Help-Couch Climber

Hi all,
We're new here!

Our twins, Evan and Claire, just turned one this weekend. My DD has been walking since 10 months and is always on the go. Her newest obsession is climbing on the couch. I would be okay if she stayed on the bottom part of the couch, but she always tries to climb up on the back of the couch. We have two couches. One couch backs up to part of our stairway (we live in a town home) and the other one reaches our kitchen counter. Yesterday, I probably pulled her off the couch 20 times. I say "no" sternly and sit her down and walk away. I'm working on teaching her that couches are for sitting. We've read books, etc while sitting on the couch. I'm not sure what to do, but it worries me. She's so fast and could easily get hurt.

Is it normal to feel like you chase them all day to keep them out of trouble?? AAHHH.... we have baby proofed all of the basic stuff, but I feel like a safety monitor at home.

TIA, Beth
SAHM from LA

 

:welcome: Beth!
Oh yes, couch climbing, I know it well. Mine are constantly on the couch and trying to climb whatever they can. DH and I have been stern on teaching them that couch is for sitting and it's frustrating when they don't listen. It worries me too, mine have no fear. I feel I am constantly on safety patrol too :hug:
PS: :bday: to Evan and Claire! Love those names!

 

No real advice here sorry... we put the couch in a corner with its back against the wall.

 

We have climbers too. My DH has taught DD how to crawl back down off the couch safely, but DS just barrels off head first. It scares me too! And I've noticed that the more I try to keep them off the couch, the more they want up on it. So I've been letting them on there while I'm watching carefully & I just hope they'll get bored with it soon.

 

I felt like you at first.... but eventually I came to the realization that rather then keep them away from it, its easier to try to teach them to use it safely.
We have one couch against the wall and the other against a big picture window. DD & DS will climb up the back of the couch and stand IN THE WINDOWSILL to wave out the front LOL
Kids are very pliable. If they do fall, its not far and they arnet likely to be hurt but more petrified.
Mine have fallen off teh couch a time or two and were much more careful after that.

Its nerve wracking, but we're approaching 19 months and we are still big into the couch. best of luck!

 

Ummm...we'll be two next month and the couch is still a playground! I know-NOT what you wanted to hear! I yell "NO!" sternly-and get a nice chuckle from them-mainly Nicholas. Nicholas likes to run from one end to the other. Nice. He has fallen once or twice...and has yet to learn his lesson. Maybe when he's five...

So-I feel your pain! One of these days I'll get them to stop...

 

It's a never ending battle at our house. I don't mind if they climb on the couch downstairs because I don't have any end or coffee tables. When they first started to climb, I would take the cushions off so when the fell (not if, but when) they would have something to break their fall.

I tried for the longest time to get them not to stand on the couches in the living room. I have tables in there and my biggest fear was them hitting their heads. I was forever telling them to sit down and they would for a split second and then stand back up. I've noticed lately that they really don't play as much as they used to on them.

Like everything else, this is just a phase.

I would try to take your cushions off and see if that helps.

 

Mine are very enthusiastic climbers, too. They definitely know that they're supposed to sit on the couch, but they still love to stand up and climb up the back, like you described. I've been correcting them once, then saying, "Next time you stand up, you have to get off." I've been consistent with it, and I think I'm seeing progress. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, though. Definitely teach them how to get down, and keep correcting. Good luck!

 

Ah... 12 months old... For me that marked almost exactly the day that my living room changed from a lovely, comfortable, nicely decorated room to an industrial baby containment facility.
I couldn't take feeling like I was on constant patrol so I moved furniture around, removed coffee and end tables, put up knick-knacks and generally just had to resign myself to the thought that it isn't forever but its worth my sanity to have a safe place for my kids to play for now.
Good luck!

 

US too! We got rid of the end tables/coffee tables and lamps and bought a nice big padded sectional sofa (which we needed anyway because we needed a pull out bed) Its much more kid friendly and roomier- and I have to admit less for me to clean & dust, Im LOVING it!

 

Uhmmmm, mine are nearly 6 and the couch is still a playground. The cushions come off and are used to build a fort, have a fight or catch them as they catapult themselves off.

 

My boys are couch climbers too. It's hard in our house because we don't have a full wall that the couch can back up to, so if they go off the back they land on the ceramic tile. They have fallen a couple times, but we have been pretty successful at teaching them they have to sit. Sometimes I feel like I say "SIT DOWN...ALL the way down....all the way on your BOTTOM DOWN" a hundred times a day. They are doing better with it since I can tell they understand they know they need to sit even though they don't always do it. We also taught them how to turn around and back off of the couch and that has helped a lot too.

 

Hi all,
Thanks for the warm welcome and advice. We have a town home that's fairly narrow. Everywhere we can put the couches has some sort of hazard behind it (kitchen counter, window, stair area). I guess I'll just keep teaching her and hope I can keep her mostly out of trouble.
Beth

 

Welcome to the second year! I guess if that's your only option you'll just have to watch them and try to teach them, that's what we've been doing for 8 months! One of our couches backs up to a balcony railing and it completely freaks me out. I saw one of my girls climb up their once, I grabbed her, sat her on her bottom on the couch and sternly said couches are for sitting. I did this consistently for a month. Now when I see her start to climb I just yell "no" and she gets down, but she still tries it! We have also recently moved our coffee table to right smack in the middle of the living room (real convenient). It had started being used to leap from couch to coffee table to couch.

 

My LOs are 15 months old and DS has just started climbing onto my ILs´ sofa. I have taught him how to get back down but have to patrol him constantly as he has no fear. I´ll be interested to see how long it takes him to get onto our sofa at home (they´re coming back home this Sunday) and we may have to push it right against the wall to be on the safe side! I think once the novelty of this new physical conquest wears off, I´ll enforce the no-standing-on-the-sofa thing. It´s hard though when they´re so small!

 

Mine are still climbing away. They also stand in the rocking recliner and make it rock - over our hardwood floors! I did use the giant foam interlocking squares for awhile in front of the couch. It made me feel a little better.