Hello fellow parents. I have a huge problem keeping my son from pulling out all his clothes in the dresser. We have been to babiesrus and walmart and have not found anything that will work for dressers. My son is older and I like to him to start playing in his room with his toys instead of all the toys taking over my living room. I can't walk in my living room without stepping on some type of toy or gadget. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Its a pretty big and heavy dresser. I thought of turning it around so the drawers face the wall but then I wouldn't be able to turn it around when I need clothes out haha. Its a 6 drawer dresser if that will help with suggestions. My husband is taking the handles off at the moment thinking he won't be strong enough or smart enough to pull on the sides but we'll see how long that last.
Tie all the drawers together with a string. Then when he opens one, they all open at the same time and there is no space for him to get in them. Don't actually tie it in knots or it will be a pain for you to untie every time you need something in there - just wrap the string around the knob a couple times, then on to the next one, etc. Worked well for us! :)
Okay well.. .for me, this is the age they are getting motivated and independent... and they "mirror" what they see us do and pretend play etc. Its a part of growing up.
BOTH my kids did that too. It didn't bother me. I just slowly taught them to "put away"... and over time they did. OR, if they took things out of their dresser, then I put a basket next to it and had them "pick up" and put their clothes there... since I very well can't expect them to fold the clothes all nicely and put it back at this age.
To me... you can try and bolt the dresser to the flooring or the back wall, so it won't tip over, per safety precautions...since some kids pull out the drawers and use it as a "ladder" to climb and the dresser can tip. Or... you get some "Cubby" type shelving/drawers that he can reach INTO, instead of having to pull out drawers... and then this way, HE can reach his clothing.... and put it back.
I know... having a toddler taking clothes out of his dresser may be messy and irritating... BUT, the sooner they learn to manage this "mess" and then get it out of their system... the better. It is a "phase" you know. It won't last forever.
AND you get some cute coordinated shelving, or those plastic rolling drawer things to store all his toys in too.
I don't know, for me, when my kids did that... well, it didn't bother me. I just made it a part of everyday routine... that we picked stuff up off the floor, and then put it back where it came from. As long as my kids tried their best... I did NOT expect it to be perfect, nor spotless. For soiled clothes... they drop it in the laundry basket.
Just try and make it fun for him to "put away." Then gradually, you will have formed a cute little helpful "habit" in him... and it will engender "teamwork" in him. Main thing being, that they try. Doesn't have to be perfect.
But that's what I do with my kids.
All the best,
Susan
We had the same problem, so we simply moved all their toys into the dresser and their clothes up high. It also made it easier to pick-up toys and put them away.
I like the string idea! My daughter started having fun pulling things out months ago and I just made a point to work on/teach "putting in" and picking up as part of our routines. She still pulls one or two items of clothing out, but it's not the whole drawer anymore. Your son is definitely old enough to learn to "put things away" --- not so much ALL the toys, but at least helping to clean up and return specific items when asked.
As for the toys... I'm just getting to that myself (my 1st is 15 months). After her birthday and Christmas, yikes!, we are going to build a couple shelves to put in the closet to utilize the floor space better--I hope that helps with some of the larger toys, and then bins/baskets for the smaller stuff.
I'll be reading your replies too to see what ideas other moms have... thanks for asking ;-)
they sell these little safety hooks that you put like on your kitchen cabinets. you have to push the hook down to open the drawr. they should have them at target, wal mart and k mart.
My 18 month old does the exact same thing. I let her act like she is helping me, so in the end she isn't interested. We did the samething with the stairs, we didn't forbid them (under supervision, of course) and now she never goes up them for no reason. In the drawers that my daughter could reach we put in her pj's and clothes that don't fit her anymore, or yet, and she gets bored of them after a while. It's an easy mess to clean up too. My daughter did smash her fingers in the drawer once and learned her lesson after that. The main thing is to secure the back of the dresser to the wall so the whole thing doesn't come down on him if he decides to start climbing the dresser. Good Luck.
