Learning to go down stairs

I can guarantee my oldest had been doing this for months by the time he was this age...but alas with twins, everything happens slower it seems. How did you accomplish learning to go down the stairs with twins? Did you practice with them one at a time? Did you and hubby just tackle it together? I'm so tired of making two trips every time we need to go downstairs, but I'm just not sure how to tackle it with two!

Thanks!
Laura

 

We have two 2 step stepstools. DH set them up back to back so they could climb up one side and down the other. That way they got very comfortable going up and down in a situation where they couldn't get hurt. When we got to the big stairs, we taught them to crawl up and down. It may be too late for you, but we actually taught them to do the stairs before they were walking. That way, they were more comfortable crawling up and down, and didn't try to walk up and down before they were steady walkers.

 

I don't know where they picked it up but mine did. That being said, i still carry them down the main flight of stairs because they are steep and I get scared. They crawl down the stairs backwards to get down.

 

Mine crawl up together. I LOVE this because it means I'm no longer carrying both of them up the stairs at the same time . I walk up behind them and will lift the slower one up a stair or two so they are at the same level and I can safely catch one or both if need be. They kind of learnt on their own. I had one who was ready to do it first and she mastered it around the time her sister was ready to start so I guess it happened gradually.

My DH has been teaching them to go down (backwards, one baby at a time usually when he's home on the weekends) but I haven't done it much since this scares me more than having them go up together. Also, I feel like I just don't have the time during the day to sit with one and teach them. I figure they'll get it eventually! Like you my DS was going up and down on his own by about 11 months but things with the girls are sooo much slower .

 

I started by teaching my guys how to get down off of the couch. I would tell them to "go down the right way", make them turn around, and crawl down backwards. When this stuck, I showed them how to go down 1 small step (off of our lower deck to the lawn), going down "the right way". When we got to the point I felt like it was safe to let them go down the stairs (MONTHS after I let them climb up) I would go down before them as a "spotter" and let them crawl down side-by-side. :good:

Nate *still* goes down this way! Jack likes to give Mama a heart attack by walking down. <_<

 

I don't recall DH and I specifically teaching them :blushing: If we did, I don't remember it :sorry: But I did ask DH and he does remember the kids starting out going down on their butts and then eventually walking down holding the railing.

 

I taught them to slide down on their tummies to begin with. They mastered that pretty quickly.

They are now 20 months and either sliding down on their tummies and/or scooting down on their bottoms one stair at a time. They are also now trying to walk down one step at a time holding the handrail like an adult, but I still discourage that unless I am there holding their hands, etc.

Their PREFERENCE is to have me carry them down the stairs, they cry if I don't - but I've decided to stop doing it. They're getting too big and heavy to carry both up/down the stairs. They need to learn to master the stairs like the rest of the us singletons!

 

We played on the stairs for a few hours each night for about a week until they mastered the stairs. Going up was no problem, going down was different. I would pull them down the stairs on their bellies at first and then started to encourage them to go down one knee at a time (this is all done on the bellies) and then they just picked it up. When they are at the top of the stairs which still scares the crap out of me even with me right there waiting for them, I would sit them down and then physically spin them from their bum to their bellies and then scoot them down to the first top step. Like I said, we did this for a few nights and now they can go down at any time without me.