What Goes Up Must Come Down

Sometimes even a battle hardened mother of 6 very well behaved children can learn something from the mother of 3 ragedy and wild children. Such a moment happened last month when I was able to share some motherly wisdom with my friend.
Her baby was headed for the stairs and she was lamenting how hard it was to keep track of baby in the new and larger house. I asked her if she had taught baby to go down the stairs yet. She looked at my incomprehensibly and said "What?" I promptly took the baby to the stairs and showed her how to teach the baby to go down the stairs.
I assumed everyone knew this but then I realized, no one taught it to me, I just figured it out, so it makes sense that not every one has thought of it. And so, in the spirit of sharing knowledge I would like give this knowledge to you.

When baby starts trying to climb up the stairs there is no need to panic, there is no need to buy an ugly and/or inconvenient baby safety gate. The lessons are simple:
When the baby starts climbing the stairs stay behind him to spot, if you will. When baby has gone up a few stairs simply pull them down, feet first on his tummy one step at a time, placing his chubby little knees on each step pulling one leg at a time so that he is crawling backward down the stairs. Do this each time baby plays on the stairs. Baby will very quickly figure out that this is how you come down the stairs and will have no need to panic when he finds himself halfway up the stairs or at the top of the stairs wondering where Mom is.

I find this an important safety lesson. NOTHING (except Bruce) can keep a baby away from stairs so you might as well teach them how to use the stairs safely.