Hi,
aargh!
Sorry to scream but that feels better already! My stumbling first-steps baby has transformed almost overnight into a running, climbing, door slamming, crazy full of energy toddler! It's delightful in some ways but he's running me ragged because although he seems to understand "no" none of the things that you can do to inforce that seem to work yet. I've managed to get some things as kind of off limits- he now touches the gas taps but won't turn them on and leaves them when I say (but always touches them to test) but not all. I've got a Victorian house with no large room in it- the kitchen is tiny and is tacked onto the back of the house so if he is free-ranging I have to keep an eye on him all the time because there are plug sockets in the corridor, tiled fireplaces and leads about which we just can't do anything about. There are also lots of doors which he loves opening and closing and slamming about.
If it were summer I would just leave the house every morning and we would spend the whole day down the park no problems! Or I have thought of fun things he could do in the garden in a paddling pool or sand in a bowl etc but none of these things are winter activities. We do go to the park most afternoons anyway but it's just those odd half hours in the house that drive us both nutty! The front room is baby-proofed and there is a gate in the door so we used to just sit in there and play together but now he gets bored of being in there after about 10 mins and bangs his head against the radiator and wall in boredom and rattles the gate bars to be set free!
Any ideas? Cheap/free ideas as we are totally broke otherwise I would be spending all day in some soft play centre somewhere happy as can be!! Is he unusual or do most toddlers go through this stage? My OH is calling him "wrecking ball" as he just seems to enter any room with this incredible amount of energy going "yeah, wow, amazing" (not out loud that's kind of what he'd say if he could if you know what I mean?!) then opens all doors, drawers, yanks all things off tables, chairs, flings things about and runs out again!
I have tried things that are quieter like colouring/drawing but he hasn't got the manual skills in his hands yet for that, he likes sorting but not for very long, I read to him a lot and that does calm him down but I can't do that all the time and he wriggles after 10 minutes unless he's tired. Do things calm down once they begin to play more imaginatively? I have the time to play with him but all he wants to do is to run about and explore.
He hasn't got any kind of ride-on toy, do you think this would channel some energy in the house? I might scour the charity shops for one this afternoon.
Thanks so much, I feel like a kind of cattle herder/rugby tackler at the moment!
+++
p.s. any tips for saying "no", "gently" and "careful" at this age gladly received! When can you do time-out? I have tried it but he really doesn't get it and seems to think it's an elaborate game and that he has to do the naughty thing to carry it on if you see what I mean? I want to put some boundaries in place for his safety but don't want to be mean if he's unable to understand.
aargh!
Sorry to scream but that feels better already! My stumbling first-steps baby has transformed almost overnight into a running, climbing, door slamming, crazy full of energy toddler! It's delightful in some ways but he's running me ragged because although he seems to understand "no" none of the things that you can do to inforce that seem to work yet. I've managed to get some things as kind of off limits- he now touches the gas taps but won't turn them on and leaves them when I say (but always touches them to test) but not all. I've got a Victorian house with no large room in it- the kitchen is tiny and is tacked onto the back of the house so if he is free-ranging I have to keep an eye on him all the time because there are plug sockets in the corridor, tiled fireplaces and leads about which we just can't do anything about. There are also lots of doors which he loves opening and closing and slamming about.
If it were summer I would just leave the house every morning and we would spend the whole day down the park no problems! Or I have thought of fun things he could do in the garden in a paddling pool or sand in a bowl etc but none of these things are winter activities. We do go to the park most afternoons anyway but it's just those odd half hours in the house that drive us both nutty! The front room is baby-proofed and there is a gate in the door so we used to just sit in there and play together but now he gets bored of being in there after about 10 mins and bangs his head against the radiator and wall in boredom and rattles the gate bars to be set free!
Any ideas? Cheap/free ideas as we are totally broke otherwise I would be spending all day in some soft play centre somewhere happy as can be!! Is he unusual or do most toddlers go through this stage? My OH is calling him "wrecking ball" as he just seems to enter any room with this incredible amount of energy going "yeah, wow, amazing" (not out loud that's kind of what he'd say if he could if you know what I mean?!) then opens all doors, drawers, yanks all things off tables, chairs, flings things about and runs out again!
I have tried things that are quieter like colouring/drawing but he hasn't got the manual skills in his hands yet for that, he likes sorting but not for very long, I read to him a lot and that does calm him down but I can't do that all the time and he wriggles after 10 minutes unless he's tired. Do things calm down once they begin to play more imaginatively? I have the time to play with him but all he wants to do is to run about and explore.
He hasn't got any kind of ride-on toy, do you think this would channel some energy in the house? I might scour the charity shops for one this afternoon.
Thanks so much, I feel like a kind of cattle herder/rugby tackler at the moment!
+++
p.s. any tips for saying "no", "gently" and "careful" at this age gladly received! When can you do time-out? I have tried it but he really doesn't get it and seems to think it's an elaborate game and that he has to do the naughty thing to carry it on if you see what I mean? I want to put some boundaries in place for his safety but don't want to be mean if he's unable to understand.
