Living in a two storey home with toddler for 1st time??!

[BedtimeTales]

Already posted random questions about living in a house and here's another one. I've just moved from a flat to a two storey house with our 21 month old. I'm a SAHM. She's really heavy -top percentile -and already my back is done in from the stairs and the effort of closing stair gates with one hand whilst holding her. The stairs are steep and cottagey and she's not competent enough to climb up or down without falling.

I also feel sad as she used to run freely in and out of her room and the living room and now she's got to be in one or the other. It feels hard knowing how to help her have freedom and feel free. She's seeming frustrated with the set up.

She's at that age where she's not really able to be left unsupervised but still wants to do everything. Every time I need the loo I have to interrupt whatever she's playing and carry her upstairs and bolt the door with us both in the room as there are stairs in between the stairgates by the bathroom if you see what I mean. In our old flat I could keep the bathroom door open and still see her.

Lots of people live in houses with toddlers perfectly comfortably I'm certain. What can I do differently and how to you manage day to day?

Do you have a playpen?
Maybe an afternoon teaching her to go up and down stairs would be well spent.

Teach her to come downstairs on her bum. And up on hands and knees.

Stairgate at bottom and top of stairs so she stuck on one floor.

You adjust!

Teach her how to go up and down the stairs safely (i.e. sliding down on her tummy or her bum). Put her down before closing the stairgate, instead of doing it one handed.

Put the stairgate on another room instead of the bottom of the stairs (i.e. we had ours on the living room door instead of the bottom of the stairs).

I’d start by teaching her how to go up and down the stairs.
The sooner she starts practicing, the sooner she’ll get the hang of it.

We also used to have a safety gate on the living room door, so that if I needed to pop to the loo I could leave the DC in the living room and not have to worry about them getting to the stairs.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Teach her to come downstairs on her bum. And up on hands and knees.

Stairgate at bottom and top of stairs so she stuck on one floor.

You adjust!

This! We have a townhouse and taught our DD to 'bum shuffle' - she still does it now a year later 😊

How long do you usually take in the loo? Can you not just leave her downstairs and close the staircase behind you while you go for a quick wee?

Could you teach her to safely climb the stairs and then bum shuffle down them? Obviously under your supervision. Practice with her and she'll get it in no time. Even if it's just going up, it would save your back 50% of the time!

Do you have anywhere safe to place her in the living room when you need the loo? Like a playpen or travel cot? That way you can place her in there with the toy she was playing with whilst you aren't there for a few minutes.

Thanks. The bum shuffle is a good idea. The stairs come directly into the living room so there's nowhere else to put the stairgate. There's also an open door to the kitchen without a door so I worry about leaving her downstairs while I go up, even for a quick wee!

My child is not one who would tolerate a pen of any kind!

We moved from a flat to a house with a 22 month old and 5 month old. I remember how difficult it was to get used to being on two levels. Definitely teach the toddler to do the stairs, it will make a big difference.

Whaaat this is crazy?? My nearly 2 year old has been going up and down the stairs by herself for nearly a year! She has 3 older sisters and she needs to keep up with them! She’s allowed to go anywhere she wants - generally plays downstairs but sometimes in her room and I can hear the baby monitor

My DD has been going up and down on hands and knees/bum for ages! She still likes to go down on bum now at home even though she can walk down fine as it's apparently more fun But yes, def teach bum shuffle or going down backwards! That's how we taught DD originally, not the 'normal' way.

@Matilda1981

Whaaat this is crazy?? My nearly 2 year old has been going up and down the stairs by herself for nearly a year! She has 3 older sisters and she needs to keep up with them! She’s allowed to go anywhere she wants - generally plays downstairs but sometimes in her room and I can hear the baby monitor

Ok, good for you! It's not "crazy" when my DC has only ever known a flat. Not everyone lives in houses.