Self imposed Baby Gates for Stairs

In our house there are 3 sets of stairs that have only 2 steps each. All 3 are in the upstairs.


Adam learned to go up and down the stairs on those little 2 step stairs. He has gotten great at them.


While he was learning, there were several times where he would fall a little, but when there are only 2 steps, it is pretty hard to get too hurt by a fall. What it did do was teach him a very healthy respect for stairs.





He would climb up the big stairs but until Monday, he had never, ever even attempted to come down the big stairs. Do you know how nice that was??? I could put him upstairs and know that no matter what, he would not come down the stairs. It made the upstairs one giant containment facility.

We did not have to use a single child proof gate.



But then on Monday, the big girls were at school and Madelyn was at Joy school and Adam was the only kid at home (I am not sure that that has ever happened before!), and he was upstairs. I ran downstairs to do something while he was playing when I suddenly heard him squealing and clapping and it sounded close.

There he was at the bottom of the stairs. He proceeded to practice over and over.

But once the girls got home, he would not go on the stairs again. It makes me wonder. . . was he afraid of the stairs ? ? ? or was he afraid of what his big sisters' might do to him on the stairs? ? ? Knowing their many frequent escapades at "motherhood", I can actually understand his thinking.

You know, more and more I am realizing just how smart that boy is!!!! I think he is going to survive his three sisters just fine!