Help, My Son Won't Stop Climbing on the Couch........

yikes! have you tried giving him an outlet for his energy....gymnastics is really great for kids this age,; they give the kids a safe place to tumble and climb! Also there are good playgrounds for toddlers; you didn't say where you are located but they are all over...there are even indoor play-places with tubes to crawl thru and ropes to climb, with lots of padding on the floor! I would get him out of the house and involved in something active, in a safe place where he can't hurt himself. then you can help him differentiate between the furniture, which is a no-climbing zone, and his gym class which is the appropriate place for such activity.

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Hi K.! It is very difficult to control a child like that, you can't. You say he is 18 months? I had a friend with a son like that and she took him to a psychiatrist pediatrician and discovered her son had a slight outistic behaviour. Autistic children tend to harm themselves quite often. I don't want to alarm you but check that up and fast. After you check that, if he is negative to autism, take him to a toddler gymnastic class, he might be the next champion in the olympics, and I am not kidding. When you are too busy turn the couch upside down so he can't climb it. Also you might try getting a dog, has to be labrador retreiver, collie or golden retriever, beleive me they are the best nanas. When my son was your son's age I will put him on a playard when I was busy. He will jump and get out of it. My labrador dog used to take him by the pamper and pull him out of danger and then will come running to me and bark to let me know something was wrong. My son was never hurt thanks to his care. When my daughter was born, my son was five and the Lab had died of old age, so we got a collie like lassie. She did the same as the lab with my baby girl, this one even barked at the child when she was doing something wrong and to my surprise she obeyed. So, check for autism, hiperacctive, ADDH and finally get a good dog.

I had a climber, too. Any time we'd go anywhere like the Y or church and I'd put him in childcare, I could hear them saying, "here comes Kaleb, watch him, he's a climber!" it is VERY frustrating. just make sure you've got all sharp edges covered :) there's a great website www.stepahead.com that sells lots of useful safety gadgets, like padding for cornerst and stuff like that. Something that also helped my son was when i'd give him safe areas to climb. we got a small playgym and sometimes i'd take him out to the park or some indoor play space with the tunnels and stuff. or, if he seemed extra rambunxious (sp?) that day, i'd get on the floor and play rough with him for about 10-15 minutes. those things seemed to help wear him out and make him ready to sit for a while and play more calmly with toys or watch a video so I could get some work done. it's scary, i know. Kaleb actually has a cracked skull from one of his falls...fell down four concrete steps off a porch he tried to climb up. praye also helps! :)

It sounds like your son and mine could be playmates. My son, who is 21 months also climbs everything. When my little one refuses to stop, I put him in his "time out" spot which is his playpen. He doesn't get out of it as he hasn't figured out how but I'm sure that day is coming. In the mean time, it gives me a much needed reprieve from running across the room to keep him from diving off the couch or coffee table. I can't say I've found anything else that works but the playpen method so if you have one, try it out. Good luck.

Hi K., I have 3 sisters and my mom always said she didn't agree with people who said Boys will be Boys.
SHE WAS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!! When I had my son he was the first BOY and WOW!!! I ran my butt off and still do. ( he is almost 7 now)

Boys jump and climb and play swords and everything else.
I also have a 3 year old little girl and the difference is as vast as you can imagine. She will sit and color or do puzzles for 20 minutes or more at a time.

I agree with everyone that said help to find an outlet, stay busy and just get out of the house. The Couch won't be as exciting as the park or riding bikes.

Also there is a great book call "wild at heart" that really illustrates how important it is to let boys be boys.

I also babysit my girlfriends 18 month old little boy, who by the way just starting to climb over my couch... no joke, it is time to go ride bikes! Gotta run!

Have a great day full of grace and peace
C.

Dear K.,
I laughed when I read your first sentence; my husband and I call my daughter "monkey" all the time. She was (and sometimes still is) like Banyan. Once, I caught her scaling the stairs on the other side of the rail! She just loves to bounce and climb. When she was younger, we enrolled her in Gymboree classes. Now she visits a gymnastic studio once a week. We give her lots of playground/outside time. When she jumps on the couch, we make her sit on the floor for the rest of the day. It's tough, but they do eventually grow out of it. Allison is four now, and I can actually leave the room for a few minutes. Good Luck!
L.

K.,
I can certainly relate. My son was a climber too. We had to get a rope and bungee cord and strap the chairs around the kitchen table. Unfortunately, this is just a stage that he is going thru. I'd put the pillows on the floor around the couch. Keep telling him 'no' and re-directing him. Eventually, he'll outgrow this.

Hang in there! He's only going to get more active! :)

Well sweetie, get real familiar on the quickest way to get to the ER!!! My youngest son was sorta the same. Only he didn't climb much, just thought he could do ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING!!!! Thought he could fly, climbed out the 2nd story window just to see if he could get back inside, Tried to do jumps on his bike at 3...We spent alot of time in the ER getting stitches, and getting broken bones set. Be careful tho...back then HRS wasn't so into everyones business.
My son is now 27, and he has a son.....you guessed it...JUST LIKE HIM!!!!!!!

very normal! i have a 2 year old boy and he climbs everything: closet shelving, bed headboards, doors, fences, counters, etc. and no matter what i say or do he finds a way to access these forbidden hazards. he now figured out to move the coffee table against the wall so he can climb the tv entertainment cabinets! i routinely find him sitting on top on the changing table & dinner tables. what's next, the fridge?! invest in a outdoor climber/swingset if you have a grass yard. or an indoor climber if you have a carpeted room. visit the park or pool as much as possible, they need to be active. i take my son out everyday just to avoid the climbing. i also wanted to add that when we are at home and he goes ape on us, either me or my hubby get on the carpet with him and get him to climb us instead. we play physical horsey and airplane games and gentle tumbling with him so we are able to cushion his falls and driect his energy to a safe roughhousing play involving us instead of objects or furniture. read: "bringing up boys". it says that boys need a lot more physical play than we realize. the point is to teach them a safe way to fulfill this need and not punish them for what their instincts demand of them. good luck!

Sorry, but that is just what they do, my 18 month old son dove off of our couch head first on a marble floor and we ended up in the emergency room.....thank god he was ok............I bought those 2 feet x 2 feet interlocking mats and padded my entire floor, it doesn't look so great but I don't care as long as my kids are safe...................Your only other option is not not have him play in that room..............Maybe buy something to specifically to climb on? By the way spanking your child's hands only teaches them to hit others I have never see it work out any other way................Best of luck to you!

I have a big boy monkey (4) and a little boy monkey (2)
My living room furniture is like a "jungle" gym for them.
We had to get rid of any side tables and our main coffee table. We had to remove our large entertainment center, we were scared to death it would somehow break and fall on them.
We now have a very low to the ground tv stand. I too have tried everything and they WILL NOT listen. It is true that redirection works, but only if it is something major like "lets go out and ride our bike". Time out is a joke, and they could care less if I scream at them. I bought them their own table and chairs and put it in the living room and that does work sometimes. However I must warn you, that means he has something new to climb on!!!!!! At least I know that Im not the only one with a monkey at home!

Unfortunately this is one of those things you just have to be patient with, as much as that's possible! My 2 year old does it all the time too, and we have hard tile on top of concrete. I tell him no, but he does it again anyway. I pushed our couches up against the walls so that he would have one less side to climb over. It looks really stupid, but it seems to have helped a little. I also let him pile up the couch pillows in front of the couch to jump on if he's going to do it. (sometimes, the rest of the time it's just no.) I would rather he didn't, but after a few nasty bumps, I would rather him do that then land on the floor again.

My advice is to just be consistent with what you are doing- getting down on his level, firmly telling him no. I might even try to give him as much of an explanation as he can understand as to why he can't climb on things. You know your child better than anyone, so you know how much or little of an explanation he will need, and how much he can grasp. I hope this helps.

Hi K.. For protection and possibly a diversion (he may hate it) what about getting a baby helmet for him. When he starts to climb put the helmet on him. Although my son is only 13 months and we haven't had this issue to this extreme with him or with my 3 year old son, neither of them liked hats as a baby. He may dislike the helmet and make the correlation between climbing on the furniture and wearing the hat and stop or if he likes it, at least his little head is protected.

My other advice isn't really advice, just a welcome to being a mommy of a boy. They all go through these wonderful stages that scares their mommies to death. We've had some awful stages with our son and he has survived - I have received some early gray "highlights" but I guess that goes with the territory.

All my best,
V.

Mommy to Ian (3) and Finn(1)

I'd say keep telling him NO and redirecting him. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Don't let anything slide. Eventually he will get the message. Maybe try putting him in time out by sitting in a chair, highchair, or in his crib for 1 minute. He will cry but his safety is MUCH more important.

I bought a small plastic (?) playskool sliding board for my 18month old. So he could use more of his (seems to be infinite) energy during the day and sleep better at night. It's just his size and we can take it in the front yard or keep it in his room. It mostly stays in his room and he slides and plays while I clean. His older brother, who is 6, even plays on it. They LOVE it! This may satisfy your little guy's need for climbing. Check the toy stores and thrift stores for toddler slides, clubhouses, swingsets, etc. Maybe even a toddler bike or trampoline. I got mine at a yard sale. Take a look at these.

http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2257592
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/rooms/childr...

Find something he likes and make sure he knows it's ok to climb on his toy but not on the furniture or amything else. Be sure to ''discipline'' him if he still climbs the furniture after you buy his toy.
GOOD LUCK and keep that boy SAFE! That's the most important thing.

Hi K..

Have you tried giving him something to do that requires attention to detail? I know he is young, but maybe a coloring mat and markers or crayons would divert his attention and help him calm down a bit. Perhaps some books about animals (monkeys lol) or the stars. Children are very interested in those things in general. Maybe he can help you with your chores, and get small "rewards." (A star on a chart, or a low-in-sugar ice cream date with mom.) Make sure he knows you are proud of him when he behaves. "Ooh, honey. What a good boy you were today not climbing on the couch. I think you deserve two gold stars." Or you can have the kiss monster come out. Whichever way, I know I tended to do better with positive reinforcement than scolding. (Not that I'm against it when it's necessary.)

Hope this helps!

C.

Hi, I have a 19 month boy and he is a climber also, I have been taking him to the park most days for a couple of months so he can climb there instead and is climbing at home less and is getting a little safer and more stable when climbing..I guess he's a boy and that's what boys do.. we also bought him balls and other sports stuff so he get rid of his energy this way instead.. Good Luck...

This is too funny, you just described my 19 month and our couch to a T. I also call my son a little monkey but lately I should call him brutus his face looks like he was in a brawl. Anytime you want to get these 2 together let me know. They can tire each other out! Anyways if you are interested next week I going to have group swim lessons for a group of my friends our kids are all the same age. Let me know I am going to book the instructor fri. $120 total for 6 classes. www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan ###-###-#### LisaM