Climbing to new heights

David Monnot, 3, can't sit still. "He's climbed on his dresser and onto the windowsill," says his mom, Tonya, of Westerville, Ohio. "We took out every piece of furniture in his room and all the toys. All he eventually had in there was a mattress!"

Upholstery aside, there's a good reason your furniture shouldn't double as a jungle gym: "If you have a climber, you're always five minutes away from a broken arm," says DeBroff.

What to do: Try close eye contact accompanied by a gentle but serious tone. That's what's effective for Lu Hanessian, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey, mom of Nicholas, 5, and Ben, 2, and author of Let the Baby Drive: Navigating the Road of New Motherhood. "Once, Ben climbed up on top of our grand piano and just laughed at me," she recalls. "I got really close, stared him down, and said, 'Don't get on there again or you'll get really hurt.' Then I removed him, and he hasn't done it since."

Taking your child to a quiet place can also help when you're on sensory overload. It's more like a breather than a traditional time-out.

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