Down the stairs-I will always keep the image in my mind of when my daughters were small. And had just begun to crawl and walk, it did not fail: it was to see a staircase and there they went straight! Now they are older and I do not have to worry about this aspect. But I watch other children between a year and a half and two years old. And they repeat their same behaviors. Why do babies love going up and down stairs? What does this activity have that entertains them and excites them. While the parents keep us in a state of permanent alert?
The reason why babies love going up and down the stairs
When I was pregnant, I began to be careful with any cable or box that might be on the ground and could cause me to fall. I also remember that I paid special attention when going up or down stairs. I did not want to end up rolling on them!
This “concern” was maintained, as it could not be otherwise, at the birth of my first daughter. She was such a curious girl – at least that was the reason I used to understand her “unconscious and reckless” behavior – that she only wanted to go up and down the stairs (thank goodness that there was not one in my apartment!).
As I have discovered over time, this behavior is normal within their development and even something beneficial to them! It begins to occur when the little ones get a coordination between hand and eye. And, finally, they can stand up. Babies enjoy climbing stairs because it allows them to use the muscles they are discovering little by little, says Daniel Romper, pediatrician at the Providence Saint John Health Center in Santa Monica, California, adding.  They are learning how their body works and how they work. They like to do movements that involve flexing. And  extending the muscles.
How to teach a child to go up and down the stairs
The child is beginning to discover the world and, although certain movements may terrify us, we can not stop him. On the contrary. We must help them develop and foster their autonomy. What can we do in this regard?
- Be yourself who encourages you to climb the stairs
Under your supervision, place the child next to a ladder and let him spend some time thinking how to get to the end of this “way”, how to climb and climb the stairs on their own.
- Facilitate the path
Make sure there are no objects (dolls, stories, balls) on any of the steps. You can get distracted with them, lose balance and fall.
- Extreme safety
Before performing this activity, check the status of the steps and, above all, the situation of the edges. Maybe someone, because of the use, is affiliated and causes a cut in the skin.
Around two years, children, as a rule, are already able to stand on their own and have control over the balance of their own body. Then begins another stage, that in which we have to teach them to go grabbed by the railing. How to know that you are ready to take this step? How to know if they are “up to the circumstances”?
I suggest you do an exercise with them: invite them to go up and down the stairs , at least, four times in a row. If you notice that you do it with agility , without slipping, or staggering to one side or the other, then you are prepared for it. Of course, it avoids that there is no dangerous object that could hinder your path and cause you an accident of the blow type in the head.
Now your new test is to remind you to always hold the handrail so that, in case of stumbling, you can react and avoid falling.
It is clear that babies and young children love to explore and learn about the new world they have at their disposal and, above all, to prove what they can do with their tiny body. So, do not worry and enjoy this stage in which children love to go up and down the stairs. Because it ends up happening. You just have to have a little patience!
