Pls Share Experiences (Good, Bad, Dos, Donts) of Handling an Over-active Toddler

Letting them explore is very healthy. Child proof the dangerous things and let the rest be an opportunity to learn what the word "no" means when you tell her not to touch.

I read a cartoon once, it was a mom reading the labels on cleaners and such, "Keep out of reach of children." The next picture was of all the supplies on top of the roof. How true. I have 4 children. My youngest was by far the most active. She would climb shelves, open doors - even childproof ones, climb out of her playpen or high chair. She is 9 now and despite being a very active girl, she is none the worse for wear. Just be ready to be on your toes. My guess is that she will have a very active imagination and always ask how or why as well. Remember, a tired child is a happy child. Lots of walks, trips to the park, things to S., places to go. I would put on music and we would all dance around like nuts. Take your vitamins and get lots of sleep. You will need it!

Your kiddo sounds perfectly normal to me! :) My son was walking by nine months and my daughter by ten ,months. The plundering only gets worse...much worse.

Baby proof the house. This may mean changing your arrangement of furniture. We had to move our coffee table into our office for a while. Besides the sharp edges, it had many drawers and a lid that could easily smash little fingers. During their climbing phases, the bar stools had to be removed from our kitchen. They used them to climb on everything.

Give her things she can get into. I had a drawer in my bathroom that once was a junk drawer of sorts - razors, face products,etc. My son loved that drawer. So I took out those items and put things he could plunder in. Old mismatched tupperware mostly. He got to explore and I had piece of mind.

Rountines. Routines. Routines. If my kids know what to expect, the day goes much more smoothly. ANd if I keep them busier, the less trouble they get into. :)

Outside time. We go outside almost daily. ANd when we can't (like lately because of the oppressive heat), we find indoor play areas. Many malls have toddler play areas that are free. Churches often have indoor playscapes that are free or cost $1. In our area there are ever bounce house places with toddler play areas. We started outside time as part of their routine shortly after they were walking. NOt only is it good exercise and a good way to wear them out, but they aren't destroying the house or making a mess.

You need to completely child proof her room and put a gate across the doorway. that way she can crawl / play all over the room. I was always a big believer in playpens for that age. at least for small spaces of time. Not non stop all day long but a bunch of toys and put it in the corner of the kitchen so you can do what you need to do without her traveling off to the other end of the apartment. Playing with baby is very important but and this is a big but here. Kids need to learn boundaries and too many parents refuse to give them to children these days. If a child is started out at birth believing I can do what I want when I want your going to have nothing but trouble down the road. She needs to learn that playing is good especially in her own space. I have never been the mom who turns every breathing minute into my childs pleasure time. Get her used to a gate being up now and keep it there until such time as she is potty trained and understands that the stuff like outlets and toilets are not play places. and that furniture is for sitting on not climbing. she will get it pretty quick. and you won't loose your mind.

We did no child proofing and allowed it to be the natural progression into discipline. By 18 months I had speeeeedy walking kids who knew what they could and couldn't mess with and I barely had to watch them. I could take them anywhere and a verbal warning would suffice to keep them from ripping down Christmas trees at other people houses or whatever. I'm a firm believer the better you "control" you infants and toddlers the more FREEDOM they have later as they approach preschool because their self control is well set in. If you wait and let toddlers lead and try to rein in habits later, it's much harder. I would teach your baby what to touch and not touch with discipline, and then let her prowl the whole house!

Lots of people say discipline will inhibit children, I think child proofing does. They don't learn what to do and not do, they're just prevented from doing it so they don't learn self control. I know some kids who then seem to have "impulse control" problems by age 3, 4, 5 when really, they just never learned to stop themselves from doing things, and the parents expect it to magically "click" later. That's just my opinion from kids I know personally.

I'm in the middle of this myself. My 3 year old was an animal lol, and now his brother is the same. He started walking BEFORE he even turned 10 months. He is into everything. Well everything he shouldn't be!
Being very curious and adventurous, while exhausting for us, is actually a good thing. It means there little minds are working, and you want that! Set up things around your apartment that would seem like they aren't "for her" but are. leave a bottom cabinet accessible to her and fill it with plastic bowls, cups, spoons, dish rags etc. Set up another box somewhere or laundry basket and fill it with more safe things for her to play with. Old rags, towels, little boxes from food that are empty.
You can buy 100 of the fanciest craziest toys, and they will play with a cardboard box and wooden spoon! Hang in there, it's a phase that will pass before you know it and you'll wonder where the time went!

Please go get a baby to toddler development book. You need it as you don't know what to expect. How do you know if she is super fast or not. Certainly she's on target for a female baby.
If you are so small you can move fast. If you aren't strong start doing yoga and you will be very strong in six months of doing an hour five days a week. Start with 20 minutes and increase by five minutes every few days until you reach the hour.
How did I handle the children. With my first I could just tell her what the limits were once she was two years of age. With my next daughter every rule was to be broken. I got fairly strict. With our grandson I tied the chairlegs to the table in the dining room since he was strong enough to lift these heavy chairs and take them wherever he wanted to go.

Get out of the house! Seriously - find SOMEWHERE to go everyday (but don't disturb nap times, because they get even crazier if they don't get enough sleep). If it's nice out go to a park or playground, spread out a huge blanket and just let her crawl around for an hour or two outside. If it's icky out find an indoor mall play area, or get a membership to a children's museum, or walk around a store with her in a carrier. Get a good carrier (ergo or a mei tai) so that she'll stay in your arms. At this age you can easily wear her on your back to get stuff done. If you're moving (doing laundry, vacuuming, etc), you'll probably find that she's content to stay on your back. Other than that, know that this too shall pass. Good luck!

she isnt a toddler yet... she is just 10 months old.. toddlers are 1-3 years old.. anyway my baby is 10 months as well she is super active.. she wants to play with mom and dad's thingies not her toys... she can't crawl yet i mean she can backwards haha.. i have a big frame but i lost weight because of her activities and breastfeeding

All of her crawling, poking, prodding and soon to be climbing are good signs that she's developing normally and curious about her surroundings. Handle it by baby proofing your apartment as best you can. In my home, all of my tables (end/coffee/kitchen) are bare, outlets covered, bookcases secured to wall (really limit what you put on them), and gate off any area you really want to keep her out of, say the kitchen. If the tugging on the drapes is driving you crazy, tie them up for awhile. After baby proofing, put out some of her toys so she can play or at least roam the house with out too much destruction.

at that age, we had him confined to the living room if i wasn't able to stay right over him. just a few other thoughts as i read this. i had a terrible time at church - he was my only, too. we actually did not go a lot the first couple years, and the few times we did were a nightmare. i was adamant that i would not have a child that acted out in order to be taken to the nursery to play during church. so when we went, we stayed (we don't have children's church. the whole family attends services then sunday school is after) now at almost 5, he is a champ at church, but it was a HARD road - and we still have some sundays that are extremely testing. also i have found as he's gotten older (he still never sits still, and never stops talking!!) that breaks are key. if i don't have him at my mom's, grandma's, or an aunt's house about once a month, i literally will start to lose my mind lol. being a sahm mom you may already know this :) that's what i have noticed with my extremely active child. my son has always been a large, strong, super active kiddo. he has a temendous heart and is SUCH a good kid. but he just gets what we call "the wiggles". too much energy for his own good! i am not like that. so it has been an adjustment for me. i have always been very calm, more serious, quiet...one of the greatest joys (and challenges) for me has been realizing that my son is NOT a little mini-me, and adjusting to HIS personality. OH and one more thing - with his strong personality and short attention span, i have found i really have to be pretty strict with discipline and my expectations of him. being strong willed and very energetic is NOT an excuse to act out. i have to be on him pretty constantly or he will get out of hand quickly.

I would get one of those gate things that you can put in a circle, or corner off a room. I was able to put my son in there, and he had enough room to crawl around and play. It was sturdy enough where it wouldn't tip over, and he knew his barriers.