At what age did you let your child use the stairs on their own?

[laadedaa]

Just for context, my child is 3 years and 2 months old. We still have baby gates on our town house, so 4 gates in total.
At the moment, we NEVER let him use the stairs alone. If walking upstairs, I always walk behind him or hold his hand and walk alongside him. If he's walking downstairs I will go in front and walk backwards so I can watch him, or hold his hand and walk beside him. When out and about I will always hold his hand.

I'm just wondering at what age I should be able to trust him to do it alone and let him have free range of the house?

He does have a slight visual impairment affecting depth perception.

Mine have been roaming the house freely since before 2. Probably more like 18 months to be honest.

There is no age limit, just when you trust them to do it.

And you don't watch them on the stairs? I don't know if I'm being OTT but I get huge anxiety about him falling down the stairs.

**PodgeBod

Mine have been roaming the house freely since before 2. Probably more like 18 months to be honest.**

18 months roaming freely on the stairs?

40 plus- have reassessed as I fell down stairs yesterday!

greendale yes.

Free roam of the house between 18-24 months with sort of an eye on him.

Surely it also depends on number and type of stairs (i.e. carpeted/wood and open or closed tread. Can they reach the handrail?

About two, I think.

I work in a house where they don't have stair gates fitted. The three year old has been going up and down the stairs on his own (to play in his room or bring things downstairs) since he was two (ish? can't really remember when I stopped supervising), the toddler is 15 months old and occasionally follows her brothers upstairs when my back is turned for a minute.
But, they don't have any vision problems and because there are no stair gates they have all been "trained" how to navigate stairs safely since the moment they could crawl.

DS1 is 2+8 and has been going up alone for a few months. We watch him going down although not always with him but it was only a few weeks ago I stopped walking backwards in front of him.

He didn’t walk til 16m though so was delayed.

Since 2 or so he's been roaming the house alone.

Assuming his physical development is normal, monitoring a 3yo on the stairs is way ott. How do you think people with multiple kids manage?

Around 2 totally alone (without insisting on walking behind them).

Stopped holding dc1's hand when I was pregnant with dc2 and my balance was off due to bump, and I fell down the stairs pulling her with me! Luckily none of us, including the future dc2, were hurt. However it brought home to me what a collosal illogical idiot I was, as my toddler was sure footed as a little mountain goat, and my unwieldy pregnant bulk was the risk factor!

We moved when dc1 was 22 months and didn't put stairgates up, but she didn't want to go upstairs alone so I walked behind her for a bit.

We put stairgates up when dc2 was crawling and while we were discussing whether to show 2.5 year old dc1 how to open them she just did - she'd watched us and just opened one and went through it.

Dc3 climbed before he walked and climbed up everything - out of the cot, up bookcases, onto tables and windowsills - and over a stair gate when he was about 16 months so they all came down immediately as they made the stairs more dangerous and tempting.

I let DS climb the stairs with a half eye on him and he is 16 m/o

I don’t know - can’t remember! But it made me think of this poem, one of my favourites:

Beattie is Three
by Adrian Mitchell

At the top of the stairs
I ask for her hand. O.K.
She gives it to me.
How her fist fits my palm,
A bunch of consolation.
We take our time
Down the steep carpetway
As I wish silently
That the stairs were endless.

My dd is 2 and 8 months been letting her walk the stairs with out me behind her for a couple of months.

tbf though I do understand why you still watch him as you said He does have a slight visual impairment affecting depth perception but maybe stop holding his hand as a first step to getting him to start navigating them alone?

My son is 18 months and he’s been going up and down by himself for a while. We’ve never had any stair gates.

About 18 months.

About 2 ish.
The under 2s at the nursery worked at were supported going up and downstairs, the children who were unsteady on their feet were taught to crawl down backwards, the others were expected to walk with an adult stood in front.
But by the time they were in the 2-3 they were able to do it in a line independently.

Im glad my ds was confident on stairs as he started school in September in a primary with stairs.

It was too long ago for me to remember exactly but by the time my eldest was that age I'd had another 2 so no way was monitoring what they were all doing all the time, maybe 18 months ish

About when they turned 2, but if your child has a visual impairment then you aren’t comparing like for like when asking surely?

He didn't walk until he was 17 months. His gross motor skills are currently a few months behind other children his age. He can walk up the stairs but clearly feels more comfortable crawling on hands and knees when going up.

To the PP who mentioned how parents with multiple kids cope- well I don't know because I only have one child, so that's a bit of an irrelevant point really.

At the moment, two of the gates are on his bedroom and playroom. He has free range of the ground floor and top floor (only my bedroom and en-suite there) but can't move between rooms on the middle floor without me.

(& taught to always hold the rail on the way down & fall forwards if they fall on the way up - just basics really)

I honestly can’t remember but I’ve never walked backwards downstairs to help them. When they were really small and started trying to go for the stairs I helped them learn to go up and down on their bottom or crawling backwards whichever their preference was and always went up and down with them. Then holding their hand then them holding the banister. I guess it must have been around two but I think dd was younger but she was taller and could reach the banister and more able sooner than her brothers were.