A UK mother has revealed her surprisingly simple method for keeping her adventurous toddler away from the Christmas tree, bypassing the need for unsightly playpens or drastic furniture rearrangements.
The Toddler Tornado Challenge
Facing her second festive season with her now 22-month-old daughter, the mum noted that while blocking access was easy last year, her child had since transformed into a 'tiny tornado' with a passion for climbing and heart-stopping antics. As November arrived, both she and her fiancé were stumped on how to ensure their daughter's safety around their 8-foot tree while preserving their peace of mind.
Finding a Solution Through Experience
After scouring TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit for solutions, she found many parents resorted to placing trees on high tables or blocking them with heavy boxes. However, with their large tree situated in an alcove, these options weren't feasible. Instead, she stuck to her established parenting philosophy: 'not changing or moving something unless it becomes a problem.'
She erected the pre-lit tree while her daughter slept, hiding the cables with a tree skirt. To gauge her toddler's reaction, she initially left the tree completely bare. The next morning, her daughter was stunned, repeatedly touching the tree and greeting it with enthusiastic shouts of 'hi tree'.
The Decorating Compromise That Worked
After a week of observation, which included a brief phase of the toddler standing behind the tree until she discovered the branches were pointy, the mum introduced decorations during naptime. She placed most baubles and trinkets at the top, but intentionally left a few soft, safe ornaments at the bottom. The idea was to allow her daughter to take them off to play with, and then simply put them back at the end of each day.
This created a win-win situation. The tree may not have been Instagram-perfect, but it was perfectly suited to their life stage. The toddler now greets the tree each morning, kisses a soft dog ornament, and parades a star bauble around as a prized possession. Two and a half weeks later, the strategy is still working flawlessly.
Her research also uncovered other popular tips, such as setting up a train set around the tree's base to engage a child's attention or placing the tree inside a playpen for total separation.
