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Junior Tanky is now 17 months and started climbing a while back. At first this was O.K. in a aww look indulgent parent kinda way but now its getting ridiculous! He's graduated onto window ledges, book shelves, tables, chairs (top of TV!!!!) etc etc. Off course we've put barriers up and the like and tried 'positive reinforcement' but any help / other ideas would be great
Thanks
Ankle and wrist weights. 😉
Tape encyclopedias about his person. Tape lengths of wood to his arms and legs. Keep him in a box (with his head sticking out, of course).
at 17 months they understand what 'rules' are - I'd up the punishment if caught if I were you - naughty step time works well.
rollerskates and boxing gloves
Buy him some rock boots and a harness.
Too young for naughty step. Just needs to be told "No" firmly, and removed from the risk. Repeat until child gets bored before adult does.
Our 2 18 month year old girls are the same. Although, they tend to climb when no-one is in the room. They know it is wrong, but I'm not sure they are quite up to the 'naughty step' yet.
Maybe take him somewhere he can climb i.e. soft play area/set up something outside (the weather is much nicer now) to burn off some energy??
i found a nasty fall worked really well in stopping this activity.
Apart from that block access , tell them no etc. Once pushed a desk against the wall, climbed up it and on to a mantlepiece which was about 3 inch wide where he just stayed planted - he could not walk at the time- very impressive and scary.
Yeah, he's done that trick with a narrow window ledge! You can't shout or make a sudden move in case he over balances! Impressive at the start but now a pain in the posterior.
Guess reinforcing the message constantly is the best way - had hoped for a quick solution to this one but having thumbed a toddler guide book yesterday they covered everything except climbing!
I completely sympathise, but have no answers, tankslapper. I found my two-year-old (almost three) at the top of a tree in our back garden the other day. We had only left him for a matter of a minute while we ran inside the house to get something. He's just really damn good at climbing, and other than threatening him with 'time out' on the sofa in the lounge, we just have to watch him like a hawk.
build an indoor climbing wall for him
Our 10.5 month old does this, she can go onto the chair, onto the narrow arm of the chair and onto the sideboard. I have no idea how to stop it though, she can't talk or walk yet. She understands no, that is the funny gamethat means keep doing it while laughing uproariously.
I did teach her to go down stairs safely (backwards, rather than hurtling down head first ), that was at about 8 months, did that by picking her up every time she went for a stair dive and turning her round. Now she heads for the stairs and does a little 3 point turn before going down them.
'children should be kept in a barrel and fed through the bunghole until they're 16' Robert A Heinlein
It just takes loads of attention. No substitute, and it sounds like OP is doing that...
I'd hate to think that I had trained a talent out of my children; fortunately, both of mine are turning out ok (18 and 14) but who knows, if I'd let them carry on climbing up stuff, I might have mountaineers instead of mountainbikers in the household
Let them get on with it - they are young and bounce - it isn't really bone at that age anyway - it hasn't calcified.
I wish I was a natural climber! It's a fantastic thing to do that can take you places that few ever go to. Encourage it, with caution, as you would their first wobbly rides.
Get one of those galdiator padded helmets so he doesn't do himself a nasty.
Thanks guys
We're encouraging safe climbing but discouraging the bookshelf, mantle piece, curtain rail stuff........
Spongebob - padded helmet? It would be like me on a DH bike with a pressure suit - NO FEAR!

