When Will You Teach LO to Climb Up/Down Steps?

[RJsMum]

This is an obvious question for mommies with walkers on their hands...

I was reading a chart on a website where it mentioned things babies should/might be able to do by certain ages and by 14/15 mos it had climbing stairs listed. DS is 13.5 mos and he doesn't really get the chance to climb or descend the steps as they're blocked by safety gates and I've never just out and out let him.

But then it did get me thinking. Would it be best for me to start working with him to teach him how to go up and down safely? Same with the sofa? This way, in the event he ever comes across them on his own, which is doubtful, but still, he will know the proper/safe way?

How about you...when DID/ARE/WILL you teach LO to conquer these things?

 

[OmarsMum]

My cousin is 20 days younger than Omar, but he's a little monkey he can go up & down the stairs & climb up & down the sofa & bed He used to bum suffle on the stairs (going down). His brother started to go up & down the stairs confidently at 18 months.

Omar knows how to go down the sofa & bed but not climbing up. We dont have stairs at home, but when we go out & he sees stairs, he will not stay still until he goes up & down the stairs holding hands.

 

[Lightworker]

It wasnt really me teaching but rather enabling - from about 16 months I used to allow DD1 to go up with me right behind her. I cant remember about coming down the steps but that was much later. Real confidence for us was to leave gates open was when she was 2 and half. We would have left them open earlier but she once fell and broke her collar bone so we delayed it abit.

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

Not long after my son started to walk at 11 months he found climbing the stairs an adventure but we kept them shut up with a stairgate.

We decorated when he was about 14 months and didn't put the gates back up. He doesn't walk up or down and I've not encouraged him to. But he whizzes up and down them, he kind half walks half crawls up but he comes down backwards on is tummy, crawling back down.

My Mum was getting him to walk out of her backdoor which is a step when he was 13 months, and I kindly asked her to stop because I was scared he'd try and do it down the stairs at home and fall.
When he's a bit taller, we'll probably try and encourage him to walk down forwards but for now I'm just letting him do it the way i deem safer.

He's 19months now btw

 

[hivechild]

Ronan's been climbing up them for over 2 months now. It's hard to block them with a gate and he'd shown zero interest in climbing them before, then one day I stepped into the kitchen, picked up my already made cup of tea and stepped back out and found him 1/3 of the way up them. My heart skipped a beat, i tell you! He was so fast getting up them.

He still hasn't properly learned going down them but he's a fiend getting up them. Whenever I ask him if he's ready for a nap or if he wants to go upstairs, he races straight over (we do have them blocked now).

His 3rd word is "up" that he says when he's climbing the stairs. I didn't realize that I'd been saying it to him encouraging him to go up when he first started. I have a cute video of him saying it as he reaches the top.

Eta: Ronan's not walking yet and goes up on his hands and knees but where he used too do both hands then both feet/knees on each progressive step, it's now one at a time.

 

[special_kala]

We didnt really teach River to go up and down the stairs but she seems to have worked it out. Doesnt help we cant put a stair gate on the bottom of our stairs

I can trust her to go up by herself if im at the bottom and chris is at the top. She can get down by herself but is a little less confident.

 

[rockys-mumma]

Alfie one day just ended half way up them. It was literally 3 days after he learnt to crawl (he was just turned 7 months) so we were unprepared and didnt expect it for a long time. We didn't even have a stair gate!!! He gradually got better doing a step with each leg instead of using both legs on each individual step. He loves the stairs and every time he goes out of the living room he takes a look to see if the gate is open He also climbs on the sofa but has himself worked out how to get off without falling, a cute lil bum shuffle to the edge lol. I bet if your LO had the oppourtunity to go up the stairs before now he probably would have already conquered them!

 

[RJsMum]

Alfie one day just ended half way up them. It was literally 3 days after he learnt to crawl (he was just turned 7 months) so we were unprepared and didnt expect it for a long time. We didn't even have a stair gate!!! He gradually got better doing a step with each leg instead of using both legs on each individual step. He loves the stairs and every time he goes out of the living room he takes a look to see if the gate is open He also climbs on the sofa but has himself worked out how to get off without falling, a cute lil bum shuffle to the edge lol. I bet if your LO had the oppourtunity to go up the stairs before now he probably would have already conquered them!

I'm sure this is probably true, but wasn't possible as we had to keep the living room door shut to keep him out of the hallway where he couldn't be seen.

He doesn't climb onto the sofe, but sometimes holds up his hands to be picked up so he can look at a book and sit next to me. The trouble for now is the kid has NO FEAR and will just try to dive back off head first...so I'm now trying to say "safe" and teach him to turn his body around to climb down.

I'll likely start soon with the steps though, just in case.