Published: Tuesday 06 June 2017

It’s hard to prevent children from climbing and you don’t necessarily want to curb their desire to explore new things, so how do you prevent accidents happening when they want to scale your dining room table?!

Make sure that any furniture that isn’t sturdy and stable is put away for the time being. Climbing onto a strong coffee table is one thing but attempting to climb up a wobbly old bookshelf is another. If pieces of furniture can be attached to the wall, try to do wherever possible.

If you can, make sure tempting items are out of sight so there’s no need for your child to climb. Take away any step ladders or stools that are only suitable to adult use.

Instead, if there are things or places that your child might need to get to, provide them with their own designated step stool; there are specific products available.

One way to prevent the desire to climb on furniture is to provide ways for your child to get it out of their system. This might be taking them to the local park or soft play or you could make an indoor obstacle course using boxes, cushions and other household items.

Of course you could just supervise the climbing and make it clear that they can only do this when you are present. If you’re there to assist and catch her you’ll hopefully prevent any major damage!

Whilst it can be nerve-wracking, tumbles from climbing are inevitable. Teaching your son or daughter how to climb down safely may prevent some of the falls or, at least, make them closer to the floor when they do happen.

If you want to feel ready to deal with any accidents that happen in the home or when out and about with your children, join us on our Baby and Child First Aid course. We spend three hours looking at accident prevention and treatment so at the end of the course you’ll feel prepared for any first aid emergencies.

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