Do you discipline your child for breaking things on accident?

[kapeh12]

I grew up a tomboy and was also a very curious kid, so I had my share of things I broke while trying to figure out how they worked.  For my accidental breakings, my parents didn't punish me (as I already felt badly for breaking it), but they explained that I wasn't going to be able to use such things until I was older and demonstrated I could be trusted with them, or I saved up enough to buy one for myself.  In fact, I recalled the first thing I bought was my first "big girl" bike when I was 12 using money I had saved up from allowance and birthday/Christmas gift money.  I took such good care of that bike...and I still have it (and I'm now 41).

If I took something without permission and broke it, or if I lied to my parents - then there were consequences.  They grounded me, took things away, work off my debt - things like that - depended on what it was.  I learned that in their eyes, lying and stealing was way worse than breaking the item.  Lying and stealing were not tolerated at all, and they made sure to nip that one in the bud quickly.

For the clumsiness, if you want to buy her things for gifts, you may want to opt for the cheaper knock-off versions knowing it will probably end up broken, or given her age, maybe start switching to a means of making her pay for some/all of the "wanted" items (maybe a 50/50 split or so).  I know when I used my own money to buy something, I was definitely a lot more careful because now I was invested in the item - it wasn't just a "free" toy for me to play with.

On the lying/stealing aspect - definitely determine an appropriate punishment, and let her know that type of behavior is not tolerated at all, and that her punishment is not really for breaking the item, but for the deception and use without permission of the item.

[kangagirl1321]

man i that chick is accident prone! i have never broken much on accident but maybe a plate, a bowl, or vase but not my phone or anything hand held. i did wash my phone in the laundry and i got that replaced.