I have written before about S. (age two) and his active self. He is always on the go. He is quick and smart too. He has figured out all the childproof doorknob covers and deadbolts. He can slip out the door and run outside in less than one minute. We have alarms and latches out of reach. He still finds an opportunity when the kids forget to lock the door, and takes it. Often we find him on the riding lawnmower, in the studio, or in the car (yikes!). There have been more than a few times where I have had a horrible panicky feeling while searching for S. He won't answer when we call, he thinks it is funny to run off, and he has NO fear. He has even left the house in the dark before! Professionals I have talked to about this seem to think this is a typical behavior or a parenting/discipline issue. My theory is if this were the case wouldn't I have more than one child that likes to wander? I am searching for a solution to teach him that it is dangerous to leave by himself but I honestly do not think he "gets" it. I am also looking for some sort of device that can locate or alert us when/if S. escapes. Unfortunately, they are all costly.
4 comments:
Been there. Done that. With our youngest.
When Elijah was 2, he climbed up and got big brothers car keys out of a high up cupboard ... snuck out the back door ... unlocked the door of the car ... and started it right up. We had 4 or 5 cars at the time, and he knew which key fit in which car. (The cars that had clicker locks, he knew which clicker went with which car, as well.)
When Elijah was 2, he knocked out 2 of his top front teeth. Now he is 8. No teeth. I think he "killed" the adult teeth as well, when he knocked out the 2 baby teeth. So sad.
When Elijah was 3, he hid from his older sister who was babysitting ... he didn't come when called ... she called us home from work ... we called the police ... we scoured the neighborhood ... he was hiding, in the house, the whole time. He finally came out when the police was in the room that he was in.
When Elijah was 4, he climbed 15 ft. up a palm tree in Florida ... 4 times ... before Josiah ran in and told us, "E.'s going to kill himself." When we went outside, he showed us how quickly he could climb it.
When Elijah was 5, I warned him to stay away from a big bonfire because "You could get burned." His response, "That's okay. Jesus will unburn me."
So. No. This kid has NO FEAR. Absolutely none. If it was caused by parenting ... I think we would have seen this behavior before our 10th child. :)
Sorry .... no answers for you. But ... I can sure relate.
Laurel :)
Do you have chains up high on doors? Of course if someone else leaves them unchained they don't work : )
We put those chains on our doors way up high so Eli can unlock the regular locks- but he can't reach the chain- I guess you could do one of those slide lock things too- just way up high. The only stinky part is I have to unlock that when Jeff gets home- since he can't get in- but it is worth it knowing Eli isn't wandering around outside.
My mom used to put bells on my shoes, because I use to do the same thing. There's a video of me pushing a baby stroller about a half mile down the street when I was two, and you can hear the bells just a ringing!
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