Pulling Up

Updated on July 03, 2013
S.E. asks from Caldwell, NJ
13 answers

My daughter, who just turned 11 months, is just now starting to want to pull up on everything!.. the only things that she can always pull herself up on is the coffee table in our living room and when shes sitting on the floor and grabs onto the side of her crib.. although shes tried on basically everything, it seems like she cant get herself up with anything else.. she cant really grab the couches very well. A little over a month ago I bought her this giant contraption of a toy thinking it would be perfect.. its for all stages, from sitters up to walkers. Its around 3.5 feet tall it has a tower in the middle and then two others on each side of that. it has little ramp like things around it (you know like the kind with hotwheels cars) and a bunch of plastic balls that they can put on any of the ramps and they go around and down to the bottom. its screwed together tightly, believe me I did it my self. but when she pulls up on any part of it it still moves just slightly so she lets go... its not like shes not supposed to, it shows all the little kids in the pictures on the box doing just that...
anyway.. does anyone have any suggestions on toys they bought for their kids that were really great for them to pull up to a standing position on?? .. I don't want to keep buying things that are wobbly or don't work

p.s. the walker I bought for her sucks.. it was great with the seat part in it, but once I took that out and she stands holding onto it, it rolls waaay to fast, it literally slides right out from under her

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M.O.

answers from New York on

She sounds like she's doing great and is right on target for her age. Don't worry about the toy(s). For the next 10+ years you'll be buying her toys that she may or may not like. And then, for another 10+ years, it'll be clothes she won't necessarily like. Please don't treat this as a problem -- it'll cause you all kinds of needless stress if you do, and there's no reason to.

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V.P.

answers from Columbus on

The walking toys aren't meant to help support them - that's why it's not stable. Just let her pull up on furniture and your hands until she's strong enough to balance and take a few steps. I wouldn't give her the walking toys until she's a little more stable on her feet. When my kids were at that stage, though, we did have a Johnny Jumpup for the door frame to help them strengthen their legs.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

She doesn't need anything else besides the couch (and you). Let her be. She'll be walking and running in no time.

3 moms found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I'm not sure I understand your question. As long as she's got the coffee table and crib rails to practice on why does she need anything else? Thinking back that's pretty much what my kids did. Oh and they pulled up on the arms of the sofa, and the kitchen chairs.
Kids don't really need special toys or gadgets to get up and start moving, they just need space and time.

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B.S.

answers from Lansing on

The fact that she is doing it on solid things makes me believe there are no issues. Now if she wasn't doing it at all I'd be a little concerned at 11 months. She might just be a little scared to pull up on when things aren't solidly still.

In a month she will have a Dr's appointment where you can ask them. In the meantime realize at this age, they can start doing something overnight.

2 moms found this helpful

K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

I suggest you not buy anything new to help her, she doesn't really need it, she has all she needs already!

I know this part is so exciting & you just can't wait for her to be walking all around....but....trust me, you can wait!! Time will fly by SO very fast now that you have your baby, you are going to blink and she will be 5 like my last 'baby'!!

Try to enjoy every minute of this stage, there really is NO NEED to help her progress any quicker than she already is! She has the concept down ! She will learn how to trust the couch & the toy you already have, just you watch!

This is your opportunity to slow down time, seize it with both hands!!! Take LOTS of pictures and TONS of videos of this stage and all her future stages & enjoy every minute of it, she will be climbing up onto that same couch before you know it & running circles around that toy!

Trust me on this! I know and can still feel the excitement of not being able to wait until they start to walk...but I promise you, you will want to wait, you just don't know it yet!

It's totally not fair but incredibly true that once you have children, time speeds up!! It's one of life's mysteries...a cruel, cruel mystery!

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O.O.

answers from Kansas City on

Sounds like she's "just about" to "get it"!
Be patient.
Let her pull up with your hands/arms.

Or show her the pictures of the kids on the box? :P

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

She needs more time. Don't worry about the toy. Instead, look for things around the house that are sure to topple over under her weight and remove them from access. (consider, too, shelves and other seriously dangerous wobbly furniture items).

Children, from my observation, generally tend to do better when we don't provide so many interventions. She will get it. She just needs more core strength and muscle development. You really don't want her pulling herself up, anyway, until she has that already.Relax!

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D.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

We had the activity tables. They were perfect for what you are thinking. Legs dig into carpeting a little so the usually don't slide and the little ones love the lights and noises!

1 mom found this helpful

M.B.

answers from Tampa on

I have that same toy for my daughter!!! Love it! When she was like 7 months old I got her one of those leap frog music tables and it really encouraged her to stand because she wanted to see all the cool stuff on top.
Added to fix the toy you described I glued all the tracks and ramps together, and glues them to the poles. It helped! Only bad thing is its never coming apart, so if your planning on selling it or something might be hard

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H.L.

answers from Houston on

My 2yo just pulled up on furniture. Consider this logic: Your little one watches you sit and stand and move around. The furniture that you sit on, the objects that she has already brushed against...she trusts these objects to be sturdy because she's seen them in action. You bring in this new thing that she's supposed to just trust? Part of her learning to walk is her feeling comfortable with her surroundings. You might not notice it, but she's scooting and crawling and making note of what is where and how it feels to her. Maybe it's part security and part mimicking.

I didn't get my son a push toy until he showed interest in pushing something around. That wasn't until he felt pretty balanced on his own. When you're feeling kinda wobbly, do you want to rely on a teetering something with wheels to support you?

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H.C.

answers from Buffalo on

My third child walked at eight months. She had been cruising for a couple of weeks, and one day let go of the shelf that had been supporting her and toddled all the way across the room, with a look of utter astonishment on her face. She didn't walk on her own again until she was 11 months. I think she had been physically ready but not intellectually. Now grown and married, she is an avocational expert at oriental martial arts.

Another child was very resistant to giving up the bottle. The elderly pediatrician, speaking from forty years of experience, advised me not to worry unless she was still on the bottle when she went away to college.

My point is that children vary a great deal in both their physical and intellectual development. If the doctor is satisfied, don't worry. Your daughter will be fine, God willing.

D.D.

answers from New York on

I wouldn't worry about her not having enough stuff to pull herself up on. She'll figure out pretty fast how to pull herself up to stand by the couch or any chairs you have. I have a couple of little tikes plastic chairs left over from when my kids were very young. My 10 month old grand daughter uses those to pull herself up and then she walks along pushing the chair in front of her until she gets to where she wants to go.

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