Christmas trees and young children

[Island_Oak]

How did/do you keep your young children from pulling on, climbing on, tearing ornaments off, and just generally wreaking havoc with the Christmas tree?..

1 toddler + 10’ Christmas tree + 15,000 ornaments = 1 big mess + 5 stiches when toddler pulls tree onto his/herself. Take a picture, savor the memory, re-tell the story and make it part of the family lore and accept that that’s what some kids have to do to learn WHY mom & dad say “no.”

 

[spacecadet]

we have very small space: we had no problem either year w/ DS1. the first year he wasn’t crawling yet and the 2nd year he was 21 months and didn’t have a problem not pulling things off of it. i don’t ever plan on doing anything different unless i have a toddler that is a total opposite of DS1

i remember my parents putting an extended baby gate type thing around it some years

 

[spacecadet]

forgot to say we never used tinsel with little kids in the house bec of putting it in their mouths…but again…my son never puts stuff in his mouth

 

[puzzleannie]

Not only ornaments, but make sure the tree itself is firmly in the holder. My third sister managed to knock an 8ft tree over when she was about 10 months old because it apparently wasn’t either fully screwed into the holder or she had enough brute strength when trying to pull up, or reach for an ornament, that the whole thing fell over. Not fun.

good point

those tinny holders with the red cup that holds about half cup of water and 3 flimsy green legs are useless. the holder should hold at least a quart of water if you have a live tree and the legs bolted to 1X4 (four in a cross shape) or 1" plywood. the 3-4 I bolts that come with the stand should be turned so they completely penetrate the trunk, but by themselves are still not enough. a live tree is too heavy and should also be tied to the wall or preferably molding as described above.

bring you live tree home, saw off about an inch from the bottom and stand the tree in water, same principle as cut flowers, so it soaks up a lot and the end of the trunk does not close up. this step can add a week to the “shelf life” of the tree. keep it watered daily, and turn that “bare spot” every tree has so you have some access. these instructions are from my dad, now my brothers who still do it.

we usually had an artificial tree because we went to grandparents for a week or so over the holidays, and you should never leave a live tree in an empty house. major fire hazard.

 

[BLB_Oregon]

BTW…even if your tree is bomb-proof, teach your kids to keep their hands off of it. You don’t want your child to get the idea that Christmas trees are play things.

 

[MooCowSteph]

I nanny for a girl who is almost exactly the same age as your daughter. She is pretty good at being a good listener regarding anything I’m consistent about (not throwing her cup, not touching the stereo system, etc.). Every time she does whatever I don’t want her to do, I either remove the object or remove her from the area and say, “We don’t do that.” The temptation is still too great if she thinks I’m not watching, but she rarely breaks the rules when I’m close by. Every child’s temperament is different, but if you are never going to leave her alone in the room with the tree and you are clear and absolutely consistent about the rules, she may be able to handle it even at her young age.

Hmm…this makes me wonder if I’m not firm enough, not consistant enough, or if she just “doesn’t get it”, b/c Julie doesn’t stop when I say no, even to things I never let her do. He’s very into my laptop, and I’m always trying to keep her off that. To he honest, though, I pretty much have baby-proofed so that I don’t have to redirect/say no all the time b/c I want her to be comfortable exploring. I’ve also not told her to stop throwing her cup, just figured we’d deal with that when she’s a little older. Maybe I should start now. She’s very bright, but we just haven’t really told her no very often.

As for the tree, she’s not alone in the family room too often, but I’m not always right on top of her. I might be starting dinner, checking email, folding laundry…that’s why we’ve baby proofed as much as possible, although now she wants to pull the lamp over. Come to think of it, I told her no very firmly over that, and she only tried a few times, and hasn’t done it since. Hmm…

 

[kaj3]

Hmm…this makes me wonder if I’m not firm enough, not consistant enough, or if she just “doesn’t get it”, b/c Julie doesn’t stop when I say no, even to things I never let her do. He’s very into my laptop, and I’m always trying to keep her off that. To he honest, though, I pretty much have baby-proofed so that I don’t have to redirect/say no all the time b/c I want her to be comfortable exploring. I’ve also not told her to stop throwing her cup, just figured we’d deal with that when she’s a little older. Maybe I should start now. She’s very bright, but we just haven’t really told her no very often.

This is interesting, Steph. I think I was the same way with my first ds. As he got older into toddlerhood, I think that’s when I started more of the “no’s”. So, when the ds#2 arrived, I was so used to correcting ds#1 that I found myself correcting ds#2 a lot sooner. And I don’t know if it’s temperament or that I started correcting a lot sooner with ds#2, but at 13 mo, he will stop dead in his tracks if I say no.

We didn’t put up a Christmas tree until ds#1 was 2 years old! (Although we had a little one that sat on a shelf.) But even with ds#2 being only a year now, we’ll put one up this year and see how it goes. I expect it to be more work in the child-proof areas than it otherwise would be, but I don’t want ds#1, who is now 3, to miss out on a tree.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

OK, cats are not small children, but we once had quite a large family of cats, with 5 little kittens (very long story). The house we owned at the time came with ceiling hooks I’d never removed in remodeling, the kind everybody used to use for those lamps with the chains all over the place.

I hung the tree from the ceiling.

I used a four foot artifical tree, a few metal rings big enough to hold the main “trunk”, and a pretty but sturdy gold chain to form a basket-type invention. The chains came up on six sides. I decorated it per convention, snaking the lights around to the same point whoever was before me used to connect the hanging lamp. I used extra chain for the garland.

And there was all kinds of space underneath for presents!

I have also used a very large wreath, and hang ornaments I treasure on it (and don’t want fingered). I place this not on the front door, but either on the other side of the front door or on one wall. Yes, it can be lit, be regular lights or battery-powered ones.

 

[st_lucy]

Hmm…this makes me wonder if I’m not firm enough, not consistant enough, or if she just “doesn’t get it”, b/c Julie doesn’t stop when I say no, even to things I never let her do. He’s very into my laptop, and I’m always trying to keep her off that. To he honest, though, I pretty much have baby-proofed so that I don’t have to redirect/say no all the time b/c I want her to be comfortable exploring. I’ve also not told her to stop throwing her cup, just figured we’d deal with that when she’s a little older. Maybe I should start now. She’s very bright, but we just haven’t really told her no very often.

Don’t be too harsh on yourself. I find that with some kids no just doesn’t always work. With our first child “no” was all she needed. But with our second child “no” meant nothing to him. He was so much more adventures that he didn’t mind the spanking. I think I can count on my hands how many times I have spanked my daughter in her whole life and she is nine now. But my son I am not sure if I can count how many times I have spanked today.

No only works sometimes. Just remember that there is not one single rule for all children.

By the way one of the things I did with my son was I put the tree behind the sofa and a coffee table pushed up in front of the sofa. that way it gave some time to catch him in the act.