Mountain Goat Syndrome / Schneeziegensyndrom

Nikolas is going through a climbing phase, and while he insists he hasn't turned into a mountain goat ("No, I am Nikolas!" he says.), it's hard to believe. He wants to climb everything: the book shelves, the couches, the enormous TV cabinet, the cabinet in the hallway with knobs on its drawers that serve as great foot holds...anything that is not meant to be climbed is of interest. I think if Nikolas was allowed to, he would figure out how to get around our apartment, moving from one piece of furniture to another, without every touching the floor.

From the minute he wakes up, he is climbing (or trying to climb). I finally understand the little packet that comes with Ikea shelves, the one with a strap to attach the top of the shelf to the wall so it doesn't topple over if someone climbs on it. I always wondered why anyone would try to climb a bookshelf. Now I know: mountain goat syndrome.

The thing is, Nikolas doesn't want to climb things one is supposed to climb. The flight of stairs up to our apartment takes far too much effort. If you start in the basement and add half a flight of steps, you can forget about it. Today we went to the park at Mirabell Garden, the one with the slide that is higher than the one-story building nearby. "Climb away," we said. However, he had no interest in climbing. After swinging for a while, he was ready to go home.

What was the first thing he did at home after struggling up the flight of stairs and dramatically collapsing on the landing? He made a bee-line for the small bookshelf where we store our shoes and started climbing.