How do I get them to just walk up the stairs?

[rattling]

I have 2.9yo twin boys and we live on the second floor of a tenement (so 100 year old, slightly worn out, spiralling stone steps - not the place to be messing about).

I need to get them to walk up, either just ahead of me by themselves, or holding my hand. They are perfectly capable, spend one day a week at my parents going up and down stairs for fun, and were getting pretty good here when it was more of a challenge. Now they insist on being carried. And I have no alternative, so stick 15kg of boy under each arm and stagger up 42 uneven steps with no hand left for me to hold on with. It scares me and that makes me angry with them.

If I leave one he'd probably start following us. I mostly try enthusiastic coercion, but just as one starts playing along the other has a strop and everything becomes negative again.

I have methods I should employ more often to make the whole thing safer (sling/harnessing one into the buggy while I get the other upstairs/try harder to sell flat and move), but really I just want them to walk up!!!

"Whoever walks up the most carefully while holding on to the rail and without mucking around gets a jellybean!"
Or, if you're anti-sweets, 'gets to choose the first book we read before bedtime'...
Competition surely works?

DS does this (2.4) when I've got DD. He genuinely is tired sometimes though so maybe thats why they want carrying? I just say no and wait until he starts going up (he used to kick off at first so I just waited until he was done). When he's tired he'll stop a lot so I just wait for him. Sometimes though if I'm in a rush or annoyed I'll pick him up even though I also have DD in the sling too!

But bribery works too - eg you can have a chocolate biscuit usually works

Sing a song "here we go up the stairs, up the stairs, up the stairs" to the tune of here we go round the mulberry bush.

Works for me.

Otherwise, competition for who gets a jellybean is a great idea!

Thanks for the replies. This is am issue when we are going home, so usually tired and hungry, I do appreciate that.

Sadly, I have one of the least competitive boys known, he won't do a thing just because someone else does. The other will compete, but if competing to get up the stairs isn't on offer he'll compete to be the whiniest.

They are also a bit hopeless at delayed gratification - so the idea that there are sweets available upstairs, but they have to do something to get them just adds to the hysteria.

However, waving a small biscuit in front of them worked wonders last night. I got them up to the first landing, we had a picnic then up another set for another small snack.

This is all giving me flashbacks to the first horse I owned - at first I had to tempt him out the field with 1/4 of a polo every couple of steps. Five years later he would happily follow me anywhere without a headcollar (and no treats). Sadly I have to keep reminding myself horses are so much easier to train than toddlers.

How about a sweet/biscuit at the bottom and then at the top- similar to what you did really? I think it won't be long before they do it/you can bribe them- my DD (3.3) is very open to bribes these days . She also does quite well if I say very matter of fact "I can't carry you, you're too heavy and I've got a bad back" (was the case for a while!!!).