Any suggestions to stop my baby falling on his face?

[edwardrocks]

My son is 10 months old and is trying to walk. The problem is he does it a break neck speed leaning forwards. Obviously I supervise him as much as humanly possible but he keeps falling. Today I was gettin dd out of the bath and he pulled himself up on the door frame and ran about 5 steps to the bathroom. He fell and bumped his head on the metal carpet edge thing. I don't know how to either improve his walking in super quick time or pad every wall and floor in the whole house. Ge doesn't stand up then get his balance and walk one wobbly step at a time, it's a kind of running fall.

[DoMeDon]

I don't know a way you can get him to learn differently. Does he have a toy he can hold onto and push along - DD had this
Maybe have hope that the more he falls the quicker he'll learn to balance - fingers crossed!

[EBDteacher]

My 10 month old is doing the opposite. He uses anything available to stand himself upright, lets go (seeming to think he can stand alone) and falls flat on his back.

Of course we watch him constantly to catch him, so he doeasn't crash land very often- but he is DC1. With another small child in the mix I'm sure it would be at least once every waking hour!

I think to some extent you just have to see it as a phase and not ever leave them anywhere genuinely dangerous. Do you have a play pen or similar for when you really have to turn your back? We have a jumperoo which still keeps DS entertained enough and safe while we do essential jobs.

[edwardrocks]

Good to know we're not the only ones. We have the travel cot downstairs but he does wail when he's in that. We have a push a long walker but he doesn'tlike it. Dd didn't walk til 17 months then just stood up and walked properly - sure we'll get used to it.

[EBDteacher]

Maybe get something like this cheap at an NCT sale or the like (if you have space- we barely do). Keeps him busy enough fo 15mins at a time for some other job to get done .

www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&xhr=t&q=jumperoo&cp=7&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=622&wrapid=tljp1309033947488012&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12607197311658931336&sa=X&ei=lEYGTtW-KcWahQf367DCDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFAQ8wIwAA#

[DoMeDon]

Door bouncer is a good one too- build up leg muscles and maybe give him some upright time without head bump danger.

[edwardrocks]

Thanks ladies. Had a bit of a bad Mummy day today. Dh is away and ds now has a bump and graze on his head. I also scraped the car today while ds and dd were screaming in the back. The elastics I had sewn on to dds ballet shoes werenot up to standard and teacher thought she should share this with everyone. Sorry for rant.

[DoMeDon]

We all have those days - although dance teacher was a caaah!! His falling is just part pf learning- have a

[Antidote]

I have one of these. 8mo ds has been cruising for less than a week and is covered in bruises, including one on his cheek which looks like a smudge of soot!

I am literally growing a third arm and eyes in the back of my head. Lord knows what he'll be like once he's walking

[edwardrocks]

Having wine. Making me feel better. Was so smug with dd. "Those parents really should supervise their children properly" etc

[DoMeDon]

Ah that's it then - payback

[Ozziegirly]

I'm glad to read these stories. 10 month DS is cruising and when he gets distracted he falls, but you'll be pleased to hear EBDteacher, that he also used to do that falling flat on his back and hasn't done that for a few weeks now, he has learned to kind of twist and fall like a cat on all fours.

I am dreading him walking though as he likes doing everything at top speed and still manages to fall crawling sometimes as his little legs go too fast for his arms......

[Galena]

DD is just beginning to walk - she's 2 but has recently been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She went for about a week falling flat on her back and bashing her head (cue lots of screaming) but now bends in the middle so she ends up on her bum. Her forward saving reflex has always been pretty good.

One thing I would suggest - at the special needs playgroup we go to we used to sing Humpty Dumpty with them kneeling up between our knees, facing forwards. When we got to 'had a great fall' we'd tip them forwards (obviously holding them to start with) and encourage them to put their hands out to save themselves. It should improve that saving reflex and stop the face-plants.

[edwardrocks]

Thanks Galena. That's a really helpful tip. He hasn't tried to walk at all after his fall yesterday.

[Graciescotland]

I haven't tried this but DH and I were on the verge of getting one just before our 10 mo mastered the art of landing on something other than his head...

www.thudguard.com/?gclid=CLjCisK31KkCFcgm3godgUNLLg

[Icoulddoitbetter]

It's so hard at this stage, as it feels as though you need to watch them every minute (although I still have to do this with my very competent walker as he scales everything and jumps off, sigh). I think once you accept that they are going to fall, and they are going to get scrapes and bruises, it gets easier.
I bought the foam alphabet tiles to put around the edge of my sofa to soften any blows (we have wooden floors) but DS still ended up with several bloody noses.
Even now DS won't put his hands down if he falls if he's distracted. It's just one of the many joys of parenting!

[Fuzzled]

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003ZUXXLA/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1309169401&sr=8-1-spell&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

We got this as it's a walker and a frame too. DS loves it, and it's solid enough for him to haul himself up on. The seat Is good for up to 12kg.
Bruises still happen though - DS looks like he's been rummaging in my makeup bag

[BirdyBedtime]

Prepare for this to go on for a long time. DS spent most of his second year with permanent bruises on his forehead sometimes accompanied by scars! Even at 2.5 he still falls quite often. All I can say is get a big tube of Arnica - it is magic!