Little Stool Pirates

[Guest guest]

Does anyone else have this problem?

Whenever I'm around small children (like my wonderful little nieces and

nephew) and I have to use a stool, they like to immediately 'climb aboard' and

go for a 'ride'. Because they are too young to consistently follow directions

and know that it's unsafe and hazardous for me and especially them should

one of us fall, I don't know how to effectively let them know, without bumming

them out, that the stool is 'off-limits' when I'm using it.

erin

[Guest guest]

Mine all climbed, could reach most everything I could. Got into everything.

When one of mine was getting shots, immunizations, I noticed the drawers were

'child proofed, not LP proofed.

It was some sort of magnetic devise they were using to open the drawers,

unlock them.

Maybe someone on the list knows what I am talking about.

You and any other adult, older child even, could carry the 'key' and keep

everyone joyfully climbing.

Mine, I tried to keep the obvious hidden away but had to trust the goddess on

many points.

I do have a carved up chair in the kitchen. Two year old doing dishes like

guess who. Other than that they are 20, 9 and 2 1/2 and still alive.

S

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[Guest guest]

You just need to be firm and tell them to get down. And be

consistant. Doesnt matter how old they are, they will understand and

eventually you wont have to tell them.

I assisted my mom with her daycare for quite a while. The kids, even

young as 12 months knew that when I say, " No " I mean it.

Kids are very smart and pick up a LOT. They know how to manipulate

adults before they are even out crawling around.

One of the things I've noticed is people's facial expressions and

tone of voice. People dont have to be really mean, but have a stearn

voice and a straight face. Sometimes it's hard to keep a straight

face, however, if someone is smiling and saying " No " ....they arent

going to listen. Its a game to them at that point.

If you have another adult around, have them assist you with letting

the kids know that the stool is dangerous when someone is on it.

It's like a ladder. If someone was using a ladder and the kids were

playing with it, regardless of how old the kids are, people are

going to react and teach kids that its dangerous.

If you need other tips, please let me know.

Sincerely,

a

> Does anyone else have this problem?

> Whenever I'm around small children (like my wonderful little

nieces and

> nephew) and I have to use a stool, they like to

immediately 'climb aboard' and

> go for a 'ride'. Because they are too young to consistently

follow directions

> and know that it's unsafe and hazardous for me and especially them

should

> one of us fall, I don't know how to effectively let them know,

without bumming

> them out, that the stool is 'off-limits' when I'm using it.

>

> erin

[Guest guest]

I would also love to hear feedback regarding this topic. My husband and I

both have dwarfism, and as does our children. My two year old son not only

climbs on our stools at every opportunity (which he learned from watching mommy

& daddy) but has now also learned to move stools to different locations to help

him get what he wants (what can I say, he's a genius) Now this poses a larger

problem. We try and put things we do not want him to get a hold of up high, but

when you are a LP, " Up high " is a relative term. This is where the stools come

in. Now, we have told him " no " as firmly as possible, we have used time outs,

etc. We have turned the stools upside down, especially the 2 steppers, he just

turns them over. We even put them in one room and shut the door. Do you know

what my lil genius did? He went to the shelf, took 2 phone books (I was watching

him do this, I was trying to figure out what he was up to because if you could

have seen the earnest look on his face, you would understand why I was so

interested in his objective), and 1 by 1 stacked them together near the door of

the room that hid the stools, and climbed on top of the phone books and

proceeded to open the door, retrieve his favorite stool, and then tried to move

that to what he originally wanted. Of course I stepped in once he grabbed the

stool but I am now at a complete loss as to what I should do to keep him and the

stools seperated.

Here is my dilemma. and I need stools to get around, and our son is

going to have to use them as well because he is a LP. He is INTENT on using

them, and we have tried every deterent we know to prevent him, yet as soon as we

are busy, he's right back after the stool. How far do we go to forbid stool

usage when he is going to have to use them in preschool, potty training, and

such in the very near future? Actually we are alraedy working on potty training

and using a stool for that instance (it is a lower, brighty colored one that has

his name on it-of course he still prefers ours every chance he gets. It is very

difficult (simply because of the limits of his age) for a 2 year old to discern

that using something for certain things is ok, but not for others. What can we

do to keep him from getting at things that he doens't need to get into? Now

everything that is inherently dangerous we keep locked away, but again, he's

two, and there is so much that you just do not want him getting a hold of, say a

bag of sugar for instance. Not neccesarily dangerous, but not something you want

a 2 year old to have either. He has so much that he can play with at his level,

an entire room full of toys, and most of them on very low shelves, arts &

crafts...you name it. Of course, again, he's 2, so he could care less about that

stuff and is much more interested in what is off-limits.

I would appreciate any ideas/input you can offer. Thanks.

Rose C