Learning to walk is one of the major milestones in
your child’s life, and a time you probably eagerly await, it’s important to
remember that most everyone lean to walk Children learn to walk when they are
developmentally ready, but there are lots of things you can do to support the
development of this skill. A child may learn to walk as early as 8 months old
or as late as 18 months of age. As a general rule babies start walking between 9 and 12 months,
and are walking with some confidence by the age of 15 months so keep in mind
that all children will learn to walk in their own time so don’t be overly
concerned if your child seems to be taking longer than others.
So what can you do to help?
Childproof Your Home
You
must childproof your home why? Because your baby will start to go to places they
have never goes to before.. You should remove any furniture that is fragile,
and put away small tables that have sharp corners. For example it might be best
if you put safety gates at the bottom as well as the top of your stairs so that
the baby doesn’t get hurt while moving up or down.
Don’t Use Baby Walkers
While
making your child walk with a walker might seem the right choice, it may take
much longer time for your child to learn to walk, as the child might not
understand that his own feet can support his body. Moreover, the steps that
your baby takes in a walker won’t actually take him forward, which will also
confuse the baby. Walkers are even potentially dangerous for children, with
Canada actually banning their sale because of the injuries they have caused to
children. Thus, it’s best to not use walkers if you want your baby to learn to walk
early.
Going Barefoot
Babies
walk easily barefoot, because their feet can grip the surface far more easily
when left bare, as compared to when they are wearing socks and shoes. While
socks and shoes are very important when the surface is cold, your child may
find it hard to walk with them. Also, weird-looking shoes might not let your
child concentrate on walking. When the baby wears shoes, you should check
the baby’s feet frequently to see for irritated surfaces, and remove those
shoes if you find any.
Plenty of ‘floor time’
Make sure that your child has
plenty of ‘floor time’ so that they can use their bodies to explore their
environment around them. Having your Children just in play pens, sitting in car seats or jumpers will
often put more delayed
in their gross motor skills because they rely on ‘containers’ to support them
and their posture muscles do not have to work hard to support them.
Encourage Attempts at Reaching for Things
Doctors say
that a baby’s ambition to walk and reach for things contributes a lot to his walking
skills. You can place some of your baby’s favorite toys on a path and make him
see them. You will have to support them on the way to make sure that your
baby’s interest in the catching game remains alive.
Try Push or Pull Toys
You can
provide your baby with toys or objects which can help him stand up. As soon as
he starts standing on his own without much assistance, his confidence will rise
and so will his ability to walk. Push or pull toys can play a big part at this
stage. Push and pull toys make your baby learn to move and keep balance. Such
toys normally reward your baby by playing music or producing light while they
are moving.
Encouraging them to take steps
Spend time holding your child’s hands and encouraging them to take steps
toward you. The more practice your child has the more likely he or she is to
grow in confidence and be ready to try walking independently. Provide
support to your child and always be around them when they are trying to take
their first steps. Standing or kneeling in front of them and encouraging them
to walk towards you is an ideal way to challenge your child to take their first
steps independently.
This
is a great time and as a farther you should get involved in this process as
much as possible as it will help with the bonding and you’ll have a lot of fun
doing it to
