up and down it in safety. To do this, start him at the head of the
stairs, and, you yourself being below him, draw first one knee and
then the other over the step, thus showing him how to creep backward.
Two lessons of about twenty minutes each will be sufficient. The
only danger is creeping down head foremost, but if he once learns
thoroughly to go backward, and has not been allowed the other way at
all, he will never dream of trying it. In going down backward, if he
should slip, he can easily save himself by catching the stairs with
his hands as he slips past.

The child who creeps is often later in his attempts to walk than the
child who does not; and, therefore, when he is ready to walk, his legs
will be all the stronger, and the danger of bow-legs will be past. As
long as the child remains satisfied with creeping, he is not yet ready
either mentally or physically for walking.

[Sidenote: Standing]

If the child has been allowed to creep about freely, he will soon
be standing. He will pull himself to his feet by means of any chair,
table, or indeed anything that he may get hold of. To avoid injuring
him, no flimsy chairs or spindle-legged tables should be allowed in
his nursery. He will next begin to sidle around a chair, shuffling his
feet in a vague fashion, and sometimes, needing both of his hands to
seize some coveted object, he will stand without clinging, leaning on
his stomach. An unhurried child may remain at this stage for weeks.

[Sidenote: Walking]

Let alone, as he should be, he will walk without knowing how he does