toddler who doesn't stop and is into everything - at end of tether!

[principalitygirl]

My 15mth old is literally into everything! I know toddlers are naturally v curious but compared to others his age who I see at groups and play dates, he's way more active and inquisitive. I'm worn out! I work part time. On my days at home with him, if we stay in at all - and sometimes we have to, at least for part of the day - he makes soooo much mess! I'm no tidy freak by any means but he pulls all the books from our bookshelves and the CDs and DVDs from their racks, tears up any paper / tissues/ loo roll left in his reach, empties out the bins (unless I put them in the bath / utility room / on window sills) moves anything he can reach from its rightful place to somewhere else, gets in the shower cubicle if he can and gets wet needing a change of clothes, pulls clothes from his and our drawers, tries to climb inside dishwasher, pulls oven shelves (not hot!) from the oven etc etc
When he naps I spend time clearing up the mess before I can even start on the daily chores such as hanging up washing, loading / unloading dishwasher, preparing lunch and then have no time for any bigger, one off jobs. Weekends are family time for DS, DH and I mainly but I find it frustrating - both my never decreasing to-do list and DS's exhausting activity level. Normal or hyperactive? Any tips please....?!! Thx!

[Fiveleaves]

My 15 month old is exactly the same. Just pulled all the books off the shelf, pulled oven door on self, tore up loo roll, emptied clothes from drawer and put several shoes in the washing machine. That was all in the space of an hour. No advice, sorry!

[Fiveleaves]

Obvs we have been playing and reading too! Not all destruction!

[misselphaba]

Mine is the same. I could've written that list. She's probably done all of those things today. She's into climbing now and diving headfirst off the sofa even though she's been getting off the proper way for ages.

The worst thing is going round to other people's houses! Who knew a dishwasher could such fun?! I veto going round peoples houses based on how open planned their house is, how much of a neat freak they are and how dissimilar their children are to my daughter. I know a few children who must be drugged as no toddler can be that well behaved. I avoid their houses which are invariably full of toddler height hazardous delights as the parents have had no reason to move them what with their non exploring, non adventurous children.

I think its probably a good thing and we should embrace it although it does drive me batty at times.

[LionessOfThePride]

Special fun isn't it?

Funny as I have two friends whose DCs seem down right docile in comparison. Lots of sleep and they can even play on their own for long stretches of time. Drives me mad with jealousy as I constantly have 'to be present' with mine. I only have to blink and toys will have been transported to the loo.

I try and take solace from the fact that it probably means that it means that their more likely to do well at school and the rest. Doesn't really help when youve literally been on your feet chasing them from activity to activity but its a nice thought

[amie007]

Same age, same things here too. I guess, they just find all these things to be very new and exciting. Mine tries to trade our gadgets - remote controls, wireless mouse, touching monitors with his toys. Once I let him take everything he wanted, and he lost all the excitement. Of course, it's over to newer things now, like getting on the couch and jumping. It's all a phase, I keep reminding myself .... lol

[absentmindeddooooodles]

My ds has always been the same. Hes 2.9 now and so far today hes: emptied two kitchen cupboards in the time it took me to have a wee.
Turned on the taps full pelt in the sink and flooded the kitchen sides.
Pulled every book and cd we have off shelves.
Painted the dog.
Sprinkled cereal around the front room.
Jumped off the tv unit.
Emptied my purse in a bid to find pennies.
Hidden said pennies.
Sang postman pat 500 times on loop.
Taken the battiries out of the remote.
Hidden said batteries.
Tried to "fix" numerous things such as the door, sofa and tv.

Im knackered. I found especially at 15 months ish that running the energy off helped a little bit. Even just for the fact that while he was out running around he wouldnt be destroying the house!!

I dont really have any great advice....apart from coffee and copious amounts of wine

[absentmindeddooooodles]

And for the rexord I think its pretty normal at that age. Most kids I know started to settle down at about 2 and then the terrible twos hit hha. My ds is going through diagnosis for adhd etc right now as he physically wont stay still or sleep....ever. but its due to alot of other factors aswell rather than him being into everything.

Tis bloody hard though. Wouldnt worry that it isnt normal....just make sure you have lots of help feom family and friends if you can?

Will he join in with messy play and things like thT?

[Artandco]

Have you tried the ' two walks a day' kinda like a Labrador I'm afraid!

If I want to get some work done from home this works well. Admittedly they aren't the pulling stuff type and we can have glass vases etc and they are safe.
But say 9am, 30-60 min walk. And proper walk, so pram stays at home. If he can't walk far, put reins on and walk around the block even a few times. Then once back try removing him each time he goes to do something. As he's already been for a walk he won't have as much energy to argue!
Again after nap, straight for a walk. Then can go home
Again if needed

Increase walk/ outside time with age. Now at 2 and 4 we need a good 1 hr run/ scoot/ bike morning and night and peaceful playing in between

[NiceGlassOfSherryAndASitDown]

both of mine have been exactly like this! DS is just starting to calm down/listen to reason a little..and now DD is even worse! I honestly just think it's natural curiosity, but if they get a big reaction they're bound to do it again. my biggest mistake with DS was expecting him to do whatever I was telling him without me actually moving him away every time..his speech has always been great so I've often expected too much for his age, with DD I explain briefly whilst removing and distract wherever possible but both DC are so determined they're most put out when I try I literally say 'dirty', 'hot', 'sharp' or whatever and save the 'no' for things that it's just inappropriate to touch, otherwise I think it stops meaning anything.

my only real advice is to baby proof, like really get down to baby's level and see what they're going to be into next. we've bought this kind of unit and have got removable boxes in the spaces that the DC can reach with their toys in, or doors attached with child locks on. all books, DVDs etc are too high for them to reach, it doesn't stop them going crazy at other people's houses but it does make our lives much much easier

[Fairylea]

Absolutely the same here.... ! It's just the age I'm afraid (I have dd aged 10 and dd 18 months).

I just make sure everything is as safe as possible and supervise ds non stop. It is exhausting but I guess just normal. I have a cupboard in the kitchen full of plastic boxes and nappies and other safe things and he is allowed in there to pull everything off while I do other stuff in the kitchen.

I let him pull all the books off the shelves and don't worry about putting them back till he's in bed !

[Fairylea]

*one of those dds should be a ds!

[Fairylea]

Sorry also meant to add definitely go for a long walk with toddler on reins early in the day so they get tired out and get a play pen ! Then at least when you need to do something you know they are safe. I got a brightly coloured one from kiddicare for 40 ish and he will sit with toys in there for about ten mind while I make lunch or tidy quickly.

[NiceGlassOfSherryAndASitDown]

yes they're fixed to the wall by the way! we've also got all remotes etc up on the wall in something like this - it's all good fun letting DC play with them under supervision but a battery can kill a child if swallowed, I don't think it's worth the risk - honestly some things you can't begin to imagine you'd need to be careful of until in the hands of a child

[octanegirl]

Crikey, mine is already like this at 10.5 months, what tornado will he unleash at 15 months? Help!

[principalitygirl]

Oh it's so good to know I'm not alone! so often my son is the one who doesn't stop! when I go for playdates at other people's houses and they're pristine with nothing out of place I could weep...! my little tornado turns our rooms upside down constantly.
I like the over the door hanger for remote controls. we keep these out of reach as he likes to smash them onto the floor to get the batteries out...
we have an expedit for our stuff - paperwork etc - but definitely need another for toys.
our travel cot can double as a play pen - gone are the wonderful days of the jumperoo!
anyone found a lockable bin or a decent bin lock?
all our kitchen cupboards have locks on them but we can't find any suitable lock for the oven.
battery about to die. back later..!

[principalitygirl]

oh, octanegirl - good name btw! - he's been a whirlwind since the womb. I should have known to expect this I guess!

[stowsettler]

Uh oh. DD is 9 months, and is just like this. We take her out as much as possible - we have dogs so she usually gets at least one walk a day just like them!
DP is home with her and I work FT and he has a set routine involving gym (free creche) 2-3 times a week, Rhyme Time (she is the group hooligan), trip to town for a walk about, swimming every Monday.
He lives for Thursdays, when she goes to nursery, and Fridays when I'm home by 2pm and take her off his hands for a bit!

[misselphaba]

Mine is the same. I could've written that list. She's probably done all of those things today. She's into climbing now and diving headfirst off the sofa even though she's been getting off the proper way for ages.

The worst thing is going round to other people's houses! Who knew a dishwasher could such fun?! I veto going round peoples houses based on how open planned their house is, how much of a neat freak they are and how dissimilar their children are to my daughter. I know a few children who must be drugged as no toddler can be that well behaved. I avoid their houses which are invariably full of toddler height hazardous delights as the parents have had no reason to move them what with their non exploring, non adventurous children.

I think its probably a good thing and we should embrace it although it does drive me batty at times.

[looseleaf]

I'm with you too, and find the mess impossible as so bored of tidying. I see it as DS meeting his need for stimulation so try to give him as much interesting 'challenge' as I have time for. We start each day with either 2 hours at playgroup, a physical activity (usually playground), trip to library where we read a lot, or museums (which we stay in for even longer as I take him a packed lunch).
I then either involve him in cooking (he loves working the magimix) or if need to clean /do stuff i park him in front of Peppa Pig for a bit to minimise the dismantling of our small flat. I also try and rotate toys but you'd never know I did any of these things as our flat still looks a bomb site

[Jinty64]

I used to get told not to move anything just to leave it and they will get used to it. Mmmm.... no they will destroy it. We had gates on the stairs and kitchen door, a playpen so that I could cook and pee (not at the same time) and everything up out of their reach.

[stowsettler]

I'm hopefully moving in the new year, and our (fingers crossed it will be) new house has loads more room....plenty for a giant baby prison play pen!

[ladygagoo]

my DS 15months is exactly the same. He is renowned amongst our nct group for 'testing' everyone's baby proofing. Going to other people's houses isn't exactly relaxing but we have about 4 gates downstairs at home plus 2 room dividers so actually it's fine. I can even safely leave him playing within the giant pen for a bit while I get on with stuff.
Babies like ours are what drawer locks, baby gates and general baby proofing were designed for. Accept you need to make some changes and that they won't be forever. Go out to burn off as much energy as possible and invite mates to your own house as much as possible and you will find it far less stressful.
Enjoy their inquisitive nature, some of the other babies in our group are really quite boring! ;)

[Bumpsadaisie]

With this kind of child you need to go OUT OUT OUT!

My DD sat quietly and played with her toys. I didn't really understand why people "babyproofed" their houses or groaned about the mess children make.

What a shock when DS came along.

As the OP says, it would take all my available time to tidy up after him, let alone doing the other household chores!