Why is My Child Falling All the Time?

As a concerned caregiver, you may wonder why your child seems to be falling ALL the time. If they are in the “toddler” stage of development, that’s what your little one is going to do...toddle, which means to walk with short, unsteady steps. It is only natural for them to fall frequently. As a child learns how to control and coordinate their body for walking and running, they improve their confidence in their abilities to do so without falling so frequently.

Think about it, do you remember when you were a kid running too fast on the playground or black top? All the sudden your hands and knees hit the ground and were scraped up. This is a natural part of development. Children also learn through this that when they fall, their body’s natural reflexes will protect them by putting the arms out to catch them.

Why is My Child Falling All the Time?

When your child is learning to walk, it is normal for them to fall frequently or experience sudden loss of balance. They are learning how to gain more confidence in their movements. If your child is falling all the time during play, there can be numerous reasons for this including lack of coordination, low muscle tone, lack of attention to surrounding and changing surfaces, trying to keep up with peers, or even if they have recently received new shoes or have on shoes that are too tight, they are more likely to fall. However, if you are very concerned about your child’s gross motor (large muscle) skills and frequent falls, please consult your child’s primary care doctor.

When Should My Child Start Walking & Running?

Most children begin walking around 12-15 months of age and run around 18-24 months as they become more confident in their gross motor movements and balance. When a child first begins walks, they will widen their base of support by having a large stance and put their arms out to steady themselves, often called a high guard position. Children usually require about 2-3 years of walking and running to become completely confident in these abilities.

Consider this though: The average 2 years old falls 38 times a day!

Gross Motor Milestones: Toddler Years

12 Months:

• Pull to stand
• Walks while holding onto furniture (cruising)
• Takes 2-3 steps without support

15 Months:

• Walks independently
• Can squat and stand back up (may fall over)
• May begin walking up and down steps holding your hand

18 Months:

• Begins to run but falls easily

2 Years:

• Walks well
• Squats down to pick up toys with less frequent falling
• Beginning to run more steadily
• Can jump with both feet
• Can climb up stairs without holding your hand, uses railing for support
• Can kick a ball
• Imitates standing on one foot

3 Years:

• Confident in running and walking abilities
• Able to kick a rolling ball
• Balances on one foot for a few seconds
• Catches balls using whole body
• Imitates simple movements
• Pedals a tricycle
• Walks up/down stairs with alternating feet

Red Flags for Gross Motor Development:

• Your child is not meeting these gross motor milestones
• Your child appears to “walk funny”
• Your child prefers to walk on their toes vesus with flat feet
• Your child falls down extremely frequently past age 3
• Your child appears to be in or complains of pain
• Your child appears to be regressing developmentally

What Might Be Some Reasons for Frequent Falling?

Please consider these factors when trying to determine the cause of your child’s falls:

• New/Old shoes: When a child is becoming use to new shoes, they may seem less stable when navigating their environment. On the contrary, if a child’s shoes are becoming too tight for them, this may also be contributing to their stability when running resulting in frequent falls
• Visual Difficulties: Toddlers do not have the best control of their movements and are considered to be farsighted, meaning that they may not always notice when they are about to collide with something close up or be paying attention to it. However, try to notice if they tend to over or undershoot when stepping on stairs or uneven surfaces or when picking toys/objects up as this may indicate visual difficulties and the need to visit an opthamologist.
• Changes in Surface: Try to notice what type of surface your child seems to be falling on most frequently. Are they running on the grass or sidewalk and falling? OR are they navigating more complex surfaces such as sand, mud, or moving from one surface to another (sand to grass)?
• Body Awareness Difficulties: This is your child’s sense of where they are in the world in relation to other objects/people. A child who has difficulty with body awareness appears to be extremely clumsy, bumping into things constantly, has a difficult time grading how much force to use, and will have difficulty controlling their large muscle movements.

What If My Child Does Not Put Their Hands Out When Falling?

For most children, the natural reaction to falling forward, sideways, or backwards, is to put their arms out to catch themselves. This occurrence is a sustained reflex called the parachute reflex, which develops around 8-9 months of age and protects us from harm when falling as we break our fall with our hands instead of hitting our head on the ground.

What is the Parachute Reflex?

The parachute reflex can be elicited readily by ten months of age when the baby is held upright and quickly tilted towards the floor face first. Their innate reaction is to extend both arms forward towards the surface as if to break their fall.

Testing the Parachute Reflex

If you want to test if your toddler has this reflex you can, 1. Watch them next time they fall and note if their parachute reflex kicks in or 2. Position them in kneeling on a soft surface such as a rug, have them close their eyes, and push them softly but quickly forward to determine if their arms extend to protect them. Please make sure they are safe throughout this process and not at risk of hurting themselves.

Safety in the Home and Community

• Childproofing: Make sure to protect your toddler from sharp edges on counters and tables with padding, plug up any outlets, get rid of dangling cords and curtain strings, and close doors and drawers when not in use to make high places unaccessible. Also use safety gates as needed at the top and bottom of staircases to prevent stair falls.
• Avoid Hard Play Surfaces: Try to avoid your child playing on hard surfaces such as brick, concrete, and tile to prevent harmful falls.
• Don’t Overreact: Try not to make a big deal of your child falling down. They need to get the message that it’s okay to explore and fall down but we pick ourselves back up. If you yell or run to your child after they fall everytime, they may become fearful of falling, which can limit play exploration
• Free the Footsies: Have your child go barefoot, especially in the house so that they can have good traction but also feel the different textures of the flooring on their feet, which improves their tactile (touch) processing to their body.

Remember that your toddler is always growing! This means that their body is constantly changing and trying to regain their center of balance with added weight or height. Development can be a struggle for some toddlers. If you concerned about your child falling frequently, lack of body awareness, or their safety awareness, please contact your pediatrician for further support. Thanks!

Best,

Sarah

Resource:

Lephart, K. (2014, Jan 9). Toddlers Weeble, Wobble, & Fall Down- When is it cause for concern?. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/2014/01/09/toddlers-weeble-wobble-and-fall-down-when-is-it-cause-for-concern/