn't include damage done to the parquet flooring from where the marble clock smashed on it."

The initial responses to the mum’s post were in favour of the toddler, saying that it was irresponsible to leave the remote lying around when it had the potential to cause so much damage.

"That really isn't you or your toddler's fault," wrote one user.

"Why would someone store antiques worth so much money on top of a cabinet that opens upwards and then leave the thing that controls out on display?!! I don't get it," wrote another.

"Whoever's house it is shouldn't leave remotes lying around for little fingers to touch if this is the type of potential damage so entirely their own fault," said one.

However, one user said the blame was solely on the toddler’s mother.

"If you go to someone’s house who doesn’t have kids, supervise them constantly and don’t let them get hold of remotes, quite basic," said one reader.

Other parents also shared their horror experiences, with one mum recalling the time her toddler ruined someone’s carpet.

"Not quite as bad as yours, but we went for a playdate with a few other kids when DS was small, and they decided that the host's cream bedroom carpet was the wrong colour, so the whole gang got busy with a pot of paint to change it to purple," said one mum.

"DS was also caught (with his BFF) pouring a whole set of expensive Clarins products down the loo."

Did your child or grandchild ever break something expensive that belonged to someone else? If so, share your story in the comments below. 

Tags:
Antiques, toddler, visit, destorys, 159000