Climbing stairs

We live in a townhouse, which has two sets of stairs, and DS has mastered climbing (crawling) up the stairs! Going down is another matter all together! For now we just carry him down, but a couple times he has tried to crawl down, which would have meant taking a header down the steps!

He is not yet walking (just cruising or pushing), so does anyone have any advice on how best to teach him how to get down (going backwards, sliding on his tush?) and at what point is it best to teach him?

Thanks!

Kyra :)
Ima to Avi Tzvi 12/29/03

It was a few months between the time that Colin learned to go up stairs and when he really learned to go down. And it took him a lot longer to get proficient at going down (partially because we have hardwood - too slippery).

We found it very useful to teach him to get off of the couch or a chair by turning around and going backwards - easier than teaching him on the stairs. He knows how to go down the stairs by going backwards, but now prefers to slide down on his tush or "walk" down holding our hands or the railing - which makes this mama a little nervous!

We have two steps from our family/play room to our kitchen which our DS is allowed in. He was able to climb the stairs just fine by 9 months, but had some trouble getting down. I just kept turning him around and had him come down on his tummy, feet first. He finally "got it" around 10 months and now is up and down the steps as much as he wants now. He starts about a foot away and "backs up" until he feels his feet slide off the top steps and gets down that way. He quickly transitioned this technique to the couch, the bed, anything else. Luckily he hasn't tried getting out of the crib, but he does climb out of the tub. He still does't like going down the stairs to the second floor because its just too far for him. He makes it part of the way down, the goes back up. You can try showing him how to come down back wards, but with a full set of stairs he maybe reluctant. Maybe you can start with just a few. I know people put the baby gate 2 or 3 steps up the stairway so their baby can practice on the stairs. That way when the fall, they don't fall far.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

I'll second the suggestion to try to find a place with just one or two steps and let him practice over and over. James did this in a few places, and he quickly learned to apply the technique to a whole flight of stairs. Now he slides down stairs on his tummy, feet first, VERY quickly.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

What do you do if you don't have any steps to practice on? We live in an apartment, all on one floor. Will DD never learn this? Can you think of a good place to practice? Our stairwell is dark and icky.

Do you have any family or friends nearby with stairs? I'm sure that any of them would be happy to let you practice on the stairs! Since we have hardwood stairs, I've always been reluctant to let Colin practice going all the way down, but we sneak in practice sessions whenever we visit someone with carpeted stairs!

Just start taking notice when you visit friends and family. My grandparents live in a 1-story house, and I would never have thought of it as a place to practice stairs, but they have one very small step down onto their sunroom floor, and James practiced a lot on that one little step! Don't worry, though. Eventually they all learn to go up and down stairs - it just takes longer if they have fewer opportunities!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02