Confused about baby standing

[zxcvbnn]

My baby will stand up whilst holding onto the sofa, but doesn’t know how to sit back down again. I tend to hover behind and catch him as he falls back, as I don’t want him to hurt himself by landing too hard on his bum. But how will he ever learn to sit back down on his own?

I let DD2 drop down until she learned to be more controlled. She never cried once and now she can do it properly. The only time she cries is if she’s hurt her head on something. Then we have cuddles and I set her off again. She’s exploring what she can and can’t do.

Adults are further away from the floor than babies.

Children hurl themselves all over the place. Diving across things, bouncing from door frames on the way out to the playground. Adults don't.

Start employing the 'you're ok' method. Wait at ,east three seconds after any fall before moving a muscle or saying a word. Then if they are actually hurt they let you know. If you start scooping them up in those initial three seconds when they are surprised by what's happened they are reacting to your behaviour and they assume they were in danger. So they cry.

You've got loads of falls to come, try not to worry. Bums have padding for a reason!

Sometimes when they fall, they get a fright rather than hurt.
Don't over think it.

When you try to sit on a low seat.. you employ your spatial awareness...learned over time.. you tense your muscles..so if its even lower than you thought - its is a bit of a jolt.. all this happens without you thinking about it..
A baby doesnt have this experience/awareness...so when they are learning to sit down by themselves they are completely relaxed.. so no damage will be done and will soon learn the technique..its actually a quite complex process.. measuring distance and the right amount of folding and bending and tensing of different muscles.. and experience and practice is the best teacher...
So make it safe..a couple of cushions.. and even join in yourself to demonstrate there is nothing to be afraid of!! But relax..he is padded and learning.. and the 3 second rule mentioned above is a great idea..hold on to that one for the next 20 years...

This is the first of many terror trips as a Mum😃😃

He will definitely learn, whether you hover around with cushions or not. How many 18 year olds do you know who never learnt to sit down?

If it makes you feel better, put down some padding, but he will be fine either way

You will become amazed at how, pretty soon, they’ll be hurling themselves off things and falling over left right and centre and be absolutely fine.

Unless you’re the same height as a toddler it’s not the same as an adult falling backwards.

The impact force won’t be proportional either because they only have a fraction of the mass and are falling a fraction of the distance so they don’t build up much ‘speed’ by the time they hit the floor like you would.

Unless things are uncomfortable for them they won’t learn what to do. It’s by rolling around and falling over that they learn. Like tummy time, it’s not that nice hence helps them improve stomach muscles because they want to leave that position.

If he cried the first time, it was probably the shock of falling. My DD was the same, even cried when mastering rolling over. It’s more the shock than anything else. My DD used to just plop down on her bum, cried a few times doing it but I just let her figure it out and now she’s hurling herself all over the place.

You have to let them fall - it's part of learning. My 1 year old (July birthday) is covered in bruises from his adventures. He's constantly bashing into things, falling over and just being a baby. He can't walk yet but loves pushing his walker around at great speed. All of this is fun for him.
Sometimes there are tears and of course there are big cuddles and reassurance but most of the time he just lays there looking shocked for a few seconds and then he's back to the next daft thing.
Try not to worry too much, there's a reason babies a soft and squishy. If you try to protect them from everything, including their natural development, you will raise an anxious child

Are you really worried that he's never going to learn to sit down?

I've never met an adult who can't sit down, so I'm pretty sure he'll be fine!

The impact force won’t be proportional either because they only have a fraction of the mass and are falling a fraction of the distance so they don’t build up much ‘speed’ by the time they hit the floor like you would.

@FTEngineerM oh that’s what I was worried about, that proportionally it was the same as an adult falling. I feel better after reading your post, thank you!

I’ve just been practising standing with DS - he’s now getting upset because he wants to sit down from standing position but can’t figure out how.

Just leave him to figure it out. He might cry with frustration but that will spur him on to learn.

That's how they learn op ,you are doing him no favours and will delay him

Honestly OP, the toddler years are absolutely chocked full of falls, bangs, cuts, grazes, bumps etc.

My DD is 3.5 and still falls over or bumps herself (with floods of years) about 5 times a day.

It is hard to watch as a mother, especially when they are just learning to toddle, but you do sort of get used to it and they are learning as they go.

Yep, leave him to figure it out - if it hurts at all he will be more and more careful each time until he has it sussed :)

I’ve just been practising standing with DS - he’s now getting upset because he wants to sit down from standing position but can’t figure out how.

He will figure it out if you leave him to it. A few tears is nothing to worry about, it's quite common for small infants to cry when frustrated at learning a new skill.

I have hard floors and at that age bought a load of those interlocking foam tiles to cushion things a bit. That is how they learn though, let them get on with it

My DD2 keeps trying to crawl off the bed or the sofa face first. I’ve shown her turning around and going feet first instead and she mostly does that now. We went to soft play and she went to crawl off face first. I let her because it’s the softest landing she’s going to get. She was startled but didn’t cry and just sorted herself out. She’s a quick learner because I mostly just let her work it out.

Landing hard on their bums won't cause damage, that's how they learn. And it's why they have such cute squishy bums 😭

DD does this all the time amongst various other rolling over falls, she's v dramatic though.

Aslong as they don't fall and bump their heads or face it should be ok x

@zxcvbnn

I just keep thinking that if we as adults fell back like that, it would be really quite painful and would probably result in a bruised coccyx!

But babies are only a foot tall and wear what is essentially an arse pad!

Also aslong as floor is soft should be fine x

I wouldn't worry about him crying when he fell, he was probably crying because he wasn't standing up anymore not because he hurt himself.

@zxcvbnn

So I literally just leave him to fall backwards and land really hard on his bum?!

He's landing on his bum??!!! That's sitting!!! I thought he was falling on his head!!

When he starts to walk it'll be his head rather than his bum

He's landing on his bum??!!! That's sitting!!! I thought he was falling on his head!!

I know, but it wasn't a controlled sit - more like falling backwards fast and landing flat on his bum, hitting the ground quite hard.

Just leave him to figure it out. He might cry with frustration but that will spur him on to learn.

Is this honestly what everyone else is doing then? I feel so clueless!