Works for Me Wednesday: Toddler climbing

The idea that I am sharing today is really a simple one, but it has really helped me. My son recently learned how to climb and loves to practice his new skill. While I don’t want to discourage his practicing this newfound activity, the places he was finding to practice it were just not good. (The coffee table and open dishwasher front were two of his favorite spots!) I kept trying to come up with a safe place to provide him where he could climb without buying expensive climbing cushions like some day-care centers have. Then one day I had a brainstorm. I took the cushions off of our loveseat and put them on the floor in front of our sofa, creating two padded steps (the loveseat cushions making the first step and the sofa making the second). I put throw pillows by the sides of the loveseat cushions where they were shorter than the sofa. I brought my son over, and he immediately knew what to do. He climbed up and down, up and down. This also is teaching him a little about going up and down steps. (We still keep the stairs firmly gated though!) He can experiment and has learned that going down feet first really works better. However, when he tried headfirst and landed on his head, the cushions were plenty thick enough to absorb all the impact, and he just laughed. Since I began letting him play this way, he hasn’t even tried climbing on the coffee table. I don’t know if this would work for all toddlers (probably not!), but it works for me! Check out Shannon's blog for more Works for Me Wednesday ideas.