Greetings fellow Dopers. Calling all pediatricians, arcane vocabulary enthusiasts, and folks with better Google skills than I: Is there a technical term for a phenomenon whereby a child has difficulty alternating steps when climbing down stairs? This is a case of “somebody said that somebody said that” there exists such a term, and I don’t want to send anyone on a wild-goose chase, but if there is such a term, I’d love to hear about it. Thanks!
I doubt it has a name for itself. It might just possibly be a symptom of something, but, hey, walking downstairs is tricky. Some kids get it quite quickly and some take longer.
This might help: http://blog.childandfamilydevelopment.com/blog/on-the-move/is-your-child-struggling-to-walk-up-or-down-stairs
Falling?
The expression in our house was:
“WATCH OUT!!!”… dammit, who forgot to close the baby gate–AGAIN? !!!
But that may not be quite the term that you’re looking for. … 
Thanks, guys. “falling” is of course not quite on the mark since it’s a potential consequence of the phenomenon rather than the name of the phenomenon itself, and it also can occur in non-stair situations. I also understand that the phenomenon in question is possibly a symptom of something else. But sometimes symptoms have names. I’m beginning to doubt this one does, though.
I thought that’s why they were called toddlers because they might toddle (or totter) over while walking.
short legged syndrome.
common in kids, they grow out of it.
How about ED 209-syndrome? 