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KDC 08:29 AM 04-11-2013
I think I saw a video about 'boundaries' being set up another seasoned veteran of this forum. I have a version of it that's a little different... All my 3 and under crowd is NOT allowed in my kitchen. It's a very wide area that's difficult to gate. It's open concept and I can see them from the kitchen, but there's a threshold separating the carpeted family room to the kitchen. (Thin strip that's barely raised off the floor separating the carpet from the wood floor) The babies learn that the kitchen is off limits (Surprisingly it doesn't take very long at all!). Every time they'd cross the threshold I would tell them "no kitchen" and gently redirect. They aren't climbing the kitchen chairs, crawling by my feet while I'm cooking hot foods & are much safer outside the kitchen.

I do use gates to block them from stairs or other dangerous things, and would not rely on this to keep them 'safe'.

I have found this also works with masking tape or towels or some other divider. They learn not to cross those barriers fairly quickly. This comes in handy when you have a 3 yr. old who wants to build a tower without having the 20 month come over and knock it down. There is a bit of work getting them to learn these boundaries, but my goodness is it worth it in the end. You could place your child in the 'safe boundaries' when they need some space. You obviously still have to work with the 20 month old to learn not to push/hit and it's not a total solution, but just something I've learned along the way that has really helped.

Good Luck!
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