Careful climbing – helping your toddler to climb safely

What goes up, must come down… and as your toddler starts to enjoy the challenge of climbing, it can be a worrying thing for you. But giving them time and space to explore this stage of development – while in a safe environment – will help support them to develop and understand safe climbing.  

Safe climbing 

Climbing on and off, and up and down is a perfectly normal stage of development. In fact, the physical skills and problem-solving thinking needed for climbing up and down are important for your toddler to develop through practice.  

Of course, we want this to be done safely. It might be a good time to have a quick check of your home and garden, making sure unsafe climbing opportunities are removed, wherever possible. 

How did they get there? 

Your toddler is a curious being and they are developing lots of new skills, meaning they will inevitably climb up onto something interesting and may find that they can’t get down.  

If this happens, try to support your toddler in getting down, rather than lifting them down right away. Comment on how they got to where they are while you support them. You might say, “Ohh I see, you opened the drawers and climbed up. I can see that it is too deep for you to climb back down again. I’ll help you.” 

Working out how they got up may help you to prevent unsafe climbing from happening again. 

Why did they get there? 

It might also be useful to find out why they are there. Have they searched for a toy or a snack? Or did they simply want to create a challenge for themselves? 

Again, trying to work out what has inspired their climbing can help you plan for potential upcoming adventures. 

Commenting, not shouting 

Try to maintain a calm tone when you discover your toddler in an unexpected location. Make sure to help them immediately if they are in danger, without making any sudden loud noises, which we know can be hard when you’re concerned. 

When they are safe, ask them calmly what they were doing. Your toddler may be able to point to or tell you using single words what they were climbing up for. 

Find time for climbing 

If it’s an appropriate time of day, use their desire to climb to set up a play activity.  

Making a big fuss of your toddler when they safely and appropriately climb on and off furniture and equipment will make it easier for them to understand what they can climb.