Climbing too high

[orquidea]

My son is 29 mos. He likes to climb & always has. Now that he is getting better at it I am growing quite fearful for his safety. Today we were walking up a steep walkway with sharp turns and big rocks going up next to the path. He climbed up the rocks of course. I was wearing my 5 mo old in an Ergo carrier, so instead of climbing up after him, I walked up the trail so I could be next to him. Because he could see me on level ground on one side and I never saw him look down, I'm not sure if he really knew how high he was. (about a 10-12 feet drop off). I was very scared so asked him to come to me while reaching over the guard rails. And of course being 2 1/2 he screams "no" and backs away from me impulsively without looking behind him. I tried to fit through the guard rails to get him but the Ergo, baby & me didn't fit and I didn't want him to get even more riled up. Fortunately, he didn't fall this time and came back to me finally. I'd love to hear from parents who have or had active climbing toddlers on how they handled these situations.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

DD was a crazy climber. I tried to provide safe opportunities for climbing as much as possible. We got a Kangaroo Climber for inside the house. She is a very skillful climber now, at 4.5, and climbs 15 feet up our cedar tree independently.

If it was impossible for me to make it safe for her, we just wouldn't go there, or I would barracade the area off so she couldn't get to it.

I tend to be more permissive and let DD do things that freak out most parents, but from what you described, I would be too scared to let DD climb there. We just wouldn't go to that hiking place. There's a trail here that sounds very similar, and I took her once before realizing it was just too dangerous.

[orquidea]

Thanks for your reply. I think this is the conclusion I have come to as well (avoid places that he can climb too high). Maybe my radar will be up now. We've been to this trail in the past without him going near the rocks. I've always thought of this trail as a way for him to burn off some of his energy.
The kangaroo climber is cute, but I don't think it would satisfy my little guy's need to climb. Yesterday he climbed up on the handrail for our stairs and started scooching himself up.

[sapphire_chan]

Thank goodness he was okay.

And thanks for the heads up. I'm just picturing the Turkey Run trails, which include a section with ladders and going :