Three Year Old Doing Full Flight of Stairs by Self

My son was doing the stairs unassisted since he was just over 2.

Window guards are a great idea!

I have exactly 13 steps in my house and my 2 yr old daughter has been doing them for awhile...are they carpeted? I think you are being a big worry-wort as far as the stairs are concerned....but the windows I agree with you about. Maybe you should buy her some window guards?

It depends on the child! My son was doing stairs since 2 y/o and at 3 can alternate feet on the stairs. BUT we still supervise him at all times. All it takes is one time for a kid to tumble!
I am with you on safety!

Three is definitely old enough. Let your daughter parent her child. I'm sure she has a good handle on it. Just grin and only offer your advice when asked. It can cause a strain in your relationship if you nag her too much about her parenting. Also, if there is a danger with the windows, I'm sure your daughter will do what is necessary to keep her child safe. We moms like to keep our children safe. :) We tend to want to keep them around, you know? LOL

If your grand daughter can go up and down the stairs on her own then I wouldn't worry about it too much. She's old enough. And if she can't, give her 5 minutes of practice and she will figure it out! All 5 of my kids were doing it by age 2 with no problems. Could she fall? Sure she could, but then again so could anyone no matter what age. More adults fall down the stairs then children. Make sure there is a railing and nothing on the stairs to trip her up and she should have no problem. BTW In most states if your daughter is renting, the landlord is required to have a railing on all stairs, at his cost.

The windows are a different story. If you or your daughter can't afford window guards there is a simple and very inexpensive way to make open windows safe. Simple hammer a large nail in the window sash at the level you want the window to stop opening. Do not hammer the nail all the way in though. Let it stick out about an inch or so. You want it to stick out so it stops the window. The great thing about this is the nail can be removed or pounded in all the way with no damage to the sash if and when she moves. I did this to all our upstairs windows. Put the nail about 4 inches above the lower window. This way the window can only be opened 4 inches. No problem! None of my kids were able to fit thru the 4" space and yet the window was open enough to let the air in the room. And the child can not pull the nail out without knowing how to use a hammer. If you don't want to use a nail, a long screw will work just as well.

My daughter turned 3 in August and has been doing the stairs by herself for a while. They are carpeted so chances of her slipping are minimal. As for the windows, you can always offer to buy the guards yourself and have them installed.

Considering how few safety measures were in place back when we were kids, compared to today, I am amazed that any of us survived - LOL! :)

She is well old enough to go up and down the stairs just fine. All three of my children were well able to do it before 2 so I wouldn't worry about that. Just be sure she has some sort of light at night so she can see what she is doing at night.

I would however worry about the windows at any young age. There is a false sense of security with screens and kids will always lean on them if they can to look out then fall out. What we do at our house is just make sure there is no furniture under the windows that give the child opportunity to get to the windows in the first place (e.g. beds, dressers, etc.). Kids will ALWAYS want to look out and possibly fall out. If there is no choice and a window has to be above a piece of furniture that kids can climb up on then there does need to be some sort of bars on the windows or even make sure the windows are not open enough for the kids to fit through.

Good luck.

The stairs don't bother me, but this depends on the child. I would probably put in a night light for night time, if possible, or leave some light on. Have you witnessed your granddaughter doing the stairs in question. Is she good at them? My kids both were good with stairs, so we never had an issue with them.

The windows are a problem! and this has nothing to do with age. I have a firm rule in my house, that windows must be opened from the top. We have double hung windows, and when you open them, you have to pull the top shash down, and make sure the bottom sash in firmly in contact with the window sill (that is my rule). Does that make sense? The air will come and go at the top, which is too high for anyone to fall out of. They do make safety guards for windows. You could always buy them some, and pay to have them installed, if the landlord agrees.

Dunno about being an old fashioned grandma or not, 'cause my grandmother would've laughed if you mentioned window guards or half the safety devices we have to protect kids now'days ;-)

My daughter has been climbing (concrete) stairs since she was old enough to walk and independently going up and down them (without holding hands, etc. since she was about 2 years old). So no your little granddaughter is not too young to use the stairs alone. Steep flights of stairs can be scary, but if there's a railing it's better. Carpeting, wooden stairs, short flights, landings etc can make stairwells easier to maneuver. Just make sure there is nothing dangerous to fall on at the bottom of the stairs (more for bigger kids who decide to fly down the stairs instead of actually walking down them though :D)

On the windows, consider the height of them. If they are low enough to look out, but not lean out, they are probably OK for your granddaughter to learn about window safety. If they are lower than her waist (ie easily walked out of or easy to fall over the sill) your granddaughter needs to learn proper window safety NOW--consider adding window guards as a precaution. HOWEVER if the windows are above your granddaughter's head, where she'll get curious to climb up (on stools, furniture, etc.) and look out of the windows, get some window guards now, even if you have to splurge for them.

That said I live on the fourth floor of a concrete apartment house and the one window my daughter loves to look out of has no window guard and is too high for her to look out of from ground level, which means that she climbs up on something to see out.

The key is to teach her what is ok to use (stool, chair, toybox) and what is not ok (back of the sofa, desk, her table) and why (they are too high, so her center of gravity is higher up than the window sill, making it easy to fall out).

We have stairs in our townhouse and have a daughter who was 2 1/2 when we moved in. I was concerned too, but we decided to see how she did. We asked the landlord to install hand rails and she has done very well. The only time she has fallen at all has been when she doesn't hold the rail and she only slid two stairs. To be honest, my husband has fallen more than she has. LOL I understand your feelings, I am very protective of my daughter. But, she is fiercely independent and strong willed, so she often shows me that she can do far more than I think. LOL I'm not sure about at night and being sleepy. That may be a concern, but the only way to know is to give the girl a chance to see how she does during the day and go from there. Good luck!

They are definitely old enough to be going up and down the stairs. Window guards are a good idea but as I am sure you know, we didn't have window guards growing up- maybe if you offered to buy and install them?

Mine is that old and he can. Every child progresses differently. It depends on how steep the stairs are, if there is a good safety rail low enough for the child, if they are solid and carpeted are safer then if they are hard floor and have open slots between each step. It also depends if the child is used to the stairs. We've lived on the 3rd floor my entire children's lives, so they've mastered stairs before many of their peers the same age.

As for the open windows and having to go downstairs to the restroom at night, the window thing would bother me, window gaurds would be a good option... or better yet, how about a ceiling fan, or plug in oscillating fan so the windows won't be open?

I would assume there are going to be a well lit hallways and stairs/ with a night light. I'm frankly surprised there is no bathroom on the second floor.

it really depends on the child. we lived in apartments (none on ground level) until my son turned 3 1/2, and he walked at 9 months so i was soooo happy when he could go up the stairs himself while i carried groceries or whatnot. but those were outside stairs and we were always right with him. on another angle, does she have any choice? (as far as the windows maybe help her devise a safety plan). good luck. i'd be a bit worried too...

My 3 yr old has been going up and down the stairs by himself for a while now. The window would make me a little nervous I would suggest to her if that she is going to open the windows that she open them from the top. We did this before the kids because our cat fell out the window she was fine and it was only the first floor but it was enough to make us nervous. We have a ranch style home now so the windows don't really concern me anymore plus its a newer home and the start of the window is shoulder level to my youngest he'd have to put a lot of effort in to climb out or fall out.

I agree that it depends on the child and her level of coordination. My son was doing them on his own way before that, but he also was always around stairs from the time he started crawling, we let him practice a lot so that he would be able to do it on his own and be safe. You can't always keep them away from everything dangerous. The only way to know is to watch her on the stairs a few times and remind her to use the hand rail. Also, keep in mind that even if she is very good at the stairs slips can still happen and usually no one is hurt that badly, especially children who fall all the time.

I think the stairs are fine, she can just leave a light on at night, instruct the little one to come and get her or put up a night light. I know my three year old comes and gets me first before he does anything else when he wakes up at night, but my son navigates stairs with no problem. The windows, big problem. She needs to get online and find whatever safety stuff is needed for windows. So I think maybe you could even look into it and just tell her about all the cool safety stuff you found, maybe email her a link or two and then let it go. Good luck!!

She needs window guards, but given that the weather is turning colder, I'd imagine they'll only be open a crack nowadays - she won't have to worry about it hopefully until next summer. But as other posters have said, she'll do just fine on the stairs. If she's getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, your daughter can always just leave the light on in the stairwell.

You GD is definitely old enough to do the steps unassisted. All 3 of our children were doing our split-level set of 20 steps before they reached 18 months by themselves.

The windows are a different story. Glo offers the same advice I was going to concerning how to handle that situation cheaply and affectively.

She's been old enough for about a year now.

My 21 month old can safely navigate stairs on her own, so I imagine a 3 yr old could. A night light is a good idea. As for the windows, something is needed for safety. It is wonderful that you are such a caring Grandma. I would calmly talk it over with your daughter after doing some research for the windows online, etc. I would just caution you to remember that as much as you love that little one, I am betting that she loves her just as much and doesn't want her harmed. Communication is the best skill to have. Good luck!

the window thing would concern me, but not the stairs... my 19 month old has been doing our stairs on her own for awhile now...

The upper level windows scare me to death! Those should NOT be open, able to be opened or else have extremely secure guards on them. The stairs are no biggie as long as she can go up and down stairs. Have you seen her climb stairs? My sons have been climbing flights of stairs since before their 2nd birthdays. My youngest and the oldest needed a little assistance going downstairs when really young, but not much. Most little kids will sit on their butts and go down if they're not comfortable walking. Do something about that window situation though!

Most definitely that is old enough. My children were doing it without assistance before 2.

My 1 year old goes up and down the stairs by herself. My middle child did it before he was 1. Stairs should not be an issue for a 3 year old. I'd be more concerned about open 3rd floor windows.

My 21 month old can go up stairs on her own and down with supervision and she was a very late walker (between 17 and 18 months). My son walked early and was doing the stairs by around 18 months. 3 is not too young unless there is something especially dangerous about those stairs. I don't feel comfortable with my younger one on open backed stairs or ones with no railing. You can buy a lower bar that can be attached to an adult size railing.

She is old enough to go up and down the stairs unaided , my 2 yr old does it and has been for a few months now , I would have some concerns about windows being open on the upper level , but that depends on the child , if she is anything like my son at that age , I could tell him "do not go near/touch that because it's dangerous" and he never did , my daughters however did not the same and they had to find out why they couldn't touch or go near.

We have a flight of 17 stairs in my house and my 14 month old can navigate them. My oldest was doing them at 2 all by herself. As long as your granddaughter is taught the proper way to go up and down she'll be fine.
Have your daughter open the windows from the top if she can.

my son just turned 3 in July. He is very good at going up and down stairs. We don't have stairs in our home, but our friends do and he is very good at it. Windows do make me nervous. You can buy some window guards (not cheap though) at onestepahead.com. But, as long as the windows are high enough (not ground level) then it should be ok. Just tell her to not put any furniture next to the window so her daughter can't climb on it and fall out

Three years old is fine to go up and down the stairs. The windows are
another issue. Since the cooler weather is coming make sure the windows
are locked. Summertime is another issue. Windows scare me I guess
because my husband is a police officer and my sons firefighters.

I think 3 yrs is plenty old enough to do the steps by herself. My girls did at 3. I would worry about using them at night alone though. Children often aren't awake enough in the middle of the night to go up/down the steps alone. As for the windows, I never used guards, but our windows are placed where they really weren't accessable in a way where the girls could get into them. If these windows are low or the 3 yr old could get into them, she might want to consider guards. At 3 I was able to reason with my older daughter. I could tell her to stay away from something and she would. My younger one was not quite as reasonable. Good luck!

I think window guards are important or opening the windows from the top. As for stairs, yes, 3 year olds go up and down stairs without assistance. When my son was 3, he had free range to roam the house and was up and down the stairs thoughout the day. Three year olds don't need to bother mom or dad constantly to walk them up and down stairs When the youngest was out of his crib, we did gate the top of the stairs at night.

The stairs are fine; the windows should be closed and locked or else they need bars on them to prevent a child from falling out. A screen won't do. Maybe get the kind that open from the top. The stairs are no big deal. Three is way old enough.

My little boy turned 3 in July and he won't even let me help him on the stairs. He does great on them--the windows are definitely a concern--but it's all about finding a balance between concern and meddling so be kind and thoughtful in about how you broach this with your daughter.

I think at night you would have to be careful and make sure there is lighting if she's getting out of her bedroom by herself, but I have two and a half year old twins and their bedroom is upstairs and they walk up and down by themselves with no problem at all. So I think a 3 year old would be more than fine to do stairs by herself.

We have 2 full flights of stairs and my boys have been navigating them easily since they were 3. Just make sure you have handrails installed and teach them about safety on the stairs. ie: hold on to the handrail, take them one at a time, no running or jumping, ask for help if your hands are full, etc.

My daughter has been doing stairs by herself since she was 2. My son turned 2 in May and he does the stairs by himself. We took the gates down awhile ago. I guess it depends on how used to them they are. We have always had stairs, so my kids grew up doing them. My son started walking at 9 months old and even though we didn't let him do the stairs by himself at that age (OBVIOUSLY), he has been doing it with help since then and mastered that skill earlier than kids that don't have stairs at home to practice on.

As for the upstairs windows. Those should always be locked and even have alarms if there is ANY indiction that the kids would try to open them. Make sure there are lots of night lights in the hallways and at the top and bottom of the stairs so there is some light in case she needs to go down when it's dark. You can always install baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs if there is concern, but at 3 years old, with some practice, stairs should be no problem.

We moved to a 2 story house when my daughter was 2 1/2. I was very nervous about the stairs but had to let her learn to do it on her own. She never did fall any distance. still worry and remind her how to be safe, she is almost 4. The only way she will learn is to do it.