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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Help. How do you keep your baby off your computer?

19 replies

spidermama · 13/03/2006 13:23

My ds is nearly 14 months old and he tears around the house like a hurrican smashing things up, emptying huge bags of oats on the kitchen floor and swimming in them, he's in all the drawers and cupboards. If he can't reach something he'll get a chair and carry it over, climb up and then reach it. I literally have to stop him doing stuff all of the time he's awake.

He reaches onto my desk and pulls everything off then bangs on the keyboard and yanks at the mouse.
My dh built shelves above the computer so I could put the keyboard and mouse on them when I'm not using them. Now though 'd's climbs onto the desk. I just found him in here with the screen lying flat and him on top of it trying to get in.

Any tips anyone? He's gorgeous and friendly etc but SUCH hard work. I have a wedding to plan fgs!

Help!

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Feistybird · 13/03/2006 13:25

gaffa tape?

mumfor1standfinaltime · 13/03/2006 13:29

Crikey! You have a lively 14 month old! Ds isnt walking yet at 14m, so I guess I have it all to come! I find having a laptop is useful, can fold it away or shut the lid when not in use. Can even push laptop under the sofa in emergency!(shut obviously!)

juliab · 13/03/2006 13:33

Send him round here, spidermama - he and my ds3 have A LOT in common!

poppiesinaline · 13/03/2006 13:35

spidermama! I assume you post regularly on the 'Destroyer' thread

fruitful · 13/03/2006 13:36

I have a BabyDan fence around the desk with the computer on. Its the one you can use as a hexagonal playpen or as a fence attached to the wall. I do like the idea of putting me in the playpen and letting the kids have the rest of the living room.

Original poster

spidermama · 13/03/2006 13:36

Oh julieab aren't you just worn out by it?
He uses bookshelves as ladders and couldn't care less when I attempt to be stern. He pulls everthing out of all the kitchen cupboards and drawers every day. The other kids are driven mad by him too. It's lucky for him he's so cute I tell you.

OP posts:

juliab · 13/03/2006 13:42

Beyond worn out, spidermama! My dh says he like that because he's our third and we're too knackered to 'police' him properly.
But I think he's just a little tinker!
And as for being stern - he thinks it funny! He's even started pointing his finger at me (very cutely) and saying, 'No, mummy!' with a big grin on his face.

colditz · 13/03/2006 13:43

Um...

You can't. You just get yourself a gin, and mutter "It's a phase it's a phase it's a phase..."

colditz · 13/03/2006 13:44

Ds was like this, when he hit 2 it was a relief, he actually got less destructive as his concentration improved.

juliab · 13/03/2006 13:45

Make mine a double, colditz!

Original poster

spidermama · 13/03/2006 13:46

I'm supposed to be doing laundry but I don't dare leave him with my computer now I've seen his new resolve to get it. (Great excuse number 3456

Atm my 6 year old ds (off school ill) is trying to watch Planet Earth which I taped for him last night whilst shouting 'NO. NO! NO!' over and over again as the baby presses the buttons on the telly.

OP posts:

SorenLorensen · 13/03/2006 13:55

In our last house the PC was in the dining room but we had to move it when ds1 (about the same age as your ds at the time) pushed the button on the CD-rom tray, loaded it with chewed toast, then tried to shut it again). The only place we could put it was...in the cellar, which was, thankfully, dry - but oh so cold. I used to be down there in a coat, hat and fingerless gloves (luckily there was no MN in those days, I might have got hyperthermia). Oh he was a manic button pusher. We got one of those plastic screens for the VCR, it covered the whole of the front of it, I can still see him sitting in front of it and worrying at it til he managed to pull it off. I had a playpen and sometimes I used to sit in it while he crawled around wreaking destruction.

Erm, solutions? Nah...no idea. We moved house so we could have the PC somewhere warmer

He's 9 today and much improved, though he did knock a picture off the wall the other day with a sponge football...

juliab · 13/03/2006 13:56

Lol, spidermama!
Actually that reminds me of a little trouble we had a couple of weeks ago. DS1 and 2 got heavily into Dancing on Ice and were watching it the night they strapped the skaters into harnesses so they could 'fly' above the ice.
So DS3 sees all this - and thinks he can fly, too!
Cue 45 minutes of him climbing on to tables and launching off into space - and 45 minutes of me running round trying to catch him!

izzybiz · 13/03/2006 14:44

my pc is on our landing, and as soon as our backs are turned DD is up the stairs pulling it about.
at first she would just sit at the desk and tap the keyboard now she is a bit older she actually turns it on. she will climb on top of the desk too, empty the desk and throw all the papers down the stairs! shes nearly 22 months. and totally oblivious to my tellings off.

FrayedKnot · 13/03/2006 14:53

DS was like this for a while but is getting loads better now (he's nearly 2). He's just kind of lost interest now & prefers his toys.

ALL our kitchen cupboards have those catch locks on them, except one, which has things in he is allowed to play with (plastic stuff, pegs, etc).

I had a stairgate across the utility room to stop him getting in teh cat litter and food, and kept dangerous / precious things in there.

The PC was in a room he couldn;t get into - can your do doors already? I suppose with other kids it's harder too because they open the doors anyway.

DH has put a lock on the study door so if we need to keep something out of the way we can.

DS broke our DVD by zooming the tray in and out once too often.

I was worn out with constant tidying when he was that age.

ruty · 13/03/2006 15:28

my 18 month ds is like this too. We have resorted to a fence [ baby den stretched out lengthways] across one side of the living room, fencing in [or fencing him out!] the computer, TV, bookshelves and cupboard. Works quite well actually. but if i want to go on the computer i have to bend over the fence and type standing or he throws a wobbly because he can't get to it!

Eve2005 · 13/03/2006 15:45

is mine the only female destroyer? she's only 13 months, won't learn to walk coz she can't go as fast as when she crawls and attacks EVERYTHING, tv, video, computer, plants. the kithchen is permanently off limits to her as she has an obsession with 'feeding' the cat (the cat food is in the cupboard next to oven that we can't attach a child lock to.

unfortunately the rest of our downstairs is just one room as we live in a duplex flat and we're so cramped there's no way to fence her out or into any paticular area. she's tall so the printer and mouse are within reach and common targets as is putting food/dvds into the video recorder, re-programing the video/tv and anything else she can get her paws into!

the word no is one thet she finds highly amusing and i spend all day running around pulling her of or out of her most recent targets. help!

staceym11 · 13/03/2006 16:15

my dd is a destroyer but she doesnt do tv etc, more like magazines, books, argos catolouge, importnant letters, newspapers.

if she can get to the keyboard on comp we have problems as she can do wonderful things that i cant undo so shes told no and threatened with bed, and it usually works (shes 16 month)

UCM · 13/03/2006 18:40

Not sure about stopping them getting to PC but we used silver gaffer tape on tv/dvd/video buttons and it worked a treat and matched the silver

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