Fall For Life

One of the most dangerous obstacles that a child will undertake while growing up, is FALLING. Whether it be falling from a chair, or simply toppling over while learning to walk.
As dangerous as it may seem, this falling over stuff is one of the most important lessons that they will learn, not just as a baby, learning to sit upright, but right through to the end of toddlerhood. It is also very important for the adult for a number of reasons, one of which is freeing up time, not being beside a child for every second and ready to catch him/her as they are about to fall.
There are a number of reasons why falling is such an important part of learning and of life in general.

1. When a baby sits for the first time, neurons in the child's brain make new connections to each other, developing the brain to greater heights (this is a process that starts happening from birth, neurons are connected to each other every time something new is learnt, literally millions of neurons are connected). When a baby falls, you guessed it, neurons are connected. If a child is held back from falling, neurons will not be connected, and may be delayed for some time.
2. When babies fall, they are learning that it hurts, and with this new found feeling of pain they will eventually learn to put their hands out the either stop from falling or to cushion the fall. Developing reflexes and their co-ordination (balance).
3. Catching a child before they fall, may lead to becoming dependent on the parent to always be their. As hard as it is, watching a child fall, then encouraging them to get up by themselves is far more beneficial to both the child and parent, for the parent it's not having to worry so much that their child might fall, it is replaced with "I hate seeing my little one fall, but I'm confident that she/he has learnt to fall and can pick her/him self up without a great deal of fuss".