Ok so when my daughter was a baby the first summer she wasn't crawling yet then the next year she was walking. I am at a loss. My son is 11.5 months and still crawling and putting everything in his mouth. Our back yard is visited frequently by many creatures that leave their little presents behind. I have stopped him from eating rabbit poo twice. So what do you do with a crawler. I can only keep him in the exersaucer for maybe 20mins before he starts screaming. He does not like to be in stuff... I am stumped. I would get him a walker but everyone talks about how dangerous they are. I could really use some ideas.
He is off the blanket in 2 seconds. He's quite a handful. And I have an older child that needs chasing too, also I am hoping to get some yard work done sometimes... (that is never gonna happen)lol
Thanks everyone for your input. I have one of those play yards and he screams immediately when I put him in it. So I guess I will either have to listen to him scream or get a walker.
How about one of those large gate things that make a big circle? He could be on the grass, and have a large play area, but still be contained? You could clear off all the "presents" from that area, but not have to clear the whole yard.
Here is a link to one: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
What about those outdoor play yards? It's several pieces that look like babygates that you can connect to make a safe place for him to motor about in. Then you can make sure *that* are is clear of 'creature presents'. Or get a large blanket for him to crawl on.
I agree with Lesley. Our first son was born in July so we were in the same place as you. We got one of those huge gates that hook together and form like an octagon. It was fantastic. We would put a blanket down, throw the gate up and put a bunch of toys inside. Worked like a charm! What about a cozy car type thing for him to sit in and ride around? That was a blessing too, and it was great because it protected him from the sun.
What about a playpen/ pack&play? Or what we did was get one of the baby swings that you can hang from a tree or swingset or deck beam and mine have all LOVED to sit and swing forever!
I just want to add that the latest issue with walkers is that they actually strenghten then "wrong" muscles and do not help with walking but hinder it. It also teaches kids to walk on their tiptoes (another issue with strengthing different muscles), so if you can avoid it, I would, but that's me. Crawling is the worst stage in my opinion...I'm so ready for them to move past it! My daughter was really into pushing things at that age, she couldn't walk on her own yet but pushed the push walkers all around the driveway and sidewalk, those were my lifesavers!
Have you thought about a walking push toy? My son wouldn't bend down while he was using it and learning to walk, but he loved it!! It didn't let him walk on his tippy toes or anything like that since he has to bare his own weight. I have a $17 one from walmart and my son LOVES it! He actually started walking 2 days after I bought the thing for him.
Why are walkers dangerous? You don't set you kid in it and walk off. The walker was a life saver, at 11.5 months old you should be keeping an eye out all the time anyway. Get a walker, your kid will love it and so will you.
my babys not walking yet but everything ive read about walkers said they are only really dangerous if u have stairs in your house, if you leave them unattended or if you have a old one. also they now have a safety ratings on the new ones
I think a walker on a flat yard is safe--would it "go" on grass? Hmmmm...the real dangers with walkers are stairs, etc.
What about a nice big quilt?
I was going to suggest that play yard gate too, he can have his own safe area that you've made sure is clean, no animal poo or rocks and he can be outside with some toys while you are closeby.
I have a 13 month old, not really walking yet, and we're in the same situation. To make matters worse, he has a 3 yr old brother who is running around doing EVERYTHING and baby certainly wouldn't tolerate a play yard.
I've tried our walker on the grass. Doesn't work. SO if you try the walker, use the driveway. When my older son was at that stage, I actively encouraged the use of a pacifier figuring if he had the binky in his mouth, he wouldn't be putting other stuff in his mouth, but that just led to a bad pacifier habit, so we aren't repeating that mistake with the baby.
Some things that do work for us: I lug him around in a wagon. This occupies him for a bit, until he tries to climb out or I get tired. We have one of those plastic mini-playsets, with a small ladder and a ramp, and I let him climb around on that (assisted, of course). We also have one of those plastic little tykes log cabins, and he adores "walking" around that from window to window and playing peek-a-boo out the windows. The 3 yr old still likes the house too, but the 3 yr old doesn't care about the playset, so I'd say the little house is a better investment.
I have given up on getting yard work done for a few years. (Which, hee hee, is fine with me!)
My daughter was at this stage last summer. The push toy was great for her and she loved being in the swing (at the park mostly). Hope yours is walking soon.
You can get a "play yard gate" which is one of those free standing gates that creates a play yard. You can use them indoors or outdoors and they're an alternative to the playpen/bassinets because they just use open floor/ground. Then you just put all of his play things inside that safe area. You can move it anywhere in the yard.
A walker would not help at this point. The walker itself is not dangerous,
it is the folks who forget to close doors, etc. How about one of those
super yards? I think they are called that. You can put down a large sheet
etc. and put the superyard over it. This way he is safe, has room to move
and won't get into anything he is not supposed to. I think the superyard
has like 8 panels. Toys r Us has them. My grandson is the same age
and I am facing the same issues. It will be a long summer LOL
My DD is turning 1 this week... When we go outside, I will usually rake a decent sized area of the yard so she can play in the grass and I don't have to worry too much about what might be in there. I still have to keep an eye on her, but for the most part everything gets raked up. I found some pretty cheap fencing, so I am going to section off an area to keep animals out as a 'play area' for her.
I also bought a cheap $15 plastic pool, and 2 bags of play sand ($3 each...) and a $5 kit of sand toys... so for roughly $26 at Walmart, I have a sandbox that she will play in until I pull her out. She LOVES that thing!!! I have a tarp with a drawstring that I use as a cover to keep the local cats from using it as a litterbox. You could spend a little more and get a 'real' sandbox, but the cheapie version we did works very well. :)
