F/U to my mountain goat issue

stever · April 2011

After moving the table back to the stairs this morning DH asked when kids can wander freely. I told him my concerns about the cat litter, toilets and dodgy latches on the bathroom cabinets - not to mention DH's need to work without Mikey bugging him. So I posited that maybe we could gate up our room and the bathroom - so the cat can still get in to do her business - and open up the stairs.

We can get slightly taller gates than we already have. And our stair issue has arisen from him pulling himself up then launching himself over by getting a leg up on the banister. Gates anywhere else should be ok for a while.

Anyhoo, I'm just wondering if it's too early for him to be allowed to roam freely around most of the house. More specifically, is it too early for him to have access to the stairs?

peeper72 · April 2011

Depends on how sure he is on them?? Ada would tumble for sure, she just isn't that good at stairs yet even if she holds a railing or a hand

NewMrs07 · April 2011

Adrian roams freely around most of the house, but we don't have stairs or pets. And we keep our bedroom door locked from the outside with a top latch, so that there's at least 1 room where he won't go in and destroy everything. We have to watch him all the time though, especially in the kitchen, since he knows how to turn on the gas stove and likes to get into the oven (yikes, yikes!!). Our tables with corners have padding on them and for the most part, there's enough open space for him to run around and not get hurt. But it's not like I can leave him in a room and go somewhere else for more than 10 minutes. We always have to watch him. Yeah, it's exhausting. The only way I can get stuff done is putting him in the PnP and turning on a DVD for him. I do that a couple times a day but obviously, I don't want to leave him in front of the TV all day.

stever · April 2011

He's good with the stairs, it's just a mental leap to let him go up or down unescorted. And we have the kitchen gated. It's just weird thinking of him being able to wander off without me.

Daisiesinmygarden · April 2011

So we just took the gate off one of the kitchen doors, but it has a pocket door we can shut and she isn't strong enought o open. We have stairs to the basement, so I keep that door closed. She is just starting to be able to reach the door knob, so I am going to have to put some kind of lock on it. However, she pretty much has free access to the living room, kitchen, her room and hallway. I keep our bedroom door shut most of the time and the bathroom shut all the time.

You could put a gate on it that swings open that he can operate - then put a bell on it, so you can kind of keep track of him. I still put bells on the doors so I can hear them open and shut.

dkays · April 2011

Teagan has free roam of the house. The bathroom and bedroom doors are always shut. We have stairs that are not gated. We don't have gates up at all. I know our situation is different with the older girls. Teagan can manage up the stairs but not without someone with her. IMO, the gates would pose a bigger risk of us big people falling. FWIW, I am the only person who has fallen on the stairs in the 12 years we have lived here.

It's just whatever you feel comfortable with doing. GL!

stever · April 2011

We have 3 upstairs doors and I'd have to gate all of them as our crappy-ass doors don't latch and can't lock(we live in a rental). The downstairs doors latch, but the upstairs doors might as well not be there.

So I've ordered gates and plan to gate all 3 doors and take it from there. There's almost no room on the landing so we're hoping he'll get bored. The big question is how he'll respond to seeing DH but not being able to get to him.

ateytelb · April 2011

We are still not letting our almost 4 y.o. roam freely. He is constantly testing the boundaries and does things he is not supposed to be be doing just to see what our reaction would be. (E.g. digging into the cat litter - we have 2 litter boxes.) It is getting easier little-by-little though. I have to add that he is a pretty smart guy: speaks two languages, does simple math problems, can analyze information based on the sort of questions he asks etc.

ScoobyM · April 2011

We have gates at the top and bottom of our stairs and we started leaving them open around the time Ellie was 2.5 - at that point she was able to go up and down the stairs on her own with no trouble. The first few times I let her handle the stairs without company I stood at the bottom and watched her, mostly just to reassure myself she was okay. After a couple times of that I was able to just let her have free roam.

Also, our house is pretty open with balconies upstairs that look out over our family room/kitchen, so when she is playing up there I can hear her and talk to her pretty easily and that helps me keep track of what she's doing. She is pretty good on her own and generally just plays with her toys, so I am okay with letting her roam and do her own thing for short periods of time - it really helps with the baby, too.

peeper72 · April 2011

stever:
It's just weird thinking of him being able to wander off without me.

Ah! That's a different issue that I'm not qualified to speak to. Our house is all one floor and Ada has had free roaming since she could walk. The only blocked area is a long hallway that contains bathroom doors and litter boxes. Typically she stays where we are. Sometimes I'll come around the corner to find her in the glider "reading" to herself.

indianasunshine · April 2011

I am really happy we don't have stairs right now!

I just told DH the other day that it is time to hang the flat screen on the wall because M likes to beat on it....and the oven too but nothing I can do about that!

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