How much money for kids to destroy stuff?

popa_bar_abba,

Is it better to just let them break the ugly vase someone gave you that you never use?

Nope, I’d argue that it’s better to get them something cheap to play with or break. Otherwise, reasoning that you also never use it, they may break the other ugly vase someone gave you that is priceless.

Buy them the cheapest or the most satisfying.

I never throw away broken appliances or other things that can be taken apart. I even haul some broken things in from the dumpster. I give these things to my kids with screwdrivers and hammers and pliers etc. They can be solidly occupied for hours with them. And I don’t think that the concern that they will destroy valuable items is too great. Just make sure that boundaries are clear. Obviously, with two-year-olds (such as the one in China), all bets are off.

Beware; @mobico, capacitors in appliances may hold lethal charge even when not connected to a power source.

No, buy them china.

Some of us use those as kindling.

When I was a teenager, I volunteered at a recycling depot. I got to spend many satisfying mornings smashing bottles in a dumpster with an iron pipe. Got out most of my aggressions that way.