Couch diving!!?

Just wanted a bit of advice from anybody!!

My 14 month old has started to try and dive off the back of the couch! all the time!! We have an L shaped sofa so I can only push one side of it up against the wall.... he knows he's being naughty because he stops with one leg half up ready to leap off the back!!

I'm really worried he's going to hurt himself.... its a good foot from the top of the couch to the wooden floors! Everyone keeps telling me that he has to learn and that by falling off he will stop doing it but its really going to hurt when he hits the wooden floor!!

Has anyone else been in the same predicament and what have you done to prevent a bang!!

My son is 14 months and he is doing this too! He straddles the arms like he's a jockey, and tried to climb up and over the back. I take him off the couch altogether (he can't get on it by himself).

There is no way I am going to let him learn by falling off the metre high back of the couch. Plus theres a window behind ours that he could go through!

exactly my point!! Charlie has worked out how to climb on the couch and can climb down safe enough... its just the diving off the back thats the problem... he hasn't actually done it yet because he always stops at the top and looks to see if I can see him.... in which case I shout don't or stop or no (none of these work) and have to run and take him off the couch!!

I think i have some grey hairs coming through!! ;)

I put a cot mattress on the ground behind the lounge & taught Matilda how to do it & the novelty wore off. I now have to tell her that jumping over the back isn't good behaviour at someone elses house :eek: I wish I used the stop or no first.

K used to do this, as well as jump on the lounge, when he first learnt how to climb up there. We haven't always been quick enough to catch him at it and he's tumbled head first over the back of it (thankfully we have carpet!) and had a few nasty bumps to the head when he's bounced off the lounge and connected with the coffee table on the way down. It hurt & scared him quite a lot but it certainly didn't teach him not to do it again LOL! We've always been pretty strict about not letting him jump off the lounge and we let K know that it wasn't acceptable behaviour with the usual 'uh-uh' and 'no' etc. Also I made it clear that if he couldn't sit properly then he had to get off the lounge and he wasn't allowed back on it for a certain amount of time. It took quite some time and persistence but now when I see him stand up there and he starts to climb onto the back or bounce I ask him to sit down properly and he usually does so. If I see him sitting there properly then I make a bit of a fuss and tell him how great it is that he's sitting on the lounge properly :)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions..... I'll have to try that one Angel, I have taught him the words sit down so he knows what they mean but maybe the time out from the couch will be good!! And also stopping him from jumping off the couch here or at anyone elses house at an early age is a good idea!!

Thanks again everyone!!