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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

Help me, I have a climber!!!

17 replies

Spannah01 · 08/04/2013 17:09

My ds, 14 months, has always been an active boy, but is now taking his physical abilities to new heights (literally ). I can't seem to take my eyes off him for a minute without finding him on the dining room table, in the bathroom sink or somewhere equally heart stoppingly dangerous.

Usually I will try and accommodate his dare devil antics with a trip to soft play, parks and the likes but I seem to be having trouble with times where I need to be doing something, like cooking him dinner. My apartment layout does not allow me to be in the kitchen and watch what he is doing. I am now doing all the food prep work on the dining room table so i can watch him and only be in the kitchen for the actual cooking bit, and poking my head around the corner at any noise or non-noise (im now clued up on this fear of slience thing). My normal tactic has been to try and keep him occupied, a light snack, a little but of tv (I know don't shoot me ), games, pots and pans etc, but this doesn't seem to be working. His present fascination is with the dining room table and anything on it. In light of this I have tried removing everything off the table, again to no avail. Maybe he just loves the higher advantage point.

So after my long winded post, please come and share your tips on how to avoid any trips to a&e. or just share your stories and make me feel like I'm not alone.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 08/04/2013 17:12

My second was/is a climber.

I offer . That is all.

gloucestergirl · 08/04/2013 18:42

Sorry no help, only sympathy. I had to laugh at your "fear of silence". After quite a while of silence in our house I found out the reason - DD was eating our pet's food.

AnyaKnowIt · 08/04/2013 18:50

Only advice I've got is you need eyes in the back of your head.

We nearly had a trip to a&e as I thought dd was having a nap in her room, heard a bang and a scream and found a unit on top of her. I took everything out of dd's room and just left her with the mattress on the floor!

beela · 09/04/2013 07:32

Tie all the furniture to the wall and make it as safe as possible.

paulmuller · 09/04/2013 07:38

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

feetlkeblocksofice · 09/04/2013 07:42

you could always use the magic of Paul
In the meantime you have my sympathy, I had to cable tie my chairs to my table when DD was a toddler, now she's 10 and no harm came to her just a few heart stopping moments for me

TeWiSavesTheDay · 09/04/2013 07:45

Make sure all your furniture is fixed to the wall. If you can remove anything that can be pushed next to things and climbed up that helps too!

Also. Sorry, it's a PITA!

TanteRose · 09/04/2013 07:46

Paul's magic (reported)

I did exactly the same as feet - tied the chairs round the table so my climber couldn't use them to get up on the table

I also sometime used to put a woolly hat on him so his head was protected a bit...

Princessgrace2011 · 09/04/2013 09:23

My dd is the same, ever since she could walk I've had to watch her constantly! Loves to climb loves to touch everything she sees! She went through phases of climbing onto certain things first it was climbing onto the couch and switching the light on and off all I did was keep getting her down and saying no but she didn't take no notice, so I just let her do it (supervised) literally days after doing that the novelty wore off she doesn't do it anymore! They go through so many phases and the bad ones seem to last longer then the good ones but that's all it is, a phase!

LizzyMcGuire · 09/04/2013 09:31

Yeah, Ds2 is a climber.

Sympathies and gin, mate.

BabsAndTheRu · 09/04/2013 09:51

DS1 is a climber and we could write a book on his antics. The most spectacular instance was wen he was 2. DP was working on the roof, ladder by the back door. Back door locked, keys( which are like a jailers bunch) were on kitchen unit. We were in the living room, I was BFeeding DS2 with DS1 beside me, DS1 went through to his room or so I thought. Suddenly aware of the silence and just knew, ran through,back door open and wee set of legs just climbing over the last bit of ladder on to the roof, screamed for DP who did an amazing run down the roof to catch him. This was all down in minutes, how he'd even managed to find the right key is still a mystery. He is now 4 and still climbs but controlled now, goes with DP to climbing wall. DP is a rock climber so like father like son.

Sorry for long post but hopefully not as bizarre as Paul's.

MadCap · 09/04/2013 09:57

My ds was the same. In the end we got the travel cot out and stuck him in it. We only did in when absolutely necessary like when I neededthe loo or had to make dinner.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 09/04/2013 10:10

Oh babs!

My sister did the same when she was little (although I think the door hadn't been locked) I think my parents lost about ten years off their life right there...

BabsAndTheRu · 09/04/2013 10:24

TeWi it really was awful and all the neighbours were out as they heard my shouts, great neighbours though and the couple right next door say his antics bring back lots of memories for them. He was working on his roof once when his daughter appeared beside him to ask if he wanted a hand.
Heart stopping moments, I am definitely prematurely greying.

Startail · 09/04/2013 10:24

Yes DD1 got plonked in the travel cot when draining veg or answering the door.

I used to know where every play ground, soft play, walk on able wall and climbable tree was in any town we ever visited and we have a huge TP climbing frame. Every week we went to a toddler gym class with things to climb.

It helped a bit, but DD1 still wanted to climb everything in the house and garden. Trying to cut our tall hedge or work on the house was 'fun'. DD1 could sense ladders even when she couldn't see them.

In the end I learnt not to worry, DD1 climbed so well that I gave up trying to stop her (except indoors when she was doing it to get pens etc she shouldn't have.)

I became immune to looks from other mothers when she was at the top of the teens climbing frame or at 8 up a very high tree.

She finally stopped around 10 when she got too heavy to climb as easily, she isn't wiry and strong like DD2 who does more sport as she gets older.

However, DD1 has found a new dangerous hobby to replace the climbing, so I don't get any peace.

CabbageHead · 09/04/2013 12:14

Ha ha I'm reading all these posts and laughing because I KNOW my very active dare devil 11.5mth old DS will definitely be a climber... I am dreading it. (I'm already hiding him from watching me turn the key in the door because he tries everyday to master how to unlock the patio door (because it's the only one he can reach so far... He can't even stand by himself yet!)

And I shouldn't be surprised, the reason i was laughing is because I was a climber as a child. I was either up the highest tree in backyard, hanging out on the most precarious top spindly branches or climbing the tallest pine trees with my bestie...

But mostly I hung out on the garage roof, (im talking everyday) because I could climb the fence to get to it. The only reason I didn't hang out on the house roof was because there was no way of getting up there... (damn parents must've hidden. The ladder!) no wonder my parents encouraged me to do gymnastics! My poor mother doing the dishes looking out the window to see me swinging upside from the plum tree...

I just loved being up high where I could see everything... On top of the world! It's a great perspective... Interestingly I'm afraid of heights now!

Ps I'm noting; cable ties and portacot for future reference... Thanks! maybe we will have to eat on the floor....dining table sounds like it is out!

beela · 09/04/2013 17:17

I was in the bathroom the other day and DS (2.5) was pottering around upstairs with me. He suddenly started shouting 'I did it!! I did it!!!' - so I went into our bedroom and found him on the windowsill, which is a good few inches above his head.

It turned out that he had climbed on a cushion, got his knee up onto the radiator and hoiked himself up. I know this now, at the time though I thought he must have pole vaulted up there!

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