My baby is trying to climb stairs — how do I teach them safely?

Stairs are both exciting and scary — your fear about falls is completely understandable.

The most important rule for stair safety: your baby is never left alone on stairs. As they learn, you can practice in a controlled way:

Learning to climb up first. Have them use both hands, placing one hand, then the other, then a knee. Stand behind, keeping your hands at waist level to offer security, but let them do each movement themselves. Coming down is safest by turning around and backing down on hands and knees — teach them the "tummy-down, feet-first" method.

Safety measures:

• Install safety gates both at the top and bottom of stairs
• Make sure railing gaps are no wider than 10cm; add protective netting if needed
• Remove toys, rugs, and anything that could cause tripping from stairs

According to pediatric guidance, babies usually start showing stair interest around 12–18 months, but safe descending usually develops around age 2. Until then, your physical presence and guidance are their primary protection. Falling during this learning phase is normal; the goal is preventing serious head injuries. Letting them learn in a supervised way is actually safer than keeping them completely away from stairs, which they'll encounter eventually anyway.