Is this usual toddler boy behaviour or am I not being careful enough ?

Mine used to clamber up the inside of the front door on the panels to reach the adult shoulder level latch. We had to add a top bolt.

I have 3 boys, now 20, 18 and 15.

With DS1 and DS2 I didn't even baby/toddler proof the house at all, DS3 was the dictionary definition of a heavy stereotyped boy toddler - he and his brothers would climb trees and by 3 he was way ahead of them carefully climbing and at the top shouting that he was about to jump, whilst I was watching him in the kitchen whilst washing up he put lead pencils in the microwave which I caught as they were sparking, he would regularly climb up the fence of the football pitch and sort of hang over the top whilst I stood underneath panicked. He climbed out of cots, over gates, if you could climb it and it was challenge he did it.

The water was an error, and you admit that, I am not bashing you, I do think you need to be extra vigilant with toddlers like this and it is HARD work. I don't have any solutions, only sympathies.

I will say at 15 after sprains, breaks and many bleeds he is a robust, lovely, still a bit of a risk taker but less so than the early years, he did grow out of it, but it took quite a long time.

I have a boy and a girl, they’re both as feral as each other. We really have to keep anything dangerous completely put away, and keep careful watch of anything they can potentially clamber on or they’ll have scaled it before we can blink.

My son was very similar (his little sister is much more cautious), I found 18 months to 2.5 absolutely exhausting. You have to have eyes on them the whole time and they constantly find new ways to ‘explore’.

We had a couple of extra tall stair gates custom made so I could babyproof his bedroom and the playroom (RIP dining room 😂) and at least I knew he was safe whilst I did jobs or went to the loo. My husband also works away and I was pregnant/had a newborn so I needed to make sure I could keep him contained in a safe place.

We’ve had to work hard on getting him to understand rules to keep him safe because he doesn’t do it automatically, and we constantly talk about him needing ‘use your brain and then your body’. It does get better though, he’s 4 now and he’s still more adventurous/daring than most kids his age but he’s also a lot more sensible and has better judgement (we can also channel the energy into things like swimming, cycling, gymnastics, climbing and judo).

I also found it a lot easier if I got him out the house in the morning and wore him out somewhere safe (we never used a pushchair after he turned 2 because walking got his energy out and made him slightly calmer afterwards).

Don't be hard on yourself

can you get him to a tumble tots class ?- they teach safe climbing and dismount

he loves to climb so id actually encourage it rather than suppressing it

get a trampoline and one of those steps for the kitchen so he can be involved

ive given up getting mine to treat the sofa with respect its just a tumble toy ! We have soft mat on our hard floor

Sounds like my kids. I’m always amazed when I go to the homes of families with similar aged kids and they have things like glass ornaments on display or just put a steaming hot drink down in reach of kids. Some kids are more predictable and don’t need to touch everything and climb on everything. Not mine. I need eyes in the back of my head with mine, even with house kid proofed much as possible, and they still get into accidents all the time 🙃

I have 3 boys now 18, 24 and 33. They were all bad really and the point is sometimes you don't think...until they do something and then it will always be on your radar!

Nothing to do with being a boy, thats normal Toddler .Why does their bed have a headboard?? You just have to always have your eye on them. My toddler just comes with me to the loo.

It's not a boy thing, it's a toddler thing. They're curious and don't predict or appreciate consequences

Normal toddler behaviour. Both my girls just the same. Why is it people think only boys like climbing, getting messy, playing with balls, being energetic all day?

Please don't be feeble, making out like you can't properly supervise your child whilst conducting basic daily living tasks, as a lot of us have done it with more than one or multiples. 🤦🏼‍♀️
It's not a 'boy' thing. My girls twins have always been ridiculously active, massive climbers and daredevil.
I never left them unsupervised, taught them how to climb - and fall - safely and channeled their energy with indoor trampolines, hanging bars etc, plus ensured they had a lot of outdoor, active time.

It's a kid thing, I was amazed DS got through childhood without A&E staff doing a SW referral.

Within about 3 months he needed his head glued due to throwing a tantrum and hitting his head off the TV stand, hand x-rayed due to sneaking up behind a relative causing them to fall over him like a sack of spuds, they managed to avoid landing in top of him but squashed his hand and finally, needing his foot x-rayed after kicking the wall not the ball 🙈.

Aw we can't all be perfect parents.
My DS is a massive ball of energy. Climbs, jumps, runs. He has severe autism and his understanding of danger or hazards is literally zero. My girls were active but DS is just in another league. When he left nursery his key worker asked me how she was supposed to get her steps in now she wasn't running after DS. His teachers say he's happier outside than being indoors (which is true).
I just wish I had the energy to match him.
Girls can be on the go constantly but in my experience boys take more risks (and add more gray hairs to their mum's heads) than girls.
As your son gets older he'll understand danger more and not take so many risks and you can relax a bit. Although having said that my nephew (who is 24) recently decided to do back flips of a park bench and knocked himself out (he was fine)? However the good part is his mum didn't know anything about it until she knew he was fine the next day.

Not a boy thing, some toddlers are just more adventurous than others.

'Aw', I'm not a perfect parent, either.
And, my twins both have severe AuDHD/Autism.
Try being the Mum of girls whose key workers say they've never met boys with that much energy or risk taking behaviours.
Explains my prematurely grey, but beautifully silver locks.

It’s not even a ‘toddler’ thing - it’s some toddlers. They are not an homogenous group. Risk taking and activity levels are very much influenced by personal temperament. Some climb sofas and jump off cupboards. Some don’t like swings or slides and would rather sit and play! And everything in between.

Yeah I had one of those as well.

Never leave him in a room on his own, take him with you to the loo.
obviously pour away hot water as you’ve said. Ditto being aware of oven doors, kettles, and anything else. Especially knives/scissors.
learn the grip of steel when out in public.

It’s hard to think ahead when you’re tired with a toddler but if you have a climber/runner/escape artist, you just have to learn and think FAST about what they could possibly do next. Look at a room and think what could they possibly do - they will do it.

Mine survived and is now in his 20s and climbs big mountains for fun. I am also very grey haired.

I would take him in the bathroom with you it's no big deal
I would not leave in a room on his at any time as he appears too inquisitive and agile
I would use a high chair for him to be ready for his dinner and in a cafe can I ask if you have had any babies or toddlers on your family or if friends do ??

It’s a bloody nightmare no doubt!

I think back in awe at the utter determination, imagination and genius of my bonkers child as he scaled the living room curtains, handed me the nuts & bolts from a dismantled stair gate and escaped from shopping trolleys, high chair straps oh and of course his car seat with ease and frequency!
Child locks on doors & cupboards were no match for his troubleshooting mind & skill.
Cupboards were emptied all over the kitchen floor daily. He could climb up and down kitchen drawers in seconds.
Eyes in the back of my head was the only way he survived his childhood.
He was also a “bolter “ so would razz off at speed if let go of for even a nanosecond.

Now an engineer by trade, I bloody knew he would be.

Almost all toddlers will get into scrapes of one kind or another and you need eyes in the back of your head. Sometimes it feels like they are actively on a suicide mission - I've got a boy and a girl and both have had their hair raising moments.

It can be relentless but I think your child is both a normal toddler (boy or girl) and you need to supervise a bit closer through this stage if you know he's physically adventurous. Like he probably needs to come to the bathroom with you.

But nobody can prevent 100% of toddler bumps and accidents, it's just not possible. And don't worry, it's a phase. Not that older children can't be silly and hurt themselves from time to time, but it won't always be so full on.

It's normal. Mine was a climber and an escape artist. I was so careful, seldom took my eyes off him yet he still regularly managed to get into trouble.

He was walking at 7 months, and climbed the stairs by himself at 11 months when I left him with his dad for a couple of minutes. He learned to pile his blanket in the corner of his cot and use it to climb out. At 14 months old he managed to get himself jammed in the cat flap.

For years we couldn't open windows because he would try to climb out. It's like he was hypnotically drawn to them.

Undoing 5 point harnesses was a doddle for him.

He's a completely normal teen now. needs a bomb to get him out of bed.

Now an engineer by trade, I bloody knew he would be.

Interesting. So is mine. He loves solving problems. 😁

@Amijustarubbishmum well it’s obvious he likes climbing - anything. Not sure if this is just boy behaviour or not, but you now know that if there is something to climb he will try. Knowing this will help you to keep him safe.

He likes to climb. Get an indoor climbing frame/baby gym and put down a mat. At least then you can say, this is where we climb. And start teaching how to fall.
Good luck!

Keep him close when you can like when using the loo, keep him contained where possible (highchair/pop him in front of the telly if you're doing something more dangerous) and educate him not to do unsafe things (no climbing up drawer handles or onto headboards).

I have a boy and he's obviously had the odd accident like a slip in the bath or a fall in the hallway but it's not because he behaves unsafely. He was told not to climb on things because they'd tip, to sit on his bottom in the bath etc. Tell him why not to do those things so he only ever does them once!