Allowing your baby to climb stairs in the beginning can make parents very nervous. But there are some things you can do to help make this risky learning experience safer for your baby. Show your baby how to climb up and down, on and off safe objects. When you have time to help your baby with his climbing exercises, show him how to climb up. Show him how to come down crawling backward, so he doesn't do it head first. You may want to put gates a quarter way or halfway up the stairs. This way he can't climb too high.

Show your baby how to get down the stairs by coming down backward with feet first. After a few practice sessions, he will soon remember and be safer because of it. Let your baby climb on the steps only when you are able to help him. You may want to block off the steps with a gate when you are not able to help your baby. Gates at the top or bottom of the stairs, depending on where the baby is, can prevent accidents. Don't use an accordion-style gate or gates with a V-shaped opening. These have caused accidents and deaths. To see a picture of an unsafe gate, go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5085.pdf. Other styles of baby gates, such as those with a straight top edge and rigid mesh screen or openings too small for a child’s head to enter, do not present the entrapment and strangulation hazard.

This newsletter gives equal space and time to both sexes. If we write him or her, we are talking about all babies. Every baby is different. Normal children may do things earlier or later than described in this FAQ. This FAQ describes typical children at each age. Each child is special and develops at his or her own pace.