How much of a liability is/was your toddler?

[RickAstleyGaveMeUp]

Some recent threads have got me thinking. DD is almost 5 and vaguely sensible now, but when she was a toddler she walked into my parents' living room and before we noticed she had left the kitchen, she had managed to pull the whole fucking fireplace out of the wall. I decided to bake with her and by the time I had got the flour out of the cupboard she had grabbed the box of eggs and smashed 5 of them on the floor. She managed to climb into the empty bath as I chucked some washing on the airer, empty a full bottle of (expensive Molton Brown, Christmas present) shower gel into the bath and get herself trapped in the resulting slick. Etc, etc. DS needed to be followed at all times until very recently (He's 2.3 and calming down a bit) but has just learned to do forward rolls and does them on his bed without checking he has room to land, and has just this second tipped over a kitchen chair and trapped himself behind it.

Not much tbh. They never did the climbing thing or the Sudocrem thing really and generally just played with their toys. The eldest is 8 and is more of a liability now than then and has suspected adhd (we see the consultant in about 2 weeks).

Taught my toddler “catch” with a ball 4 days ago. I’m now sporting a black eye thanks to his metal tractor thrown at me from half a metre away with the “catch” coming a bit too late.

What is it about 2nd children.Do they know the first was a doddle and sit there rubbing their hands in glee at the though of trouble.

Well this thread is giving me anxiety. DD is 3 and easy, I can have a bath for an hour and she will play with her teddies and toys. Pops in every few mins to have a chat. I gave up on gym club because she hates climbing.

I'm pregnant with DC2....

Any chance DD will teach them her ways? 😂

HideousOrangeDress you are describing my child to a tee! Spooky...

Where do I even start? I adore him but bloody hell he's going to get me arrested one day.

I brought my ds (2yo) to a meeting, it with a group of orthodox jewish businessmen at the place I work. I always bring him along and he's curious but well behaved. This time, he decided to tug at one of their tzitzit (string that comes down from their undershirt) and you just heard a quite loud rip as it tore off. They laughed, thankfully.

He was with me in the KSA a few months ago and started shouting "Shalom!" (hello) at random Saudis in the street, as we waited to be picked up. Wasn't his finest moment, but they thought he was cute too. I like to think it was a decent diplomatic effort personally.

I was very lucky, ds was a breeze.

He did once manage to get the step ladder out from behind the fridge, climb it to reach the high cupboard where his mountain of Easter chocolate and the medicine was kept while I was in the shower.

I came out to find him sitting on the top step, happy as Larry, head to toe in chocolate clutching the remains of an enormous chocolate bunny.

We bought a box with a lock for the medicine that day.

Ds did the sudocrem thing too. Baby wipes are the best thing for getting it off.

Mines 2. He is currently strapped in a highchair in front of the tv whilst I have a 10 minute break. I think that answers the question!

Admittedly we are in the middle of quite major building work so the highchair is not normally used just to keep him still for a few minutes but at the moment it is a way of knowing he is safe. He climbs, he rarely follows instructions unless there is something in it for him, he cannot be reasoned with I mean he doesn't even understand bribery and believe me I have tried. He was praised hugely for walking nicely holding my hand for probably 200m earlier,of course as soon as I said that he wanted to be carried

I was one of those calm quiet children who always walked nicely and did as they were told. My parents think DS is hilarious

When we bake I have everything weighed out in separate bowls ready to be mixed together before DS is allowed in the kitchen otherwise I think he would like eggs!

#1 and #2 were a fiddle. Strong willed, especially#1 but a fiddle really. #3 is the personification of chaos.

I've released mine from his highchair prison and just had to retrieve the tv remote from the garden where he was using it to poke at things

He was with me in the KSA a few months ago and started shouting "Shalom!" (hello) at random Saudis in the street, as we waited to be picked up. Wasn't his finest moment, but they thought he was cute too. I like to think it was a decent diplomatic effort personally.

^^

Laughed especially at this as for a minute I thought shalom was hello in Hebrew

@managedmis - Haha it is Hebrew! But try explaining why that's inappropriate to a toddler

Ah, this thread has made me feel a bit better about my DTs, who at 3.5 are challenging each other at things like 'who can jump from the highest point in their bedroom' and 'who can bounce the highest on the sofa', with extra kudos if they can reach a light fitting during either game...

Haha, I'm smarter than I think

I heard a comedian refer to a staffy as 'a tornado made of bricks' and that would be an accurate description of my toddler. He storms through life knocking shit out of his way to achieve his next mission.

He's sharp as a knife and a problem solver, especially if that problem is 'dangerous things that I want which I'm not allowed and have been put away'. I have aged 10 years in the past 18 months.

These stories are making me feel better, and also reminding me why I am done having kids

@CharminglyGawky I have No shame in using the high chair prison for short periods. Add one episode of Mr Tumble and a box of raisins and I have time to shove a wash on without DS pulling the washing powder out of the cupboard and to drink a hot tea.

@Buyitinbamboo my two DCs, one boy one girl, are both utter liabilities so it's not impossible that your DC2 could be similar to DC1 in personality...