Here's the thing- I'm having a huge problem getting anything done around the house because of DS. He's 21 months. He is a climber- a major, major climber. You name it & he will find someway to climb on it. Up till now he's pretty much, within reason, had free run of the house. But since this whole climbing thing has started I don't feel like I can keep him safe without keeping a constant eye on him. At the moment no toys keep him distracted. He only has a need for speed...and climbing! I'm no perfectionist by any means, but my house is a disaster, way behind on laundry, etc... I have 1.5 hrs during nap time to do it all & it's driving me nuts. So this last 2 weeks I've gated him off so he can play in his room & the hallway. Our house is small & it's in the middle of the house so unless I'm in the bathroom he can see or hear me all the time. And not all day long, like 15 min while I throw some laundry in, 20 min while I get lunch ready, etc... Please be honest, am I asking too much from him? Am I being a bad mom? He screams- like break a glass screams- the entire time. Throws toys, kicks things, I think it's a little over the top. He can see me- he just can't go jumping on the couch or climb on the dining room table. His room is fully stocked with toys and things he can do. Do your toddlers play by themselves or do you have to entertain them all day long?
i don't think it's a bad idea. it's to keep him safe while you do things that need to be done, he will get used to it soon
Free run of the entire house and all bedrooms. We only have a two bedroom, one bath house. It's smaller than some apartments! However, I learned with DD1 that they won't learn how to be careful unless they fall a couple of times. She fell off the couch, she fell off the table chairs, then she fell off the dining room table, she fell off our bed (which is really tall), she fell into the tub while climbing into it. She just fell. But, after each fall, a few kisses and a few strokes of comfort soothed her. "Next time, be careful or else you'll fall again!" And she learned either not to climb on certain things or how not to fall. I understand the need for safety, but sometimes, you have to let them learn from mistakes. Also, my kids LOVE helping me clean...even laundry and the dishes! Let your DS help you do this stuff! As for the entertaining thing, I have two very close in age (16 months apart) so they go back and forth between me entertaining them/letting them help and playing together by themselves without me.
neither- they play in their room lol. i only allow certain toys in the living room, puzzles, leapster game, tag books, and coloring books/crayons. they have a small kids' picnic table in the living room for these things.
The terrible twos have hit and hit hard and I am out of my realm here!
- ash522
on Feb. 11, 2012 at 7:07 PM