How do they learn to go down stairs?

MelissaSue81 · July 2010

Eve has definitely mastered climbing up stairs... she can do it crawling by herself.. and standing holding our hand..

I don't have the faintest clue as to how to teach her to go down the stairs.. it makes me so nervous.. She knows that she can't really do it.. but I'm afraid she will try..

JenJar · July 2010

We never had stairs, but friends my parents do, so when we visited them, we taught him to sit down and go down on his butt. We just modeled for him and helped him and he got it pretty quickly. It is scary - I hated visiting friends with stairs because I was so worried about him.

ArcticFox · July 2010

We had DD go down our stairs crawling backwards around 2 years. We have a huge staircase that goes down to a tile landing, so I was in no rush.

By the time I had the baby and DD was 2.5, she would scoot down on her tush, or walk very carefully holding the railing, since I couldn't help her.

At her preschool there is a huge cement staircase going up to the classroom, and the kids go up and down holding hands, it makes me a total nervous wreck and I just try not to think about it.

jewelsonu · July 2010

ethan hasn't learnt that yet. He will stand at the top and just take a step. Thank goodness we are alays right in front of him to catch him. he knows how to go down on his butt and scoot down. DH taught him that

cm2007 · July 2010

This makes me nervous too since we will have stairs when we move. I know my parents taught my nephew to go down backwards on his belly. He basically crawled all the way down backwards except when he felt like sliding down on his belly backwards.

sunnygirl05 · July 2010

We encourage Justin to go down on his belly. If he wants to go forward we obviously hold his hand and then make him hold onto the railing.

sunnygirl05 · July 2010

Oops....meant to say backwards on his belly. I just pictured everyone thinking I tell him to go down the stairs like he's on a slip-n-slide....lol.

NikCole · July 2010

We don't even have stairs, but Evan is a pro at getting up and down them. I taught him the same way I taught him to get off the couch or bed. He puts his feet first and kinda crawls down backwards. We go to Rolly Pollies, and they have all these mats that are stacked so the kids can practice like they are stairs. Plus they have a few stairs leading up to the trampoline. Its nice cuz they are cushioned, so if he falls he won't get hurt. I swear the whole time we are there all he wants to do is climb up and down them!

kac0807 · July 2010

DH has been teaching T to go down them on her tummy backwards....the same way you teach them to climb off a couch or tall chair. So he tells her to turn around on her tummy and she kind of slides down them one by one. ...I thought this was the right way, but I could be wrong.

MelissaSue81 · July 2010

hmm.. OK. That is sort of how Eve gets down the two or three stairs she usually climbs before I get to her and tell her to stop.. But our stairs are not carpeted so it seems kinda dangerous to me.. there isn't really any traction..

Kim*D*R* · July 2010

We taught our son by showing him to crawl backwards and he learned it right away. Within the day he was going down like a pro. It seems like a safe enough way. Good luck!

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