Running off

My DD is like this too. She went through a major stage of just running off at the shops and/or hiding from me plus she 'escaped' from the house regularly. In the end with running away from home I got a deadbolt on the front door, padlocked the back gate, put baby gates up, stays on the windows etc. The house is locked up tighter than Fort Knox now and she only gets out if I am slack enough to forget to deadbolt the front door or padlock the front gate. She doesn't seem to do it to be naughty she just likes to be out on the street watching the other kids and seeing what's happening.

Re the running off in shops, I give her 3 choices - I'll take the stroller and she has to stay in it the whole time, she can be harnessed to me (I did have a proper harness that went over her chest when she was little, now its just a hand strap), or she can walk nicely next to me and if there is clear pavement she can run ahead to a certain point then turn and run back. If she refuses to come back then we leave. More often than not she chooses to walk nicely and then runs and comes back when I say she can. Unfortunately I am now that mother who lets her kid run in the shopping mall and in empty isles in shops but its kind of a compromise - she walks nicely when I ask and then gets to run and comes back when I say she can.

Hope that helps.

Yup, my toddler is a runner too!

She would unlock the door and bolt out the door and once escaped while I was in bed and DF was downstairs with her. He was on his PC gaming, with headphones on and didn't notice her sneak past him. She got outside(it this was at like 9pm) and was across our street(though it is a cul-de-sac and safe) and was at the playground on our street, chasing our cats!

Naturally, I installed one of those locks up the top of range slider a.s.a.p! Since DF didn't seem to have any inclination to do that. Grr! As she'd escaped before, several times, but we'd always caught her before she got near the street.

She bolts whenever I give her freedom. And like your DD, she doesn't listen to me either. She in fact laughs and while running away, giggles and says "run, run, run" while running away!

I have safety latches on all our upstairs windows and a stair gate(which thankfully she can't open...yet)

I generally put her in the pram if we are out and about. As EVERY TIME I give her freedom, she totally runs with it!

Oh, yeah and the 'bye' trick doesn't work on my cheeky monkey either.

My only advice is, try find as many ways as possible to keep your little runner safe at home and out and about.