Yes, but ... No, but ...

Unschoolers are not exempt from the laws of nature and man.

(I will undoubtedly repeat that many times! :-)

Gravity acts on unschooled kids the exact same way it does on schooled kids. Do Not Enter doesn't mean Do Not Enter Unless You're Unschooling. A hit from an unschooled child hurts just as much as a hit from a schooled child.

This is NOT an unschooled child:

This is NOT an unschooled child.
This is what a child who's shown adeptness at climbing looks like.

This is what a child who is part monkey looks like. :-)

Unschooling does not bestow climbing ability on unschooled kids. Genes determine how much monkey climbing ability we get. The conventional parenting rule to Keep Them Safe erects a "No" cage based on Mom's fears rather than the child's ability. A "No" cage prevent kids -- and Moms -- from discovering what they are capable of today (which may be different from last week.)

Unschooling does not mean you can't say no to ladders like the above. But unschooling does mean not stopping at no. "No, but ..."

If a child thinks you will say "No, go find something else to do that I won't have to supervise," to the ladder if they ask, why would they ask?

If a child thinks you will hover and fill the air with worry, why would they invite you to be with them as they play?

If a child knows you take their needs seriously and will help them find a way (that's safe and respectful) to either climb that ladder or something better that's fun to climb, why wouldn't they ask?

Well, sometimes they won't ask! ;-) because they believe it's safe so don't need help. If they've done something unsafe more than a time or two, it means you need to be with them more. If they are sneaking off to do unsafe things, there's a need you're not meeting. If they've done unsafe things, find a way to keep those things locked away or out of sight. And then find safe alternatives! Don't set your child up for failure. Their safety is your responsibility. Don't hand the responsibility over to them with a rule and expect them to enforce it on themselves.

Climbing ladders like the above is not a need. But for many kids the need to climb is! Find places where they can climb. Fill their climbing buckets to overflowing so when they see the roofer's ladder against the house the need to climb isn't overwhelming. Just whelming for some ;-) It's new! It's different! But it isn't yours and let them know you want to respect those who do own it. Respect and understand the child's desire to climb and find the things they can climb as soon as you can.

Rather than no, period, to the ladder, find lots of yes alternatives to meet the need to explore their monkey abilities. :-)

The King of Flour!

IIIII, am the KING OF FLOUR!!!!!!

"A kilo of flour everywhere doesn't mean anyone gets angry, it means the next couple of hours playing joyfully with our kids, making flour patterns, peeping through flour clouds, creating meteorite impacts into flour and cinnamon, dressing up as 'floury kings', and giggling at floury fairy footprints. Fifteen minutes clean up for the joy of helping him follow his curiosity. So incredibly worth it :)" -- Tam

Kids are curious! That's how they're designed to learn about the world.

If you'd rather the next bag of flour not be played with, put it up out of kid reach :-) Don't make it their responsibility not to touch. See the world through curious kid eyes and make your house a safe place where kids can explore. Including safe from frustrated moms who should know that a whole bag of flour has way more uses than cookies in the eyes of a child :-)

Respect a need for tactile exploration. If you have tactile kids, find ways they can play with flour. When Kat was that age, I bought the cheapest bag of white flour and let her play with it in the tub and scooped it into a bowl to play with again. And again. And again. (Do cover the drain if you try that! White flour is good for making clogs as well as cookies ;-) Play with flour outside.

Find other things they can get their fingers -- and whole bodies -- into. Pudding. Finger paints. (Kat did lots of painting in the bath tub too :-) Rice. (I had a big bin of cheap rice that Kat loved burying her Pokemon in.) Shaving cream.

Let go of the voices in your head that say doing anything other than eating food is a waste. A bag of flour? Way cheaper than most toys and can even last for years if you decide to save it.

Sarah's sons also flouring up :-)