17 month old climbing on the table - any suggestions

[lorisparkle]

My DS1 is rather adventurous and is desperate to climb on the table. I'm worried that he will fall and hurt himself (although he does seem to bounce) and it is one of the only places I can put things that he can't reach. This is what I've tried...

1. Pushing the chairs right under the table but he pulls them out, sometimes pushing them right over (they are heavy and large and could either hurt him, break something or break), then climbs up.

1. Putting the chairs away from the table but again he either climbs on them to turn the lights on and off and falls off them or he tries to push them back towards the table resulting in the falling right over.

1. Putting them in a different room but this is a nightmare as we then have to carry them to the table every meal time and the only room is an unheated conservatory with very little space or onto the stairs. I'm also 5 months pregnant with pelvic pain and should not be carrying heavy chairs

1. Getting cross with him does not work - he is only 17 months and I do not want to spend my day shouting at him and saying no.

1. Distraction only works if I give him my undivided attention but then the meals won't get cooked, the dishwasher won't get filled or emptied etc

The final option is to clear the table and not worry about him falling.

Any other options would be fantastic as I am at my wits end

Get him some crampons and a hard hat.

Because other than that I don't know. I had 3 climbers and my attempts to stop them were futile at best, and seemed to make things more dangerous at worst.

Sorry.

I have same problem with DS - started when he was 16 months old. I started a thread asking for help: www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=67&threadid=419354#8506999

TBH, nothing really helped, he's still a little monkey and climbs up everything as soon as my back's turned. It's worse now that he's taller and can climb onto the table without needing to pull up a chair. And from there to the windowsill, and from there to the top of the sideboard.

Apparently it's all completely normal. That's what everyone keeps telling me...

Will watch with interest in case anyone has ideas that could help me too! In the meantime, I know just how you feel - the racing heart, the 'oh my god, how did he get up THERE?'...

my dd has done this from around 17 mths, the only way weve found to stop her is buy tieing the chairs to the table legs so she can pull them out. sometimes i dont bother though and shes quite happy clmbing up and down. hasnt fallen off yet (touch wood). she does occassionally still go on there (20 mths) but i think the novalty has worn off a bit

Um... maybe make a den underneath the table, which might give you a bit of a break. But also clear the table. It doesn't sound like it it's a safe place to put things out of his reach any more.

oh yeah and dh is a climber so is very proud of his daughters climbing achievements at such an early age

Had same issue when my daughter was the same age.

I took the chairs away from the dining table, and shoved the stools under the kitchen table and shut the door.

It passed.

DS 18 months is a climber - he learnt to climb the stairs before he learnt to walk.

Keep going with the "no, dangerous", but can you make some climbing ok and allowed?
e.g. DS is not allowed to climb on any furniture except the sofas - these he is allowed to climb on. We also pile up the cushions in a big heap in the middle of the lounge and he climbs these/dives on to them. If he starts climbing chairs/tables etc he gets "no, dangerous" but shown back the cushions where he can climb. I also take him to park/soft play every day for a climbing session - I sear it's a compulsion, he can't help it, he needs his fix!

Thanks everyone. I think I will do the clearing the table and accepting it. Hopefully he will get bored of the climbing on the table. His favourite place is climbing onto the sofa then onto the window sill (windows locked of course!). We only really have one room downstairs (lounge / diner with stairs up from) the kitchen is tiny and the conservatory is too so it's not that easy. I should never had gone looking at houses to move into when i was pregnant. The only think my hormones said was 'yes it's a nest - move in now'.

Weegle - I like your idea of the park/soft play everyday. We have no park nearby. Our housing estate is 15 years old and we were promised one when it was built. They are currently on the 'consultation phase'. I will have to try out the nearest soft play although the reports are that it is not good for young toddlers. You would think that a large village near a large town would have better resources but I will persevere. Also getting him out of the house will stop the climbing on the table!

lots of leisure centres do soft play sessions a few times a week - look in to your local leisure centres and see what they have. They also tend to be cheaper than soft play centres.

Also, make an obstacle course around your lounge with the sofas/cushions/beanbags which involves lots of ups/downs. This also seems to help if he's literally climbing the walls!

Weegle - I know I sound like one of those annoying people who are negative about every suggestion but our local leisure centre was so severely flooded in the July floods that it will not be open until next summer (some even say two years) I am going to investigate a toddler gym type session that a friend in the next county goes to and see about that - it's just a pain having to drive everywhere. My DS does enjoy cushions and will make his own obstacle course. He is rather bossy and moves them all back to where he wants them if you try and move them but it keeps him happy for a short while