logo
BabySparks
logo
  • What is BabySparks?
  • The Science
  • Childcare Providers
  • Learning Center
  • Get BabySparks
  • en
    • es
Prev
How bubbles support gross motor skills 0
How Bubbles Support Gross Motor Skills
24 March 2020
Next
Coronavirus keeping baby and toddler hands clean 0
Coronavirus FAQ: Keeping Your Baby or Toddler’s Hands Clean
25 March 2020
Gross Motor
The Evolution of Learning to Climb Stairs
25 March, 2020 by BabySparks in Gross Motor

Toddler milestone: climbing stairsClimbing stairs is an uplifting milestone that will elevate your child’s motor skills. Get it? Okay, no more stair puns! All jokes aside, it is truly exciting to see your child develop the ability to climb up and down stairs. Aside from being a basic life skill, learning to climb stairs has a lot of developmental benefits, such as building leg muscles, strengthening balance and coordination, and boosting spatial awareness.

Becoming comfortable around stairs also helps little ones learn how to properly assess the risk factor when approaching a step. It may feel tempting to make stairs a general “no-no” for safety, but taking time to practice going up and down them with your toddler is a safer option! That said, stairs should always be blocked with safety gates, even after she’s learned to climb a step or two. A good rule of thumb is to only remove safety gates when she’s learned to open them, climb over them, or safely move up and down the stairs on her own. Most importantly, all of her stair practice should be carefully supervised.

Stair-Climbing Milestones

Stair skills build on other climbing skills that your child has been developing since babyhood.

Babies

Around 9 months, babies feel more and more comfortable crawling, until they begin to crawl up a few steps on their own. Of course, crawling down steps is a different story! By 11 months, babies start to feel more confident in their ability to crawl up a step on all fours and then shimmy their body back down by moving backward.

Toddlers

Even if they’re power walking around the house, it’s normal for young toddlers to drop to all fours and crawl up stairs. This is a safe and common way for children to become comfortable with the rhythm and flow of stair climbing. When little ones are crawling up and down stairs with ease, the next step is attempting to walk up the stairs.

Between 17-20 months, toddlers get better at stair climbing in the upright position, but they do so leading with the same foot, and still need lots of guidance and support. When they’ve mastered the art of going up stairs, they can begin to practice going down – still with support. But remember that going down stairs is always a bit more tricky! As they progress, they may be able to walk up stairs will only one hand on the handrail, but they need support on both sides to go down.

Around 22 months, going down the stairs doesn’t seem so scary anymore, and toddlers get better at doing it on their own (still using a handrail). By about 2 years old, with all that stair climbing practice under their belts, toddlers start to move up and down the stairs on their own, still leading with one foot. Just keep in mind that stair climbing is still a big feat for their size! They still need to take is slow.

It’s important to also remember that some little ones are exposed to stairs more often than others. Children around 25-27 months who are frequently exposed to stairs may be able to climb each step without support, leading with one foot and taking it one step at a time. Between 28-30 months toddlers more familiar with stairs will likely be able to walk up and down the stairs without support, and can start alternating feet. By 36 months, walking up and down the stairs without support and alternating feet is a strong possibility! Children who aren’t frequently exposed to stairs may take a bit longer to master these milestones.

For inspiration, explore our BabySparks Climbing Stairs activities, which will guide you, step-by-step, in helping you teach your child this important skill.

0 Comments
  • climb
  • milestones
  • stairs
  • toddler
  • gross motor
1 Like!
Share
BabySparks

Recent comments

    Tags

    baby child cognitive feeding fine motor gross motor health language language skills milestones parenting sensory social-emotional speech toddler
    ABOUT US
    THE TEAM
    TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY
    support@babysparks.com
    FacebookInstagramPinterestTwitter
    Copyright © 2020 BabySparks LLC. All rights reserved
    logo
    X
    GET BABYSPARKS
    Step 2 of 2
    ACTIVITY PACKAGE:
    (All Prices in USD)

    Form of Payment

    Monthly: $1.25 per month/per child
    Annually: $12.00 per year/per child (20% discount)

    Form of Payment

    Monthly: $2.25 per month/per child
    Annually: $21.50 per year/per child (20% discount)

    Form of Payment

    Monthly: $5.00 per month/per child
    Annually: $45.00 per year/per child (25% discount)

    Number of children:

    x per child

    Total Amount

    SELECT YOUR METHOD OF PAYMENT
    * Required field
    Buy now BS

    BabySparks Premium Gives You…

    Access to 1,300+ development activities & milestones

    An expert-created program to support the development of children under your care

    Tools to increase family engagement, invite each family to use the program at home

    Ability to track each child's progress in real-time (and share it with his/her family)

    Add unlimited children, caregivers and locations to your account

    Manage and track progress across your organization through our desktop dashboard

    Cancel your subscription at any time

    By clicking on the button below, you agree to our Terms of Service & privacy policy.
    X
    EDIT YOUR ACCOUNT
    Your account
    Change your password
    X
    EDIT YOUR METHOD OF PAYMENT
    Update payment method
    * Required field
    Buy now BS
    By clicking on the button below, you agree to our Terms of Service & privacy policy.
    X
    UPDATE YOUR PACKAGE
    Your Activity Package
    (All Prices in USD)

    1 Month

    $ 3 99

    per month

    1 Year

    $ 23 99

    per year

    Update your package at any time
    (All Prices in USD)
    Pay as you go

    1 Month

    $ 3 99

    per month

    50% Discount

    1 Year

    $ 23 99

    per year

    60% Discount

    Lifetime

    $ 39 99

    one time

    How does it work?

    You can change your activity package at any time.

    The change will take place at the end of your current subscription period.

    You will only be charged the new rate once the change takes place.

    Cancel Activity Package
    X
    LOGIN BABYSPARKS

    Forgot your password?

    X
    PASSWORD RESET
    X
    RESET PASSWORD
    X
    GET BABYSPARKS
    Step 1 of 2
    Create Your Account

    Already Have an Account? Login

    X
    GET BABYSPARKS
    Step 1 of 2
    Create Your Account

    Already Have an Account? Login

    X
    GET BABYSPARKS
    Step 2 of 2
    Logged in as: (Not me)
    Select Your Activity Package
    (All Prices in USD)
    Pay as you go

    1 Month

    $ 3 99

    per month

    YOUR OFFER

    $ 2 99

    50% Discount

    1 Year

    $ 1 99

    per month

    Paid Annually: $23.99
    YOUR OFFER

    $ 2 99

    60% Discount

    Lifetime

    $ 39 99

    one time

    YOUR OFFER

    $ 2 99

    BabySparks Premium Gives You…

    Access to 1,300+ development activities & milestones

    An expert-created program to support your child’s development

    Weekly development reports summarize progress

    Browse activities for any situation

    Expert-written articles about development

    Sync up to 5 devices (add family and caregivers)

    Add up to 5 babies to your account

    Cancel your susbcription at any time

    * Required field
    Buy now BS
    By clicking on the button below, you agree to our Terms of Service & privacy policy.