Did your baby try to pull the ornaments off or pull the tree over? I am worried about this and with my first child we weren't because she was different than our son. He is into EVERYTHING where our daughter was happy just looking at stuff. Any ideas?
2006-12-03 08:30:27 · 17 answers · asked by Mally 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
We have our living room gated off, so that's where our son plays and has all of his toys and it's well baby-proofed. Now when the gate opens, close by is the Christmas tree- occassionally I let him go over to it, and he has pulled an ornament off, but he listens so well when I say No no. So if there is any way you can have a tree in a different room, and have a room where your baby can play all the time, it works for us.
I'm sorry, but smacking your child's hand I feel isn't a good thing. A No no, is fine enough- my son listens well to that... but I do tell him what everything is- at this age, they are very curious as to what everything is- so sometimes I even let my son touch the tree, the lights, and the ornaments, so he knows what the touch is like- they learn a lot through touching. If you really don't want your son to touch it and no no doesn't do, put up a gate around it, put the ornaments up higher, something like that. Smacking won't teach them anything-especially at 15 months- that's horrible.
2006-12-03 08:35:02 · answer #1 · answered by m930 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a 15 mth old daughter and i know i will have that problem when i get my christmas tree next weekend because today she was pulling ornaments off her grandparents tree.
My suggestion ( what others have said to me to do for my christmas tree) is to somehow gate off the christmas tree. To put a gate around it or just something that will block a child from getting close to it.
Also don't hang tinsel on it so in case they get a hold of it they wont choke. Hang ornaments at the top of the tree and kinda leave the bottom bare.
2006-12-03 21:28:14 · answer #2 · answered by Marie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had the same problem with my son the first 2 years. Hes 3 and a 1/2 now. What i did was not keep him from the tree like I'm sure a lot of people will tell you. I made sure that the tree was secured to the wall. I used wire near the top and fastened it with 2 hooks on the wall on either side of the tree. I kept all the decorations that were breakable near the top of the tree and ones I wasnt worried about near the bottom. Reguardless of what I told my son, he still touched them. At least there was nothing he could break. I made sure the lights were near the inside of the tree so he couldnt pull on those either. I dont agree with keeping things from kids, especially when it comes to Christmas.
2006-12-03 18:21:07 · answer #3 · answered by PfcsBaby 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is 18 months old and hasn't messed with our tree. I would suggest putting the "nice" ornaments up a little higher, and maybe putting some ornaments that he can touch lower. Than just monitor him while he is around the tree until his curiousity shrinks. Also, if you put the tree in the corner of a room it may be easier to draw his attention away from it.
2006-12-03 22:10:42 · answer #4 · answered by katherinernilson 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did exactly what Mark J suggests. All my ornaments were on the top half of the tree except for a few plastic ones I didn't mind my children playing with.
My mother chose to only use the top two thirds of her tree and put it up on a table. She still does this even though my children are old enough to leave the tree alone. The table, along with a nice tablecloth, makes a great "hiding" place for all the gifts!
2006-12-03 21:43:18 · answer #5 · answered by CW 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Little boys are bound to get into things, it's in their nature. They want to explore their world, so you have to give them that opportunity. We haven't put up our tree yet, but last year my son was 2 and he was very intrigued by the tree. I used lots of different colored shatter-proof ornaments all over the tree so that we could practice learning his colors. This gave him an opportunity to enjoy the tree and learn something at the same time. I highly recommend shatter-proof ornaments and that if you have special ornaments you want on the tree, put them at the top out of the reach of little hands.
2006-12-03 17:06:24 · answer #6 · answered by Staci B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can, try getting the gates shaped in a circle. They are made for letting the kids play in the middle, but we have used to it to put around the Christmas tree to keep the kids out. If your tree is in a corner, it really works well going from one wall to the other and it angles around the tree. It's easy to put up and down if you want the tree pretty for company or Christmas morning. Best of Luck!
2006-12-03 17:07:40 · answer #7 · answered by Concerned Mom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have two cats and a toddler. In the past, we've chosen a "blue spruce"--it's needles are very prickly. The cats won't touch it and the baby only touched it once. (This year he's 2 and a half, so we'll get a "soft" tree that he can help decorate.) (You WILL need to wear long sleeves to decorate a blue spruce, and you will still have to avoid putting ornaments too low.)
Not many places sell Blue Spruces, but it really has worked for us!
Hope that helps!
2006-12-03 17:10:52 · answer #8 · answered by Bookworm4224 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We had to put our Xmas tree in the sunroom. It became too hard to deal with, and even on carpet the ornaments broke (stepped on). Unless you want to keep running everytime you hear him where the tree is, I'd wait until next year.
2006-12-03 22:29:58 · answer #9 · answered by roswell75 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My kid was one when we put the tree and yes he tried to get to the ornaments and even opened some gifts a bit early, I just slapped his hand and said no.
2006-12-03 16:35:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋