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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

Falling over

15 replies

LiamsMum · 14/10/2002 11:26

This might seem a bit trivial but it's got me wondering. My mum takes my 2 yr-old ds to a playgroup once a week, and she commented to me today that ds seems to fall over more than any of the other children. I have also noticed that he tends to trip/fall over quite a lot, but I don't know if it's just because he's always in a hurry or not looking where he's going. He's quite a big kid so maybe he's not very agile..? I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this with their own children, or if perhaps my ds is just a tad clumsy. Thanks..

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Joe1 · 14/10/2002 11:52

My ds tends to fall over alot when he is tired, although he is always running around and tends to trip over thin air. He rode his car down a step the other day.

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SofiaAmes · 14/10/2002 13:10

My 23 mo. old seems to fall over twice as much as any other kid his age, but then again he seems to go twice as fast and be twice as adventurous/fearless.
I wouldn't worry about it.

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SoupDragon · 14/10/2002 13:12

DS2 (19 months) seems to trip over his feet a lot - I think they're a bit on the large size for his little legs!

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Katherine · 14/10/2002 13:17

I think we probably notice more when its one of our own

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Queenie · 14/10/2002 13:35

My dd who just turned two never looks where she is walking or running and is constantly on the floor. My sister looks at her in dismay when we visit and says she's like Norman Wisdom.

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soothepoo · 14/10/2002 14:11

There was a tv programme last year sometime about the developmental stages that children go through - IIRC, at certain times they can appear very clumsy because although they have grown their muscle strength has not developed at the same time, and needs time to catch up. You say your son is quite big, so maybe this is the problem - if so it will correct itself over time.

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jodee · 14/10/2002 19:01

Hi Liamsmum, my ds (2 and a half) is pretty steady on his feet now, but would also end up on the floor most of the time when he broke into a run - he is fairly tall and has big feet too - when he was fitted for new trainers a while back they looked like boats stuck on the end of his legs!

It seemed like his brain was telling him to go faster than his little legs could manage, and this summer his legs have been a mass of bruises most of the time, and wearing shorts there has been nothing to cushion the fall, but he seems to have mastered it now! So I'm sure your ds will get there in the end.

(Off topic - How are things going with dh and his older children - I've been thinking of you and hope you are OK). xx

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tigermoth · 14/10/2002 19:27

Soothepoo, you have just cliked on a light in my brain. Wish I had seen that TV programme about growth spurts. So, clumsyness can be caused by muscles not growing at the same rate as bones can they. Ah ha!

My oldest son definitely fell over more than my younger son at the toddler/pre-schooler stage. Even now (age 8) he falls over his feet more than you'd expect, and as for knocking things over, don't start me on that!!

Now, my oldest ds has been diagnosed with temporaty hearing loss. It is caused by growth spurts. His ear tubes take longer to catch up, so for a few weeks, his hearing sufferes. He also suffered mild reflux (undiagnosed at the time) as a baby. Still complains of a burning, sick sensation at the back of his throat. This is another symptom of his uneven growth. Put simply, his soft tissue does not keep up with his bones....so..... if muscle is also put into the equation, then that might explain his clumsyness? yes? Can anyone comment on this?

Sorry to hijack this thread, but as I said above, my youngest son is markedly less of a faller, and has no hearing problems or reflux.

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robinw · 14/10/2002 22:39

message withdrawn

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zebra · 14/10/2002 23:28

My kids seem to have permanent bruises age 9m-2yo. They seem to fall over all the time... and yet everyone tells me how agile they are.

Probably because they walked early and i blithely let them tackle all sorts of obstacles (stairs, steps) '. The tiny 1yo currently climbs into the baby walker all the time. The boy started climbing into his pram (3' off the ground) when he was 16 months old...

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jasper · 15/10/2002 01:32

liamsmum has he just got new shoes?
I am sure this has been mentioned on mumsnet before. Some of today's styles are quite clumsy with a sort of stitched front so the sole sticks out a bit.

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LiamsMum · 15/10/2002 02:30

Jasper, he hasn't been wearing new shoes, but he tends to wear a particular pair of sandals quite a lot and I guess the tread on them might be wearing a bit thin! I just got home from shopping about half an hour ago, and from the time ds walked in the door, he fell over 3 times in the space of about 5 minutes. I just don't know - maybe clumsiness, maybe a bit of tiredness, who knows... although what soothepoo said about developmental stages is quite interesting.

Jodee, thanks for thinking of me, it's very nice of you. Everything is going ok for now, the boys are trying to get back into a routine without their mother and I think they're finding it quite difficult. The good thing is that the eldest son has now found a job (he hadn't worked for months before his mother died), and he seems to be realising that he has to take some responsibility now. They are still living with their stepfather but we have also being seeing them regularly, and we are doing what we can to make things a little easier for them.

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Ghosty · 15/10/2002 10:22

I think that at 2 all children are at different stages aren't they? My DS was a lot later at walking hence later at running and jumping than a friends little boy who was 3 days younger. But my DS' speech was much better ...

My sister was a clumsy child ... my mum used to say that she used to trip over the flowers in the carpet! It was only later in adulthood that we discovered that a history of very bad ear infections aas a child had caused her to be ever so slightly out of balance ...

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clary · 15/10/2002 12:00

Liamsmum my DS also used to fall over a lot. He's 3+ now but last summer when he was 2 a friend commented on his very scabby knees. We had noticed that he was somewhat knock-kneed and were referred to specialist at hospital; he said don't worry about it, it's really common, and corrects itself as the child grows up. But he did say that DS also had very soft ligaments (not very technical term!) which means he is very bendy and could be linked to the knock-knees. Also a tendency to flat feet. Again, nothing to worry about, esp as he is walking/running fine, but the doc did ask us if he fell over a lot. Anyway, a year on and his legs are much straighter, and he hardly ever falls over, certainly nothing like as much. Don't want to alarm you Liamsmum as this may not apply to your DS at all (and in any case is not alarming - no treatment needed), but some of the other posts on this thread suggest that there sometimes is a reason (ear infections etc) for a lot of falls. Might just be worth asking doc/HV if you are worried. We were certainly reassured. HTH.