Danger Daniel

I’m not sure if it’s a boy thing, or if it’s just a Daniel thing, but oh my gosh, he is a climber. 

He’s not satisfied with just climbing onto the couch, giggling madly as he stands up on the cushions and runs from one side to the other, narrowly missing the edge many times. He’s not even satisfied with climbing up the arm rest on the couch and attempting to grab the door chain, perching precariously on the edge way too high up and right over the only tiles in the entire apartment.

No, no, that is not enough for Danger Daniel (also known as Daniel the Destroyer). He’s now moved on to bigger, more dangerous climbing things.

First it was Hannah’s bed. Ok, the bed itself is no big deal. She doesn’t even have a full sized single bed. It’s a junior bed. Bigger than a toddler bed, but smaller than a single bed. It has a rail at the front so she doesn’t fall on her face in the middle of the night, but if I took the rail off, it’s a daybed. The back of it is a little curvy, but not too high. Anyway, point being, climbing on her bed is fine. Even if he falls off, it’s not very far down, and with the rail, there is only a small area in which to fall off.

But Danger Daniel decided that the mattress was just not high enough. He wanted to see out the window. He is obsessed with trees (“tree!” He tells me repeatedly whilst pointing at every tree or plant we come across, every single day), and there are two fairly big ones right outside their window. The window that was right above Hannah’s bed. Daniel somehow managed to stand on the back of Hannah’s bed, on the curvy wooden bit, grip the metal runner (you know, the part that holds the window in when you open and close it. Is it called a runner? I have no idea) with his tiny pudgy fingers, and gaze at his beloved trees. Ok, that’s not too bad. I can live with that. But then he started banging on the window first with his hands, and then with his head.

Daniel on the back of Hannah’s bed. I know these photos are all terrible, but they are from my phone, which has a terrible camera.

We live in a slightly dodgy apartment don’t forget. We are on the second and top floor, and the windows are not exactly what you would call child safe. They are not safety glass, nor are they particularly tight. When the wind blows, they rattle. To the point of waking me up when I’m in a deep sleep. Sometimes I get so annoyed with them when it’s windy that I shove folded up pieces of paper between the stationary window, and the one that opens in attempt to prevent the obnoxious rattling.

Needless to say I was a bit terrified of Daniel breaking the window all over himself. Or managing to pull himself up to the windowsill (which seems far-fetched, but her very nearly got there) and then falling out when the dodgy window gives way.

I didn’t waste any time, I took all the books off their bookshelf, got it out of the way, moved the bed all by myself, and rearranged their room. Now her bed is no longer under the window, nor is anything else he might be able to climb up to get to the window. Their beds are perpendicular to each other, and they giggle together every night before going to sleep.

He still climbs Hannah’s bed, but at least he can’t get out the window now.

For a couple days, all was well.

Then he figured out that he could climb on Hannah’s desk and reach the kitchen bench (counter as it’s called in the U.S.). Sigh and a half. He could also step from Hannah’s desk to their play kitchen and be even higher up next to the kitchen bench. Knowing him, it wouldn’t be long until he climb onto the bench, which gives me horrible nightmares of him standing up there, giggling with glee and that cheeky look on his face that he gets when he knows he’s being naughty, and then just walking straight off, breaking himself. Or going to sit down without looking where he is plopping his bottom (he never looks where he is sitting, which has seen him fall of the couch, and other not as high up things) and head planting the kitchen floor.

Climbing on the desk

I would like my son to retain all of his brain and not break any bones, so I moved Hannah’s desk.  I put it in the kitchen. Which is gated off with a baby proof fence. Hannah was actually thrilled with the move as now she can draw/play playdoh/colour/paint/paste/cut stuff without Daniel stealing her things, colour on her artwork, or just annoying her in general.

There was extra space where the desk was, so I moved their mirror (don’t worry, it’s a kid specific mirror and not made of glass) in the corner with Daniel’s toy car ramp next to it.

Standing on his car ramp

Until he climbed on the car ramp. Again, trying to get to a window. Sigh.

So I moved the car ramp and put the mirror next to play kitchen.

But he found a way to use the base of the mirror to climb up to the play kitchen. He stood up there proudly and pawed at everything on the kitchen bench. Sigh.

Base of mirror to play kitchen

I moved the mirror back to it’s original spot next to the shelves where he couldn’t use it to climb anything.

And all was well.

For like 2 minutes.

Hannah needed me to wipe her butt after she pooped in her potty (yes, good girl!). I was gone about 30 seconds. When I came back to the living room, guess where Daniel was?

Standing on his play kitchen. With nothing else around it to climb up on. He somehow got up there straight from the floor. And if he can get from floor to play kitchen, he will likely be able to get from play kitchen to actual kitchen bench.

Ok, so I didn’t take a photo of him up there without the mirror, so I cut the mirror out, but you get the idea

I can’t even move the play kitchen because it’s holding the baby proof fence in place that keeps him out of the real kitchen. Besides, the only place I could move it to is the wall where the shelves are, but that’s the wall with the window. Sigh.

 

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Copyright 2012 Sheri Thomson