# Babies and tile floors (or other hard surfaces)



## Beauchamp

My DD is starting to crawl and can sometimes pull up to standing. We live in Texas and have tile all over our whole house except in the bedrooms (i.e. in the living room, too) I am so worried about her hitting her head on the floor. What has everyone else done to keep the little ones safe? I am thinking of ordering a play mat, but there is just so much tile...


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## Sk8ermaiden

I am in the same place. So far I have been keeping her on the rug and in the bedroom, but that's not going to work for long.

I am getting one of those big rubber mats with the alphabet on them that interlock like puzzle peices, yk? I may order several of them, to cover a big space in the living area. But I just let her explore and try to stay close. She's hit her head on the tile about 3 times now and it results in a lot of tears but no real damage.


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## desertgirl01

Tile is all we have too. We did order the big puzzle playmat sets from One Step Ahead (alpha, numbers, shapes; the shapes mat is my daughter's favorite). But, yeah, still alot of tile. I noticed around 5 months or so, that when she'd fall over from sitting, she'd start to tuck her head so that was the last thing that would hit, if it hit at all. I guess just a natural instinct?? Now that she's standing and cruising, being a little too brave and bold, and falling all over the place, she seems more apt to fall on her face than hit her head. Now I worry about her knocking her teeth out! So far, like pp, a some tears but nothing serious. Keeps me sane to remember that babies have been exploring and falling for centuries, and that if anyone is built to handle a spill, it's the babes.

oh yeah, my baby girl is 8 months old.


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## betsyj

Yup babies are kind of built to fall you know? We have all hardwood and I don't bother doing anything different. He plays on the rug a lot only because it is warmer, not because it is softer.

He walks and toddles on concrete and asphalt and seems to survive just fine. It is generally falling from a higher height then normal that can be cause for concern.


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## lifeguard

We never bothered - once they are even a little bit mobile they won't stay on the mat anyway. When ds was just sitting I would put pillows around him.


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## Sk8ermaiden

I find my daughter does stay on rugs and things. As long as there are cool things to play with and nothing really enticing right off the mat.


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## JBaxter

Once mine were sitting up/mobile it was not an issue. I have hardwood and tile and the worse accident was in the other house on lineolum in the kitchen.


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## Beauchamp

well, mine fell backwards once a few weeks ago....maybe at 5 or 6 months, I can't remember exactly...and smacked the back of her head really hard on a shag rug over tile. But that rug is really thin and it sounded like a melon hitting the floor. I was just sick to my stomach for days and days. So to me, the tile doesn't seem soft. I guess I am panicking about hearing that thud/smack sound again.


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## betsyj

My son feel backwards down three stairs and hit his head on the wood floor. Had a huge goose egg. I did not even realize he could climb the stairs.

Babies fall-they are made to fall. Honestly what are you going to do when she is ready to play on the jungle gym? I have a friend who freaks out about every little bump and she isn't doing her kids any favors.

Relax Mama.







Keep them safe from falling big distances but don't sweat the small stuff.


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## Skippy918

We have lots of tile too. He's fallen a couple of times, but he's fine. They don't have a long distance to fall, but the thud sound does make me cringe. He's 17 months and all over the place.


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## solinox

I don't worry about bumps and falls, and our house is pretty much all tile/hardwood. Between the six of them, they've fallen a lot, and the baby still tends to trip a lot because he can't always see where he's going. But they bump and they cry and then they get up and run away.


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## mamadelbosque

We have all hardwood floors in our house. They learn to avoid banging their head. They really do! Oh, it'll still happen, daily, but they learn to *try* to keep from banging it hard on the floor, so it happens less than you'd think really. The worst 'bang' that DS1 has had (yet! :knock on wood: ), was actually at a mattress store, he was running and turned to look at us and tripped over his feet and fell flat backwards and hit his head *hard* (was concrete w/ a thin layer of carpet). He cried for a little while but he was ultimatly just fine. Good luck!!


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## TheGirls

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Beauchamp* 
well, mine fell backwards once a few weeks ago....maybe at 5 or 6 months, I can't remember exactly...and smacked the back of her head really hard on a shag rug over tile. But that rug is really thin and it sounded like a melon hitting the floor. I was just sick to my stomach for days and days. So to me, the tile doesn't seem soft. I guess I am panicking about hearing that thud/smack sound again.









I've heard that thud sound and it is sickening. We have all wood floors, but my melon thudding incident occurred in my driveway. DD was pretty good at standing, but not walking unassisted yet, and she was holding onto my fingers. Suddenly, she let go and flopped forward, right on her face & forehead. It sounded truely AWFUL. She cried so hard she puked. I thought I was the worst parent ever in the history of parenting. I was afraid to bring her out in public with the scraped up face and big old egg, because I thought people would think I was abusive or neglectful. However, EVERY SINGLE PERSON I encountered while she had the marks from that fall on her took one look and smiled and said "learning how to walk are we? you should have seen the eggs my son/daughter/niece/whoever got when she was learning!" or something to that effect. Apparently this happens to nearly every parent. And, btw, she's perfectly fine, and now runs and has hit her head on cabinets, toilets, dining chairs... Never as bad as that first one, but now I know that I can't protect her from every bump and bruise.


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## pixiekisses

I'd just put something like Robeez on the babes feet so they don't slip. (Or, preferably, let them be bare feet, but if the house has very cold floors, well.)


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## Drummer's Wife

We have hard ceramic tiling, too. I think they learn pretty quickly. I mean, you don't want them to crack their head, but a few falls and I think they become aware of how to move on the floor and adapt. We moved here when our youngest was 9 mos and he started to walk shortly after. We also have counter height table and chairs in our kitchen, and he climbs in and out of a regular chair well now (he is almost 3, but has been doing it on his own since 18 mos.) Unless you put rugs over most of the tile, I'm not sure how you can avoid falls... and with rugs, I would worry about tripping over the edges.


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## ashleyhaugh

we had hardwood when ds was first getting mobile too, and it was fine. i would suggest bare feet for new puller-uppers LOL) instead of socks or sleepers or whatever, but other than that we didnt take any precautions


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## octobermom

They learn fast...
I had a very early Walker she was a proficient walker/runner/climber by the start of her 8th month and like you we had an all tile home except the bedroom and office living kitchen hall bathrooms all hard tile... Yes sehs fell yes she climbed on the cough and fliung her self head first off the back














and yes sometimes she cried... She learned though I mean I'm not dismissing the worry or the want to protect and all but unless your planning to totally pad and carpet the house or move ect them jsut area rugs really wont do it.
Shoes that grip or bare footed helps so do those gripper socks.. soft cotton socks not as much they make it slippery...

Ohh the other thing we had to learn to deal with... the I want to crawl under that table chair bed ect and then I can stand up! I can watch me mommy watch me smack my head as I do it... Ohh well maybe tommorow it will work...

Deanna


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## Llyra

It's awful, isn't it? That sound... DS used to unexpectedly pitch backwards, when he was learning to sit, and I remember that sound.

What I found, though, was that babies heads are built to take it. There is an extremely tough membrane that protects the brain and the skull needs a much harder impact than you'll get with an ordinary fall, before genuine injury happens. So you prevent falls from any kind of height, but I don't think there's anything you can do about falls that come from learning to sit and crawl and walk. My kids used to fall and smack their heads multiple times a day, and they're okay.


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## St. Margaret

They do learn. We had carpet when DD was tiny but we just got laminate "hardwood" but I'm not too worried about our next one. When DD was learning to walk, she'd fall straight backwards all the time, on the concrete at parks-- and she'd always fall with her head tucked to her chin. Never whomped her head! I know that sick feeling, we bonked her in the doorframe a couple times, ugh. But they are always fine


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## Beauchamp

Quote:


Originally Posted by *octobermom* 
but unless your planning to totally pad and carpet the house ...

yes...I want a little pink helmet. And elbow pads. Knee pads. Shin guards. Mouth guard. Big giant bubble.







No, I really do. I love her so...I am not ready for all the bumps and bruises!!!









inflatable furniture? foam corners...


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## LianneM

It wasn't a big deal for us. We have some carpet but our main living areas are tile and the kids learn to catch themselves pretty quickly, IME.


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## Natsuki

We have all hardwood in our home and I don't worry about my kids falling on that - it has some give and while hard isn't going to harm them.

But falling on tile is a whole different story IMO - it is hard like concrete and can REALLY hurt. (Ex. We have pyrex glass bowls. If we drop them on the hardwood they thunk but don't break. If we drop them on the tile they shatter)

Learning to fall is an important skill for babies to learn, but tile is not a natural surface for them to learn on - it's akin to having your house flooring be concrete (that hard and able to cause damage).

If my entire house were tile I would consider getting one of those baby helmets or else putting down mats wherever I could. The greatest risk will be when your child starts climbing and falls from a taller height.


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## Beauchamp

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Natsuki* 
But falling on tile is a whole different story IMO - it is hard like concrete and can REALLY hurt. (Ex. We have pyrex glass bowls. If we drop them on the hardwood they thunk but don't break. If we drop them on the tile they shatter)

This is also my feeling. I wish we had hardwood or laminate. I don't think I'd worry as much.







We just bought a playmat for in the living room from We Sell Mats via Amazon, but it's obviously not realistic to always keep her on the mat.


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