Should I let him fall?

Hey all. I've posted here before asking about my little dudes early rising and I'm happy to report I'm writing this at 07:09AM! (Instead of the 4/5AM wake ups)Anyway... he's turning one in a couple weeks and he has much preferred being on his feet rather than crawling. In fact he managed his first steps a few weeks before he worked out to crawl. He can walk a fair few steps without falling but I'm/OH is always there to catch him when he has a wobble and goes backwards. We've been doing this for about 2/3 weeks now and our backs are completely broken! My mum is saying "let him fall and he'll learn!"We've got a hard wood floor so I'm super conscious of him hitting his head on that (he has before and made quite the thump!) but on grass/carpeted/soft play areas so I give him some more freedom? Does he need to learn how to fall safely? Is that a thing?How long after your kids took their first steps did you let them toddle without being "there"? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2oTZvLu