is this normal practice in a nursery?

[BUTU]

My 18 months toddler just started settling in sessions in a nursery. My son loves to press buttons and switches. In the toddlers' room, there is a lift. He likes to press the lift button but he is told not to. He also want to press all the switches beside the electricity sockets, which is not allowed either. The sockets all have covers . There is also a food preparation corner in the room. My son wants to play with the swinging cover of the food bin, which is not allowed either.

Is this normal to have these temping things in the toddlers' room and forbid them to touch? My son is feeling rather frustrated because he cannot resist the temptation. At my home, we baby-proof the rooms so he can play safely wherever he goes. All the things he cannot touch are locked away. Shouldn't the nursery do that too? Are all the nurseries like that? Shall we try other nurseries where he can play with everything within his range?

rules are there for a reason and, whilst you may not be concerned about your child clicking electric switches on and off,and playing with lift buttons,I'm sure many other parents that use the nursery would not be impressed if their children were allowed to do it.Ofsted wouldn't be too impressed either!I'm a childminder and certainly wouldn't allow it in my home..they'd end up blowing the fuses! And the children don't go anywhere near the bins-except to put rubbish in-because they are taught from a young age not to.

@Babiecakes11 Thanks for the good idea. We also have switch toy at home. I will bring it to the nursery.

I find children who have been brought up in completely child proofed environments where everything is fair game can be completely uncontrollable once taken out of them. Children should learn boundaries and learn that not everything is a toy.

Hmm I've never been a fan of just locking stuff away/putting it out of reach, children do need to learn not to touch certain things and to do as they're told.

At the nurseries I've used for my children, sockets were raised higher than the skirting board but still able to be reached by pre-schoolers. I wouldn't be concerned by what you've described OP.

Unfortunately feeling frustrated is just part of being a toddler!

@Babiecakes11 Thanks!

@Babiecakes11 Thanks for sharing your experience. We are using redirection technique for other things like not climbing onto the table etc. We do baby proof at home so that there are only a couple of simple rules we need to enforce, which makes life easier.

We kind of suspect my boy might have a mild form of autistic spectrum disorder, because he does not point, does not following pointing, does not say any meaningful word include dada mama. We have seen pediatrician but it's too early to make a clear diagnosis. Though he is immensely curious and likes to join other children. We are in the process of seeing speech therapist.

@Babiecakes11 "he will follow them around or play chase but anything else he gets confused at and just looks." Actually, this is a bit like my boy. He often goes for toys other children are playing with, but he does not really play with them. Though he is only 19 months, it's not completely unusual.

We first noticed the sign when he was 3 or 4 months old. He often avoided eye contact. We started to talk to GP at 11 months because he was not gesturing. We saw community pediatrician at 17 months. She said because my boy had a wide range of interests, it was not very likely to be autism, it was more like speech delay. I suppose we have in the system.

Thanks for all the info and good luck with your boy.

Yes it's normal practice in Nursery, at a Childminders and most homes!

My DC/ nephews/ minded children all learnt not to touch the bin/ sockets. I remember them trying to touch the bin at around 12 months coinciding with walking. You just say No. And they stop doing it! (After a few times of it being consistently enforced).

It is actually healthier for children to be brought up/ looked after in environments that aren't completely risk averse. It is also better for children to be given boundaries from a young age.

When he goes to school there will be boundaries and expectations so this will help him learn respect for things that he shouldn't touch and learn not to do something when an adult tells him not to.

I would imagine if every child pushes the lift button it will get very annoying for the staff!