Parents of climbing toddler...please HELP me!

[CharlieBoo]

Right, dd is 18 months and for the last couple of months is climbing on everything! Now I am not new to climbers, my son was a climber, he is 5 now, but dd is on another level! She will climb on anything and everything and that is all she wants to do at the moment...

Tonight she fell from climbing on the dining table chair to get to ds' felt tip pens (he was drawing at the dining table). She has gone to bed with a bump on her forehead. I am just sick of it as obviously I physically can't watch her 24/7, I have another child and a house to run.

How do you manage? When will she grow out of it and just bloody sit and play with a toy?!

I really am tempted to put her in a nursery/childminder as I really need a break, she tries to climb out of her buggy, the supermarket trolley etc...its hard to do anything at the moment with her going through this phase...

HELP

[autodidact]

Sympathies- I have a 15 month old daughter with similar interests. Think all you can do is wait it out. Getting a break is a good idea.

[mamaloco]

DD1 was an early climber too at 15 months she could climb the climbing frames in the park. After a few months trying to stop her we decided to teach her how to climb properly and safely.
for inside the house and climbing thing well you have to punish the dangerous ones and let her some free way i.e. no climbing on the table but sofa OK, or whatever works for your house.
DD1 even got a slap on the hand when she tried to climb out of the 3 rd floor window , I panicked, it was out of her reach but she managed to move two pieces of furnitures to make steps, I was a few meter away but by the time I realise what she was doing she already reached the window sill , still scared thinking about it
You do have to say no (scary no in use needed, think "no she is going to die" when you say it) If you are scared for her safety then show it, she will be scared to and learn not to do it.
DD2 is a climber too at only 10 months but she seems to listen to the "no" better than DD1, but is early time.

I forgot you have to teach them to go down safely as well. Then as a rule if they need help to climb or go down they are not allowed to do it. If they can do it alone and it is not dangerous, there is not much you can do to stop them.

Good luck, it is exhausting! If you let her with someone make sure they know how quick and "climby" (agile) she is.
My DMIL only had very placid babies and GC before DD1, and had no idea that it can be dangerous to leave the room to make a cup of tea or have a pee. My DM was well trained (by me) to look after crazy babies/toddler, i.e. taking them everywhere you go, never out of sight.

[Earwigging]

Time to up the toddler proofing (as last post goes to show all windows need to be locked!)and don't beat yourself up when she has the inevitable bumps.

Might be one of those times when you relax standards a little bit as it is just a stage, I can't remember exactly how long it lasts though.

[LargeGlassofRed]

My 17 month old twins are the same, its driving me insane, how they haven't broken anything yet, is beyond me!

[socialhandgrenade]

if you have upvc windows you can get restrictors so they can still open but not much.

[TheNextMrsDepp]

DD1 was the same, fortunately she was very nimble and agile and rarely came to grief.

She was tiny for her age, too, and walked at 11 months, so people often did a double-take when they saw what looked like a 6-month baby dangling in mid-air 10ft up on a climbing frame.

Just keep a close eye and up your child-proofing. A determined child will move chairs and other furniture to get to where they want.

She is now 9 and can scale a climbing wall like spiderman!!

[garrowismylaw]

DS3 climbs eveything...have had to cover washing macine with paper as he climbs up it then crawls over sink then gets onto hob. EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!
His nursery school have pointed out this habit....climbing up the radiators.

[LargeGlassofRed]

The boys seam to egg each other on and have just started pushing each other finding it very funny, Dt2 climbed in the washing machine the other day and dt1 was trying to slam the door!!!
They also stand on each other to reach things usually to get over the stair gate!

[MuddlingMackem]

"she tries to climb out of her buggy, the supermarket trolley etc"

Can't help you with anything else, but for these have you tried using the harness bit off reins, make sure they have metal clips, not plastic buckles. The metal clips will clip onto the back of a trolley seat, and onto the D-rings on a pushchair.

If you can get it to work with the pushchair you might at least be able to strap her in for half an hour or so to get a cup of tea.