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I am at my wit's end.

My 15 month old DD is a climber. And when I say climber I mean climber. If she had her way her feet would never be on the floor. Even when we are certain we have moved every last thing she might climb, she proves us wrong by climbing something else .

Inevitably, she sometimes slips - even though I never let her out of my sight. Just this morning, we were in the kitchen together. Within a matter of a few seconds DD had managed to open a cupboard door the 1/2 inch it will open (cupboard locks fitted) and lever herself up then slip back down and whack her face (right by her eye) on the handle . She cried for a moment then carried on running about looking for things to climb.

I however, am at the end of my tether. Please tell me someone else has experience this and lived to tell the tale?

experienced not experience

21m DD2 is a climber too - she's on top of the kitchen table more than she eats at it! She's quite hardy too and is more than likely to laugh than cry if she falls. I'm not complacent though and do move her from particularly dangerous situations and don't leave her unattended in the kitchen for example. Strangely enough though she's only once climbed out of the cot (so far) - landed with a bump then came running to me. I have found her with one leg cocked over the bars ready to escape a couple of times since though .

I'm glad it's not just us! Has your DD ever had any injuries from her climbing? My DD now has the starts of a black eye after this morning's slip . I swear people are going to think I'm hurting her (which I obviously would never dream of BTW). It's really getting me down at the moment, which may seem a bit silly I suppose. Neither DS was a climber so this is all new to me!

DS was like this <<shudders>>

Get yourselves to Tumble Tots or an equivalent asap - she will have the chance to climb and, more importantly, will learn to get up and down safely.
We also did walking to school as much as possible (DD is 3 years older so DS has always been on a pre-school/school run), trampolining, lots of swimming and the park at least once daily with DS.

If it is any help he is now 7, still very active and sporty and very well coordinated. The only broken bones we have had were NOT related to climbing
Not sure if that helps?

DS was like this, and DD (13 months) is the same. DS was bored by Tumble Tots. It presented no challenge, and he was no bothered in climbing the apparatus in the way and order expected.

DS is still the same actually, but now I take him actually rock climbing!

Round here you have to be 8 to start rock-climbing. DS is counting - only 11 mths to go

He is also desperate to jump off the 10m board at the swimming pool but luckily they won't let him <<covers eyes again>>

Watching with interest as DS is also a climber at 14 months. It is exhausting keeping him safe and he will use anything to get himself higher. Our kitchen floor is tiled and I live in fear of him banging his head on it.

Still here - DS is now just 4. He has been climbing and leaping off things since about 18 months. He has calmed down a bit now, but I just tried to make as safe as I reasonably could, and take him to the adventure playground so he would learn what heights were safe to jump from, how much clearance was needed. He nearly went into the front door jumping off the fifth stair, and scared himself enough that he hasn't done it since.

I am also counting down to rock climbing - he has been on a small wall and loved it. He wants to be a tree surgeon when he grows up (this will totally out me - how many wannabe tree surgeons do you know? )

ds was like this. He is now 14 and still climbs everything in sight. Climbs onto roofs, walks on walls, does headstands watching tv. He is also very athletic and good at sports (and rock-climbing), so it must help.

He could get onto our garden shed and used to run along the garden wall when he was about two.

My worst day was the day that I had to take him to A&E to get 11 stitches in his head. I had to fill in an accident form. When I got home, I took him out of the car (dressed in a nappy and a humungous bandage over his head), put him down and turned to talk to my mum. When I looked back he was 10 foot up a tree. I got such a fright I yelled at him, causing him to fall out of the fucking tree.

Luckily he landed in a bush so I didn't have to go straight back to A&E .

There isn't much you can do, apart from nailing your furniture to the walls and trying to relax. The good thing is that she will soon learn to climb down, and will become good at risk assessment. You just have to try to relax and survive until she learns that .

Oh, and apart from the stitches he has never been to hospital. Though we did have one bad fright when he fell out of a tree from about 20 feet and just missed a pile of rocks. He could have killed himself that time

DD2's never injured herself ThePoppy and is quite good and dusting herself down and doing it again getting on with it. I've just remembered she was climbing up the garden slide by herself with a look of triumph on her face when she was quite young (walked at 9.5m iirc). I have made sure that the chest of drawers in her bedroom is fixed to the wall as she did manage to pull it down once or twice by trying to climb the drawers (not a heavy one luckily but could have been nasty).

Mine is nearly 4 and i really think she is part monkey. no hospital visits as yet. i would do lots of soft play and park for the climbing.

And funny.. Maryz she also watches TV standing on her head.

Thank you for your replies - at least we are not alone! We do go to Tumble Tots, which she loves. She is fairly good at getting back down again, but sometimes she does slip & it happens so quickly there is no stopping the fall .

I seem to spend most of the day getting her down from something or other!

Poppy It sounds harsh, but I think I would start telling her she needs to get herself down. Otherwise she has no reason not to climb higher up. Having said that, DS was threatening to jump from 6m up last month, and I really thought I was going to have to go up and get him. He climbed down eventually.

The headstands thing seems to be a bit of a theme DS does this all the time, and charges into the living room to fling himself upsidedown onto a chair!
He's doing really well at gymnastics (and every other sport he tries) and wants to be Louis Smith.
Looks like I've got it for life MaryZ

As I type, ds (who is 14 so should know better) is upside down with his long legs dangling over the back of the sofa, his head on the floor, with a slice of pizza in his hand watching tv .

I would agree with insisting she learns to get down herself Poppy. Guide her legs if you have to, but don't get into the habit of rescuing her and lifting her down - she needs to know that if she goes too far she will get stuck.

My ds is 14 months old and my third child, he is everything everyone has described above. He will climb anything and everything. Maybe it's because he's my third but I kind of let him get on with it now, unless it is particularly dangerous obviously.

I do guide his legs wherever possible to help him learn how to get down safely.

I have had to put extra locks on cupboard doors I never had to with my other two this time round, and am constantly on my guard cause he is quick as lightning for an open door etc.

It is a nightmare, BUT I do think he is tougher than my other two because of this and is far more savvy about potential dangers even at this age.