Help - We have a climber

haskey · Jul 30, 2008 2:19PM

We have twins, just under a year old (about nine and a half month adjusted as they were over 2 months premature). One of them is very active and it able to walk freely.

Yesterday we found him on the sofa. We know that he's been close to being able to climb on it for a while but now he's able to do it were scared of letting him out of our sight. What if he falls? What if he tries to climb even further!

How can we teach him not to climb or at the very least teach him to climb down safely. His age means that he's not yet following any commands. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

arg · Jul 29, 2008 5:02PM

Hi my 3rd lo is a climber and although she is 16 months now she has been doing it from the same age as yours. I know it is a serious matter but I have to admit to being a lot more laid back with her than I was with her brothers and especially my first - when he fell off the bed the first time I rushed to A&E (he did have a golf ball on his head though, but they don't do anything except give you advice on observing them).
My daughter started with climbing on the sofa in our conservatory and kept falling off onto quite a hard floor. I did keep telling her to be careful but she wouldn't listen!!!! She was ok each time and soon moved on to bigger and better things. She climbs on to absolutely everything now from the back of the sofas onto the window sills, onto high tables etc. It seems the more she does it the better she gets and the more confident. On a positive note she learnt to climb the stairs (with strict supervision) quite early and now gets down them safely too. She gets up quite a big slide (using the slide not the steps!) and climbs the steps of the boys climbing frame (with a broom in one hand too, maybe she will join the circus!!) in no time.
I would just say that there is not much you can do to stop it apart from watch them as much as possible and make sure the areas they are playing in is as safe as possible (I can see my daughter in the conservatory when I am in the kitchen). Also, if neither of them have fallen yet you have been fortunate as it is very likely to happen sooner or later!!
My friend has twin boys (one fell off the sofa at a few months old) who are just over a year old and she says one is a climber and the other a walker. Good luck!! x

lpmck · Jul 30, 2008 9:39AM

Hi.

Last night, my little girl (who's 18months old) decided to climb out of her cot! We heard a terrifying thud, then a very loud scream, and went into her bedroom to find her sitting in the middle of the floor, rubbing her head and saying 'ouch'!!!

Thankfully she was fine, but I'd love some advice to prevent this happening again!! Her cot is on the lowest level, and I'm reluctant to put a mattress on the floor - she thinks 'boinging' is a great game, so it would only encourage her!

Any ideas?

xx

arg · Jul 30, 2008 2:19PM

Hi, you're probably not going to like my reply but the safest thing for you to do is put your daughter in a bed if she has started climbing out of her cot. If she has done it once she will be able to do it again and unfortunately won't remember that she hurt herself doing it last time. It is probably a lot earlier than you had planned but you should get a toddler low bed so that she doesn't fall out too far if she does fall out (my 7 year old still falls out of his single bed sometimes!). We also used cot sides with the boys on their beds although some people say they are just as unsafe as your lo may try to climb over that too (although they only go down a bit of the length of the bed).
I have a feeling that my 16 month old climber will be getting out of her cot soon toowhich will be a nuisance as I didn't put my boys in beds until they were over 2 years old.
The only other thing you can do is wait and see and hope that she doesn't do it again! xx

Help - We have a climber

Replies

Featured Discussions

Promoted Content