Toddler gnawing window sill. Any suggestions?
My 14 month old daughter has a Montessori-style bedroom with a futon mattress on the floor, giving her access to her toys and the entire space of her room in order to foster independence. The room has been completely baby-proofed, but lately she has taken to gnawing the paint off of her window sills, which she can reach when standing up. Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this? We are not interested in moving her to a crib.
Can you purchase anything at a hardware story to put over the window sill so that she can not get to it?
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You can buy rubber things to put over then at babies r us type stores….make sure that your home doens't contain lead paint..it is dangerous even if it doesn't but even more so if it does! If it does you may want to consider getting her lead levels checked out
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RN - mother of 2
I think if i remember rightly, you can buy window sill protectors from any hardwear store. They are just pieces of bendy plastic that slide over the edges and stop the paint from being chipped off. If i'm right then these should do the trick.
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Either put rubber over it, a plastic guard, or spray the sill with some bitter apple–works on dogs and kids alike.
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I remember doing this when I was 12 years old! Not chewing the paint off, but making teeth marks in the window sill while looking out the window…the teeth marks are still there (my parents still live in the same house).
I'd think about it from a 14 month old's perspective…why is she doing it? If I'm a 14 month old child, my teeth hurt, and I'm discovering I can influence my environment. So by gnawing on the window sill, I'm killing two birds (at least) with one stone.
First, of course, you absolutely must make sure the paint isn't lead-based, or otherwise toxic, because your daughter may decide to chew anywhere in the house. And that's the second part. You can either try to get her to stop gnawing, or give her a place (or thing) where it's ok to gnaw. Probably both is best. Is she impressed with her own teeth marks? Show her something else to make teeth marks in that is safe. Maybe you should make your teeth marks in it as well.
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