How do you keep things away from your toddler??

[smeisnotapirate]

I have a DS, 20mo. I have things like my laptop and water glasses and things that I need to keep away from him for whatever reason, but HE GETS TO EVERYTHING. He's figured out how to unlock the doors in the house, can use things to climb and get things....... I'm at a loss. There are certain things he just CANNOT have, but I can't seem to keep them from him. The moment I turn my back to pick something up off the floor or go to the bathroom or what have you, he's into something he shouldn't be.

It's so frustrating, and I hate having to repeatedly take things away from him that he shouldn't be playing with in the first place. Ideas?

[tanyam926]

I am going through the same thing w/ds3 who is 18 months.

The bad news is that you can only do so much to keep things put up and keep them as safe as possible but they will still drive you mad daily w/their exploring things and having no concept of safety or the word no.

The good news is that it gets better. I would be much more frustrated than I am now if I hadn't already gone through this two other times.

I don't know if it's just my memory but it seems like ds3 is so much more ornery than my other two ever were. They got into things but my whole day is spent running after ds3, moving things, moving him....it's really frustrating.

He climbs on the table so I keep it cleared off and put the bench up, he throws his freshly washed and sorted diapers all over the living rm so I put them in the closet, he gets into the trash so I put it into the laundrey rm, he loves playing in the toilet so I tried different locks until I found one that worked. Those are just some of the things so far. I still have to figure out how to keep him from climbing up his brothers' bunk beds, messing w/the computer, knocking over my drinks (cups w/lids are amazing!), and squeezing out his drinks all over the couches and carpet.

And as I am typing this he just knocked over my end table lamp and broke it (not shattered, but the top is bent). Grrrrr!!!!!

Good luck and wish me luck too!

[BaMo]

I have no advice, but DS is the same way. I'm hoping some other moms have some ideas.

[nolonger]

Um....you don't?

I always find pictures of my house/apartment before and after the baby becomes mobile so humorous.

I move things to higher and higher shelves. Eventually, the most crowded shelf is the top of the bookcase--and it's a huge hazard in case of an earthquake--but eventually I just have to face up to facts and get rid of a lot of stuff.

Or else it breaks, but either way, it just doesn't matter any more.

I'm also on baby #3 and I'm not sure if it got easier or if I'm just used to it by now.

[twinergy]

We unloaded one room, the living room, and keep it child proofed it so DS can't get into anything. The child proofing is an ongoing process as he figures out how to get into more things. If DS is in another room and starts getting into something that isn't for him he will go back to the living room, I try to go with him if i'm not in the middle of cooking dinner or something. There is a kangaroo climber in there so he has an appropriate place to climb and I can redirect him. This works for us because we always have a way to remove him from the temptation and still honor the impulse.

Here are some other random tips about our living room set up:
* We installed wall shelves high up so he can't climb them (yes he climbs bookshelves like a ladder if he can reach the bottom shelf.) This way we have a place to put things that need to be out of his reach.
* You can get two safety gates and stack them double high if he figures out how to climb over one gate.
* Some climb proof toy storage solutions: mesh laundry bag that zips (draw strings and handles are strangulation hazards) and pop up mesh baskets

gotta run, if i think of more i will post again

[Astraia]

For things she REALLY shouldn't have, I put them on the piano. We don't have a bench for it so there's no way for her to get on top of it. The piano is just this horrible cluttered disaster, it looks awful. I want to build some shelves on the wall (like, attached to the wall not a book shelf) so we can move the mess around, if nothing else. We have baby gates but they're stupid and cheap. We have them mounted to the walls but they wobble a LOT.... which is actually handy, because they're too loose and wiggly for her to climb But really... with most things, I don't bother. It probably helps that we went from starving students to parents so quickly, we never had time to get nice things so if she spills juice on the couch... eh, I hate the couch anyway. I'm too lazy to reorganize the entire house to get stuff out of reach, and not willing to deal with the tantrums that follow if I take her away from a new favorite activity if it's not something I care about. I figure despite my best efforts stuff WILL get wrecked .. that's just life with kids, right? So better to not get into a tizzy about it and we'll all be happier.

[Baby_Cakes]

We keep the dining room chairs pushed in so DD can't climb onto the table. We keep the laptop on the table so she can't get to it. If we need to go on it, we stand at the table! Otherwise she's on top of us hitting the keys. LOL.

I try to keep things as toddler friendly while still being practical. Her books are on the lowest shelf in the bookshelf -- she can get to those. We have the kitchen, upstairs, and bathroom gated. I drink water out of a Sigg instead of an open glass. Coffee mugs go on coasters on a high shelf in the bookcase.

Our latest issue is the TV stand. DD climbs it and I can't get her to stop. But I can't move the TV out of the house! I just have to be vigilant and if she's being crazy about it, we both leave the room and do something else.

Sure, shelves look cluttered and the floors are all but bare, but it's about safety and convenience right now! Who cares what others think of my house?

[smeisnotapirate]

Maybe I need shelves.

Our piano is in great shape and DH and I are musicians, so it needs to be accessible (and have a bench, lol). DS can move our table and we have benches that pull up to it, not chairs. He also has his tripp trapp chair which he uses as a stepstool all over the first floor.

He uses the couches to reach up the walls, and the radiators to climb onto the windows. Anything he can't access, he'll push things over until he's got himself a good climbing spot. It's amazing. He can do this in less time than it takes me to go get a glass of water.

It's not an aesthetic thing at all - it's a safety issue. I only have a few things he really shouldn't be getting to, but I need to be able to keep them from him and I'm at a total loss!

[Picard]

Hmmm... the garage? What frustrates us the most is the constant opening of the fridge. He figured out the childproofing on that one real quick! Then I used Duct tape for a while and it worked fine, until he figured out how to remove that too. He thought that that was a fun game! I'm at a loss as to what to do with our kitchen knives, etc. I mean, there is only so much space up high to put our glass wear, etc. The top of the fridge is filled, additional high shelves are full to the brim. I'm amazed at how inventive toddlers are! Generally, when I become really frustrated by DS's joy in opening/getting into stuff, I know that it is time to get out of the house to play. This helps. Computers and TV: well, we only use the computers when DS is asleep (or, when I really need to use it, I stand with my laptop held with one hand); we don't watch TV anymore. The TV/VCR button pressing game that DS loves is just not worth the trouble of watching a program.

[Theia]

I have many of the same issues. What has helped with DD (she's 24mo now) is to distinguish things I don't want her to do from things that are harmful. The "owwies" include glasses (anything made of glass to include casserole dishes, etc), knives, etc. I've kinda exaggerated it a bit with her, like all of my drinks are "owwies", but I still use real glasses . The computer is sacred, I will let her touch it, like she will open the screen when it is closed (a laptop), but any time she is not gentle towards it, I let her know it is not okay. The other things I don't want her to get into like the trash or recycling, I just stay vigilant about it. Pretty much everything that is permanent in our home that is at her level is bare, or has toys. So there are "owwies" and "please don't do that" things. It has helped, but I think the only real solution is going to be the end of toddlerhood.