How to get DS to stop standing on things...

[elizabethkott]

DS is a climber. He loves to climb up on the couch, the chairs, the coffee table, the end tables... but his proclivity for climbing up onto things has now turned into a desire to stand up on things as well, and occasionally do a little dance (which, while hilarious to watch, is truly scary!).
We've tried redirecting, repositioning, out and out "no", "danger", "careful", "we don't dance on tables", and time outs. Nothing is working. Is this one of those things he'll outgrow?
Help me get my kid to stop dancing on tables!!! :)

[bethie_73]

I don't know but if you find something please let me know :)

[egoldber]

Yeah, Sarah was never a climber, but Amy considers any table a personal challenge. We have simply rearranged the furniture to try and make it as least dangerous as possible.

[kedss]

My sister was the same way, if there was something to be climbed she climbed it! I think she outgrew it, but it took awhile.

[Piglet]

DS1 was not into climbing (and still isn't). DS2 would regularly get up onto the dining room table and look at us like we were the crazy people still on the ground, LOL. We als try to rearrange furniture as much as possible, but some things need to be where they are, like the dining room table needs to have chairs around it! Eventually he outgrew it no worse for wear. It is like every other new skill, they practice and practice until they move on to something new (and hopefully less dangerous). It really didn't last for more than a month on the dining room table, if I recall.

[elizabethkott]

DINING ROOM TABLE?!
I think I just had a heart attack.
:D

[californiagirl]

It really helps to provide something climbable. Some people do this with one of those kid's climbing toys. Some people have a stepstool in their living room for 6 months. Neither one matches the decor, I'm afraid.

[ThreeofUs]

DS climbed EVERY piece of furniture, including a tryout on the 10' high built-in bookshelves, by the time he 2. We tried everything we knew, too, but nothing worked. So, we cleared the decks, rearranged so that he didn't have access, and made sure he was in eyesight at all times.

My veins still haven't recovered from the repeated adrenalin shocks.

[elephantmeg]

DINING ROOM TABLE?!
I think I just had a heart attack.
:D


Oh yes, DS used to dance on ours. The less attention I paid to it, the faster it went away. My parents are horrified that I let him.

[caleymama]

We went through a months-long phase of having to keep the dining room chairs ON the dining room table when not in use because the instant she had the opportunity DD2 would be up on the table. She was climbing before she was walking. No amount of redirection worked so that's the solution we ended up with. The rest of the time we just watched her like a hawk and re-arranged things to make them less climbable.

Older DD was (is!) very active but was not a climber (except for "normal" climbing things like at the playground and on the trees in the backyard). Now at 3.5, DD2 is still somewhat a climber, but not nearly to the heart-stopping extent that she used to be.

Good luck!



DINING ROOM TABLE?!
I think I just had a heart attack.
:D

[hellokitty]

Lol, my kids are 4 and 2 and I still can't figure out how to get them from climbing things. My 2 yr old is the worst. The first thing he did when he learned how to walk, was to climb up onto the dining room table and then he tried to swing off of the chandelier by hanging onto it and raising his knees!!! I was washing the dishes when he did it, looked up, saw what had happened in the few seconds where I was trying to wash a pot and freaked out. Everything about my 2 yr old is intense, I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd be a dare devil too.

[Alice523]

I used to go crazy taking DS off of the furniture over and over and over. Eventually, he outgrew it. He's still a big climber but he has changed the focus to trees, fences, ladders, etc. The end tables just don't do it for him anymore. ;)

I could think of nothing better to do than remove him and put him down on the ground. Somewhere between 18 and 21 months, counting started to work. I'd tell him that he could climb down by himself by the count of three or I'd have to do it for him. To this day, that works because he'd rather climb back down on his own.

Mostly, though, it was just one of those phases we had to get through.

[bethie_73]

The first thing he did when he learned how to walk, was to climb up onto the dining room table and then he tried to swing off of the chandelier by hanging onto it and raising his knees!!!


Cr@p, my new dining room has a chandelier. I didn't even consider.... thanks for the heads up. I"m sure it is coming he climbs/swings off anything possible now. Lets hope he doesn't put 2 and 2 together :D

[randomkid]

Oh yeah, we went through that phase, including the dining room table. I can't tell you how many times I'd find DD right in the middle of it. As a PP mentioned, I bought a climber like this one - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2603658

It really did make a difference. She loved to climb and this gave her the outlet. We put it right in the middle of the living room and directed her to it at least once a day to get her need for climbing out of her system. It's outside on the back porch now, but she still loves to climb on it at 3yo.

We also stayed on her about getting off the furniture and that seemed to help as well. However, I still have to get onto her about standing on the couch and sitting on the tables!

BTW, we did the same thing when she wouldn't stop digging in the dirt - we got a sandbox and that really made a difference. Kind of like a scratching post for a cat, huh?

Good Luck - I highly recommend the climber!

[dr mom]

DS will climb anything - he'll leap up on the dining room table, climb over the back of the sofa, scale the shelves in the pantry, and even climb the doorframes. We have a Cedarworks playset, and visit the playground regularly for variety...which does not appear to dampen his need to climb on everything in the house.

The Monkey Genes are strong in our family. I've been discouraging it for more than two years without much success. May I suggest wall anchors for any piece of furniture that would potentially hurt your child if it toppled over while he was climbing on it?