The Climbing Toddler - Is It Ever OK?

Do you ever feel like you're constantly yelling no to your toddler? "get off there Ewan, Don't stand on the toilet seat Ewan, leave that alone Ewan, don't climb on your brothers head Ewan" I get sick of listening to my own voice a lot lately!

The latest faze is climbing, i'm new to this because Tom was never much of a climber and once you told him no that usually would be the end of it.
Ewan has other ideas though and the word no has no meaning other than 'oh shit, shes going to come and get me so I better make this quick'

But really, is it OK to let your kids climb the furniture? I used to think any climbing furniture should be completely off limits, it's far too dangerous. But now I realize that Tom, now being at the age of four and never really expressing much want to climb, is very unsure of his body and what it can do, he doesn't really jump and throw himself about like I have seen his friends do, he is a very cautious child.

For Ewan, climbing is something he really enjoys to do and by doing so he is learning about physics and what his body is capable of. He is very careful about his movements and takes his time to assess what he needs to do next, and once he has done what he set out to do there is always such a look of accomplishment on his face.
There have been one or two occasions where he has fallen, and that leaves you with your heart in your mouth as a parent, but he cries for a few seconds and is then totally fine to go back to what he was doing!

So I have come to the conclusion that climbing can be healthy, provided that no serious harm can come to him - climbing on the kitchen table however was put to an immediate stop with the tiled floor directly below him!

....Also The purchase of a climbing frame for the garden wouldn't go amiss!