Baby thinks falling back from standing is a funny game - how do we handle it?

[NeeMee]

My DS is 10 months in a couple of days. He's very strong standing on his feet but he's not cruising furniture or trying to walk yet. But in the last week, we've noticed he will be standing holding on to the sofa, walker or activity table, then he'll smirk, then let go and throw himself backwards which he finds it hilarious. He thinks it's a game now, as every time we stand him up he does it. Obviously we don't want to stop encouraging him to stand, but now he's go this dare devil trait or something we don't want him to hurt himself. We are trying to make him understand that it's not ok to do, by not laughing along with him and say 'No, you don't do that' in a firmer tone but don't think its working. I tried putting pillows behind him but if anything that encourages him more as he loves the soft landing.

Anyone else experienced this and/or has any advice?

Is he actually hurting himself? If not, just leave him to it.

He will do if we're not behind him. Even though the floor is carpeted he has hurt his head on it before, so rather not take the risk.

There’s only 1 way he’ll learn!

That's how he'll learn though. Babies bop their heads all the time, and they're fine.

Mine bonks her head multiple times a day.

I don't think you need to be standing him up more than he pulls himself up. Leave him to it.

Not the advice I was expecting tbh - basically let him hurt himself. He bangs his head enough as it is just crawling and rolling around.

It's stressful, I do get it. It helps to remember that they're much closer to the floor, than we are, so they haven't got far to fall haha.

Not the advice you were expecting but the correct advice. Leave him to it. Its the only way they learn.

My DS did this all the time I just thought it was normal and left him to figure it out himself 🤷🏻‍♀️ x

Don't over worry about all the bumps and scrapes. It just gets worse as they get older 🤣

Mine was cruising the furniture at 8 months and the amount of bumps and bruises he had, I'm surprised people didn't think I was beating him😅 I've got a daredevil too so I empathise

You watch like a hawk and if he could seriously hurt himself you move him

You have to just leave them. If you fuss them in any way it's a positive reinforcement, rather than just learning 'ouch that hurt'.

Falling from standing is safe enough.

Obviously, make sure there are no dangers, e.g. sharp corners on coffee table, or bits of Lego on the floor to bang his head on.
Otherwise, ignore him.
Don't stand him up - let him get himself up.

He’s going to hurt himself much more than this.
Agree, just let him get on with it but don’t stand him up or give it any attention. He’ll move on to something else soon like eating slugs..

You wait until he starts walking and face planting the floor outside. There’s plenty of bruises to come.

Ah hunny welcome to the club of having one of 'those' kids! Distraction could be your new best friend, you hover and when you see that smirk you can pop a toy in front of him on the sofa and start a game or even better grab his hands and start taking a few steps with him, hopefully he will realise learning to walk is a much more fun game! However beware if you have indeed joined the club then you are going to have to learn to relax a bit more and make sure you know alternative routes to GP, minor injuries and A&E! DS5 introduced me to the club and his current favourite is standing half way down the stairs and shouting "mummy I fly" meaning I have to drop what I'm doing and leg it as he barely wants until I'm in his eyeline before jumping! Somehow I've always caught him and no amount of talking about the dangers works as he has zero danger awareness.
You will soon learn which bumps and bangs to react to and which to roll your eyes at and ignore although be aware people that don't know your child like you do may react and dive in to the 'rescue' or judge you for barely sparing a glance because you know your kid is fine lol the advice of let him bump himself isn't what you expected I know, I've been there thinking how the fuck do I keep this kid alive he's fucking crazy!! But you are getting this advice because we have been in the club awhile now and know that you will look fondly back on this post and smile that it was this level of danger you were worried about! Yes absolutely try and distract and avoid the bumps but also relax a wee bit and know part of it is how he is learning and part of it is you have been blessed with one of 'those' kids and its a wild ride and a great adventure!!

At 10 months old he doesn’t understand “no”.

He does understand cause and effect.

So let him pull himself up and figure out if he falls backwards what happens.

They also need to find a safe way of falling too and very often Dom as they start to toddle.

As previous poster mentioned they haven’t got far to fall!

I’m with everyone else - you just let them crack on!

You are not just simply letting him hurt himself for the fun of it. You’re letting him learn the lesson on soft carpet where he will be fine rather than when he starts walking on a much harder floor.

Just make sure there’s no sharp furniture or anything around but a baby falling backwards onto carpet isn’t going to do much damage. He will probably just cry a little from the shock and learn quickly then move onto some other way to get up to mischief. I wouldn’t put pillows down as otherwise it becomes fun.

It really won’t hurt him as much as you’re imagining. He’s much closer to the ground than you are and don’t you remember being a kid and falling over even outside? It only hurt for a minute and then forgotten. I remember falling halfway down some hard metal stairs as a child and just getting up like nothing happened. Not recommending you let him fall down stairs obviously but falling on carpet is fine!

I have tiled floors everywhere plus a baby that started walking at 10 months and did the same thing too.

Foam puzzle mats are your friend.

We also put down blankets and pillows in a lot of places. I had some massive very thick and soft blankets and I put those on the rug (I tucked the ends so it wasn't a tripping hazard) and put pillow on corners and other areas.

It doesn't stop with them throwing themselves backwards. Once they're walking, they trip and fall a lot too.

You can't stop all the bumps but you can prevent some serious ones.

And you just never leave his side I'm afraid. Never ever leave his side unless he's in a his playpen on the foam mat.