Standing
Before your baby can walk, she needs to learn how to
pull herself up to a standing position. Your baby may
start pulling herself to a standing position when she
is around 8-10 months. You can encourage her to stand
by supporting her waste while she holds on to the sofa
or other furniture. To make things fun and keep your
baby interested in standing, you can place some of her
favorite toys on the edge of the sofa. This way she
has some incentive to climb up on the sofa or to hold
on to the edge of the sofa once she is standing.
Cruising
Once your baby learns how to pull herself up to a standing
position, she may get interested in cruising the furniture.
Cruising will help your baby learn to balance and also
help strengthen your baby’s trunk and lower body.
When your baby cruises the furniture, he will take steps
from side to side to get around the furniture. Eventually
he will try letting go of the furniture and take a step.
Once your baby starts cruising the furniture, he will
learn how to get himself from a standing to a sitting
position. This skill generally develops around 9-10
months. You can encourage your baby to squat down from
a standing position by placing a fun toy or something
interesting on the floor while he is standing. He may
decide to check out the toy and bend down to grab it.
At first he may just flop down to the floor to get the
toy, but with practice he will be able to squat down
grab the toy and stand back up. All this pulling to
stand, squatting up and down, and cruising from side
to side, helps your baby develop the strength, balance,
and coordination necessary for walking.
Baby’s First Steps
Once your baby gets comfortable pulling to stand, cruising
the furniture, and squatting, his next challenge will
be to take his first steps. Your baby may take his first
steps as early as 9 or 10 months. To get your baby inspired
to take his first steps, you may want to try dangling
a set of keys or an interesting toy nearby him as he
is cruising the furniture. He may try to reach and grab
for the toy and in the process take his first step.
Here are some other tips to help your
baby start walking.
- Once your baby starts cruising the furniture, you
can work on getting him to cruise back and forth from
a sofa to a nearby chair. Place a chair adjacent to
the sofa. Start off by having the chair very close
to the sofa and slowly move the chair just a little
further away. You can also place a favorite toy on
the chair to motivate your baby to cruise over to
the chair. With practice he will learn to go back
and forth from chair to sofa and may eventually take
a step and then grab the chair for support.
- Purchase a push toy for your baby to use to practice
walking. It may be helpful to secure a small weight,
like a velcro hand weight, to the base of the toy
for added support. A push toy is great to get your
baby moving around. It will help him learn to balance,
strengthen his muscles, and it may just give him the
confidence he needs to start walking.
- Do not use a baby walker. Baby walkers are different
than push toys. A baby walker is an enclosed toy with
a tray or bumper around it and wheels on the bottom.
Your baby sits inside the walker and pushes himself
around with the help of the wheels. A baby walker
will not help your baby walk and may actually discourage
him from learning to walk. In fact, in Canada they
were so concerned about the safety of baby walkers
that they have been banned from being advertised,
imported, or sold. The AAP strongly discourages the
use of baby walkers as well, and has attempted unsuccessfully,
to get a similar governmental ban of them in the US.
- Hold your baby’s hands while he walks. You
can kneel in front of your baby and hold his hands
while he walks around the house. Once he is comfortable
walking with two hands you can try holding just one
hand while he practices walking. Another trick you
can try is to kneel in front of him holding a broom
handle (or something similar that is sturdy) for him
to grab onto. Let him use the handle for support while
he practices walking.
- If your baby is having a hard time walking with
shoes on, try ditching the shoes for a while. Babies
sometimes have a hard time balancing and learning
to walk with shoes. Most babies have an easier time
walking when barefoot so save the shoes for outdoor
play.
Should I be concerned if my baby isn’t
walking?
Not every baby will learn to walk at the same time.
Some babies will start walking much earlier than others
for various reasons. There is no reason to worry if
your baby is under 18 months and not walking yet. You
may find your baby is developing right on track with
his speech and language milestones, but a little more
slowly with his movement milestones. Some babies will
make faster progress with language skills and others
will do better with motor skills. As long as your baby
is making steady progress with his milestones, there
is usually nothing to worry about. However, if your
baby is 18 months and is still not walking, you should
talk to your doctor. He may recommend early intervention
services or physical therapy for your baby.
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Speech
& Language Development: The First Year
From the moment your child is born she is learning how
to communicate with you. In fact, her ears are developed
enough to begin hearing and listening as early as the
fourth month of pregnancy.
When
Should My Baby Start Talking?
One of the most exciting events for new parents is hearing
their baby utter his first words.
Choosing
Toys for Babies
You may not be sure what kind of toys, or how many,
you baby should have. It’s likely that you hear
conflicting advice that runs from one extreme to another!
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