9 month old standing up but afraid/can't get down

[luv2rn4fun]

Any tips?

C has been pulling up for a couple weeks now. At first he would sit down (coffee table, crib, stairs, etc). For some reason this week he is really timid and downright afraid to remove his hands to sit down. I have tried encouraging him, holding his hand/helping and showing him it's not a big deal, leaving him to try to figure it out himself, waiting it out before helping him. Nothing seems to work. He did let go of the ottoman yesterday and fell back and cried a little when he hit his head (butt hit first and he rolled back).  He just seems so scared and frustrated...like he knows what to do and how to get down but he's afraid to.  But as soon as I help him down he goes right back up!

[Deleted]

Let him figure it out on his own. I left DS in his crib a lot at that age (I hung out in the room with him), so when he finally let go and fell back he landed on the soft mattress. If he's pulling to standing at the coffee table, put a blanket behind him to catch him. I doubt he's afraid, he's just frustrated that he can't figure out how to let go. It takes time to learn that skill. Just leave him be, he'll figure it out.

[meltoine]

With DS1, I just kept showing him how to bend his knees and fall back on his but until he wasn't afraid anymore. It took about a week.

With DS2 I didn't really show him as intensely, but he figured it out on his own in about the same amount of time.

Moral of the story: it probably doesn't matter what you do or don't do. It's one of those developmental things that just happens.

[pennylane]

DS did this for a little bit. I let him work it out on his own, but if he was getting mad I'd help him down. I wish we could go back to that, because now he is fearless!

[Deleted]

I'm dealing with similar things, Piper can pull herself up on things from sitting but not from crawling. She tries and gets really frustrated. I'm kind of just watching letting her figure it out, and helping a little when she's crawling on me. They'll learn

[undecidedowl]

Practice, practice, practice. Give him lots of opportunities to figure it out. You can show him, but he'll also figure it out on his own in time.

[pescalita]

So take pictures and laugh isn't the answer?

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[luv2rn4fun]

Oct 1, 2015 8:56:23 GMT -5 pescalita said:

So take pictures and laugh isn't the answer?

Too funny and cute!  I love C's look of frustration (and determination)...sometimes you just have to laugh

Thank you ladies!  I know he'll figure it out eventually...it's just weird that he was doing it right away and now all of a sudden it's frustrating to him.  He was timid at first but still able to do it...now he refuses.  Oh well...we'll keep practicing!

[Saudade]

lol pescalita, that's what we do too...and then help them down. It's just too funny.

[luv2rn4fun]

So...it's nap time. He keeps standing up and then screaming because he can't get down. I went in and helped him after 15 minutes (only crying for a couple minutes). He immediately stood back up and is now crying. Do you keep going in or at what point do you just let him figure it out? I guess we'll be spending a ton of time in the crib figuring this out today

ETA:  Nevermind...just went up and helped him again (he was freaking out).  He's now actually trying to fall asleep!