Toddler door obsession - help!

[lottytheladybird]

Hello! My DS is 20 months old and has been obsessed with opening & closing doors for many months. We used to let our DS play with our doors at home, but it became too much, so we now wedge most of our doors permanently open.

However, when we go out, it can be difficult to keep our DS from playing with doors. If I don't let him play with them, then he cries.

Do you know of any strategies which encouraged your son or daughter not to play with doors?

Distraction. Have you tried letting him play with a toy house which has doors? Dolls house or something?

DS has just turned two and still very much loves playing with doors!

Our rules are:

If the doors are in our house, then he can play with them as much as he likes (safely)
If doors are glass, no playing, no matter where they are.
Doors belonging to other people are not for playing with.
Doors in places like playgrounds (gates!) can be played with, but he has to stop playing to let people through them.

This all works quite well and has done from about 18 months. Although for a good while my most-used phrase was 'no, that's not our door, hands off'!

We also got him lots of toys with doors, which he can play with, which seems to have calmed his obsession with real doors. Most popular are: toy cars with doors (Asda do a good range for cheap), the Happyland Firestation and a latching board (by Melissa and Doug).

LadySybilDeChocolate - We have a play house in the garden with shutters and a gate, which he loves!

IWillOnlyEatBeans

How does your son react when he gets told that he's not allowed to play with other people's doors? I tell my DS the same, but he's so persistent that I spend the whole time taking him away from the door and then he gets upset.

I'll look into getting more toys with doors on!

Ds used to like wearing my shoes. He'd walk around and laugh at himself.

He is ok now lotty but it was a struggle at first. He's generally good at doing what he is told though.

It helps that he now understands the concept of ownership I think - which started from around 22 months if I recall correctly...