how many times a day does your 2 year old fall down?

[Lucy the Valiant]

I have a baby who may or may not be having special issues (has spinal disorder, but has not had any problems lately), and I'm trying to gauge "normal."

 

(And yes, my older kids were once 2yo, but . . . it seems I have forgotten if / how often they fell down during the course of a normal day.)

 

I'm referring to just stumbling, not tripping over anything.

 

Also interested in how "normal" 2yo's use the stairs.

 

Thanks - I'm a worrying-mama-heart tonight!

[AndyJoy]

My DS is 26 mo. and I would guess he stumbles 4-5 times a day (usually while running). He definitely has good and bad days where he stumbles very little or more than 10 times.

 

He is a very good climber of ladders and stairs. We don't have stairs at home, but we do at the slide at the park and at a place we visit once a month. He climbs the stairs by walking up while holding the handrail or my hand. He usually places one foot and then the other on each step before stepping up to the next; a few times when he's managed to lift his other foot all the way to the next step. He goes down the same way unless I persuade him to slide down.

[Munchkins_mama]

My 6yo can fall off the floor. When she was younger, we were really worried. We had her balance checked, and all sorts of other things. She got glasses and that seems to have helped a little.

[Rubix]

My little guy will trip / fall / stumble about 5 times a day, with some being better and some worse. Yesterday it had to be at least 7. He is all boy and very physical, with no fear. Generally he just trips over his own feet more than actually falling over something.

 

As far as stairs, he will walk up holding a hand, a railing, or the wall. He "bumps" down on his bottom, one step at a time while sitting, or will walk down if you hold his hand to support his balanceday.. He occasionally will be brave and stand up on one of the last 3 steps and try to walk down alone - almost always resulting in one of his falls for the day.

[Cinder]

My ds1 fell down all the time. He was an early walker but clutzy. One day at soccer he fell down a couple times just running across the field. This wasn't unusual for him, but he was about 12yo at the time. One of the other moms reassured me--her son was the same way until he went through that big teen growth spurt. The smaller growth spurts were enough to affect his balance and movement. She was right--ds1 stopped falling down around 13-14yo.

 

Ds2 has always had excellent gross motor skills but was a late-walker. He rarely fell down. Dd was an early walker also with excellent gross motor and rarely fell.

 

We didn't have stairs when the dc were little.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Thanks, all - he has a spine disorder, so we are supposed to be watching for regression in gait. He's falling more often, but I can't really tell if it's spine-related or just-clutzy-2yo-related.

[redsquirrel]

I would have it looked into. My son has some very mild muscle issues and it was the falling and not being safe on stairs at 2 that got him into PT. I didn't think it was beyond typical but I guess it was. My son fell all the time. Walking over a sidewalk was impossible for the longest time. Any little bump would send him flying. He still does fall often, but not as bad. I still have a difficult time when he runs. I am the crazy over-protective mom at the playground.

 

When your falls, is he able to get his hands out? That has been an ongoing issue with my son. At almost 7 he is finally beginning to master that protective reflex. Does your son have the beginnings of reciprocal arm movement? How is his core strength? If he is on his back, can he roll over easily? If his is on his back and you hold his hands and help lift him to a sitting position (like a sit up), does his head lag? Those are the sorts of things they should be assessing.

[caedmyn]

My just-turned-three YO probably stumbles once or twice a day.

 

He's been walking up and down the stairs one foot after the other (like adults walk up stairs) without holding on to anything since he was about 21 months. He is VERY coordinated though.