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OK so my daughters are 15 months and 2 1/2. My 2 1/2 year old still loves to climb everything including furniture. She likes to stand up on the kitchen table and the kitchen counters and climb the bookcase (which is bolted to the wall) and now she climbs over all of the safety gates we have in the house. I cannot get anything done because for the past week I have been spending all of my time trying to keep her off the furniture and counter. I thought that as she was inching toward turning 3 she would be getting over this but she is not and I really feel like I am going nuts. We have never "allowed" her to do this and have always taught her (and continue to teach her) that it is not acceptable. Now we are about to move into a new and larger home and we don't know what to do. The openings to both the kitchen and dining room are too wide (more then 6 feet) for standard safety gates and the safety gates that do extend wide enough are not tall enough (they are only about 30"). I thought about putting anything unsafe in the higher cabinets and taking the knobs off of the stove when not cooking so I wouldn't have to worry if she gets in there when I can't see her but that doesn't eliminate the climbing problem. I can't have her running around on the counter/ table more then 3 feet off the tiled ground all the time, but I cannot realistically be right by her side 24/7. My mother is convinced that I need to make her wear a helmet when she is awake, and I have to say that as rediculous as it sounds I feel like I may not have a choice. Does anyone else have this problem and how have you solved it?
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You have your hands full. Here are my thoughts: Does she have things she is allowed to climb? Although, if she does, the other things not allowed may still be more fun!For example, outdoor playsets in the yard with parts to climb?At our library, we have big vinyl covered "blocks" I call them, but they remind me of something from a gymnastics place--they are big, different shapes, colorful, and sturdy. Since you mentioned moving to a bigger home, maybe you could fit these in a play area? Our daughter likes to climb and fall on them. We have pulled the couch cushions onto the floor for our daughter to climb on and over.
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We don't really have a climbing problem here (well . . .yet - I'm starting to get concerned about my youngest in that regard). But I wanted to throw out a couple of thoughts.
One is that my DD tends to want to stand up in her chair at the table (to reach for things or just because she's bored). I've tried a few different consequences with her. Finally yesterday I decided I'm going to starting strapping her in to her booster (which is strapped to the chair). We haven't been strapping her for a while because I thought she had outgrown it and I don't like the idea of physical restraint unless absolutely necessary. But it finally occured to me that well, duh, it's necessary if nothing else is working to keep her safe. And I've explained to her why we're doing that and plan to give her opportunities to show she can sit in her seat without it (she really hates it so I think this may work!). OK, maybe it's an obvious solution in my situation but it took me a little while to see it! :arrow:
The other thing is that lately I've been doing more "time-IN's" with my DD. Meaning if she can't seem to follow the rules and I need to do laundry, then she has to sit on the floor in the laundry room until I'm finished. I used to have her do all of her time-outs on the stairs because I thought it would be good to separate her from the activity in the house. But then I'm sort of stuck having to keep an eye on the stairs to be sure she's staying put. So having her next to me is more convenient and seems to work as well.
Good luck!
The only consequence we use is time outs (in the corner). My DD doesn't play with toys and doesn't have any favorites. I have discussed this with her Doctor (DD was a preemie - 11 weeks early, and sees a preemie specialist until she is 3). The doctor said if she has an attention disorder (which is extremely common for preemies) it cannot be diagnosed until she as atleast 3. She has a climber in the back yard but we live in Southern California and right now it is too hot to spend a signifigant amount of time out there during the day so she only gets to play out there for an hour or 2 in the evening; even when she does I have to block her from going in the house because while she loves to play outside, she likes it even more if she can go back and forth from playing on her climber to climbing the kitchen table/counter. So that doesn't really seem to be a solution. We have 3 round leather storage ottomans in the living room (toy box by day/ coffee tables-foot rests-extra seating by night) that are about 1 1/2 feet high that the girls can climb in and out of and on top of, and I also let them climb all over the couch as long as they don't get on the back of it. That doesn't seem to help either. I don't think anything is going to lessen her interest in climbing (not soon anyway) so I am just hoping I can atleast come up with a negative that will deter her since spanking isn't an option and time-outs don't really seem to fase her.
I have a climber too! ..She is 3 1/2 going on 4 and still climbs. However I do make sure I provide plenty of opportunity for her to climb that is acceptable... [LIST][*]We are known on a first name basis @ the local McD's play area and CFA play area.[*]She takes gymnastics 1/week and has since she was 18 mo. old.[*]We also created a mini gymnastics studio in the unfinished room upstairs.[/LIST]This is not to say that she doesn't still climb on the furniture some with consequences. But it does sound like you have even more on your hands because my DD has never climbed on the table or the cabinets in the kitchen. Unless I ask her to climb on the counter to put something away for me ( I am short) or get something down for me.
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS]My DS was a serious climber...it was one of the first signs of his sensory processing disorder. He is mainly a sensory seeker and climbing helped him in that aspect...I swear the child could scale a flat wall when he was younger. He still is frequently found on tables, furniture, and whatever...we are used to it and as long as he is safe I no longer 'worry' about getting him. We always provided him something safe to climb on, as well as other sensory stimulation, like ball pits, a mini tramp and lots of swinging. He had a Kangaroo Climber in his room from age 17 months until earlier this year...he just turned 5 last month. [/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]You may want to have her checked out by EI...just in case something more is going on other than being a kid who likes to climb. [/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Good luck.[/FONT]
she had an EI assesment when she was a baby and at the time there were no concerns. She also went for OT, but they stopped the OT after about 18 months because they didn't really believe that she needed it anymore. Her specialist told me not to worry too much about it until she starts preschool and how she behaves there will be a good indicator of wether we have reason to be concerned or not; but then her specialist isn't the one chasing after her (and a 15 month old) all day =) Maybe I'll give EI a call.
I have a climber who is also approaching 2 1/2 and not getting any better....I am having him evaluated for sensory issues. If you figure this out PLEASE, I'm all ears. The only thing that "helps" and I don't know that it really helps just makes him tired is if we spend all day at the park or swimming. I purchased saftey first covers for our stove knobs, he can't twist them anymore and doesn't try any longer.