How to quickly teach a child to walk? How to teach a child to walk independently without support?

Doctors believe that a child with normal health indicators should take his first steps between the ages of 9 and 18 months; The fastest toddlers begin to move on their own feet long before they are one year old; the more mature ones can go closer to one and a half years.

In principle, you can already guess from the difference in timing: the first steps are a purely individual matter, and you shouldn’t even try to bring the achievements of a particular baby under a single standard. Of course, practice shows that there are children who develop “by the book” and go through successively all the stages described in the relevant literature. The “correct” child first learns to crawl, then, having passed all conceivable standards for running on all fours, begins to stand up in the crib, then masters moving around the perimeter of the playpen - and finally takes the first timid step into open space. However, for every one such baby there is at least one who does not know the pediatric canons and, calmly skipping the “plastic” stage, changes a sedentary lifestyle to upright walking with virtually no preparation.

This simple statistic contains the answer to the question that worries most young mothers: when should he go? And this answer is this: when he is ripe and strong enough to stand on his feet; Nature knows the required date better than a whole council of doctors.

Everything has its time

Before worrying that your baby still isn't walking on his own, parents should consider a few things.

• All children develop differently. It is considered normal if the child is one year and 2 months old. But this is just an approximate framework. Some are able to walk without mother's hands at 11 months or even earlier, while others are not ready for this even at 14 months. It depends on the baby’s health, genetics, temperament, weight and other factors. Therefore, there is no need to compare your little one with anyone.
• If the baby was born prematurely, his physical skills will develop in accordance with his biological age and will be compensated gradually. In this case, the timing for each skill will be individual, and this is assessed by the pediatrician.
• In order for a child to walk independently, his muscles and bones must become strong and strong enough, and his vestibular apparatus must be trained. In other words, requiring a child to walk when he cannot balance or bounce on his mother’s lap is unwise.

It is not by chance that nature arranges progressive development: from stage to stage. As the baby’s organs, systems, muscles and bones develop and strengthen, its motor baggage is also replenished. Therefore, before starting to walk, the child goes through several stages of physical development in succession:

1. rollovers from the back and stomach;
2. sitting;
3. standing at a support;
4. crawl;
5. getting up.

Only after this the small organism will be ready to master an independent vertical method of movement.

Children's kneecaps form by about six months. Therefore, do not force things by forcing your child to stomp a lot from this age. Give your knees 2 to 3 months to strengthen. The fact that the baby “ran” at 9 or 10 months is not always good from this point of view.

Movement is life

• The child needs to move a lot. Do gymnastics with your baby, go swimming, surround him with attractive stimuli that make him move. Playpens, walkers, long walks in a stroller while awake, and other ways to restrain your baby and ensure safety all reduce your anxiety, but interfere with your baby's development.
• Give your child a chance to show what he is capable of. In order not to delay the first steps, do not pick up the child when you want to move him from place to place. On the contrary, encourage him to try to move around on his own instead of always relying on you.
• Consider the child's characteristics. It happens that quite well physically developed children do not show enough interest in walking. Of course, temperament is important: calm children are in no hurry to take their first steps, unlike their more active peers, just like large babies in comparison with short and slender peers.
• A child should have a reason to get up and go. Develop and encourage independence: you won’t always be there for him, it’s time to little by little learn to achieve what he wants himself! Try to interest your child in something that is above floor level. For example, if your child plays with toys on the floor, place some of them on a coffee table or bookshelf above floor level. You can also place toys not in one place in the nursery, but distribute them at the child’s eye level throughout the available space. This can increase motivation to learn walking skills.
• Let your child learn on his own. If mom, dad or older relatives try to protect the child from falling - for example, holding the back of his head with his palm - this leads to imbalance. The baby, instead of aligning his axis vertically, leaning on his legs, springing and swaying from side to side, begins to transfer part of his weight to the adult’s palm and fall back without support. The child must learn to walk on his own. This is his job, assistants will only get in the way.

Proper preparation

So, in order for a child to start walking on time, he needs to be prepared in advance. It is important to strengthen the muscles of the legs, hips, back, neck, and train the ability to maintain balance with simple exercises. You can do all this from the moment the baby makes its first attempts to roll over.

1. At the initial stage, the muscles of the neck and back are well strengthened by massage and lying on the stomach.
2. Next, the back, neck, legs and arms are strengthened using inversions. Stimulate your child's interest in rolling over with brightly colored toys.
3. The next stage is sitting. Babies can sit down from about 6–7 months. At the same time, the baby is provoked to turn to the sides, reach for toys, and lean on. This will help not only strengthen your muscles, but also improve coordination and balance.
4. Crawl. When a child learns to crawl (read about how to help him with this, read here), you need to encourage him to actively travel around the house, captivating him with bright toys, blocking the path with small obstacles in the form of pillows or other safe objects.
5. Standing up and stepping over. After about 8 months, babies begin to stand up, leaning on various objects or the hands of an adult. This skill will help strengthen the baby’s arm and leg muscles and improve coordination. It’s important not just to provoke your little one to get up more often. When he starts to step over, holding onto a support, you need to invite him to step over small obstacles, training his walking skill. The more often the child steps, raising his legs high, springing, jumping on his parents’ laps, the stronger his muscles and ligaments will become.
6. Walking on support. This is the last stage before the child decides to let go of the safety net and take his first step on his own. It is important to encourage walking with support, inviting the baby to reach a bright toy or reach his mother, who calls him for a hug. During this period, it is necessary to improve the vestibular apparatus. It is useful to rock the child on the parents' lap, circle around the room, tilt to the sides, lift and lower, swing on a fitball. Among other things, such games will bring a lot of pleasure to the baby. It’s good if the baby walks a lot, holding first both hands of an adult, and then one. It is also useful for him to walk now, stepping over small obstacles. Gradually, the baby is taught to let go of the support and stand for a while.

Don't be tempted by teaching your baby to use a walker. They will not teach him to hold his weight vertically, to maintain balance, but just the opposite. In addition, having become accustomed to moving in this way, the child may be afraid of being left without this support for a long time.

Helpful information

Many parents are concerned not only with the topic we are considering, but also with many other issues. For example, “how to teach a child to draw,” or another important point, namely, “how to teach to write,” which is especially important for future first-graders.

Some mothers are interested in information about how to teach a baby to sit, and whether it is necessary to do this, as well as how to teach to roll over, because, in theory, the baby should master all these skills on his own. To learn more about this, just follow the links provided.

At what age did your baby take his first steps? What was your reaction and did you help him or her learn this important skill? We will be glad if you share your stories and impressions, and do not forget to leave your comments about the information offered.

We provide safety and comfort

If a child falls, hurts or is injured while learning to walk, this can cause severe fear and will permanently cement a sense of danger in his mind for a long time. To prevent this from happening, training must take place in a safe environment. How to create it?

• Remove from the floor everything that can hurt you or that you can get caught on and fall (cords, sharp objects, toys), put soft plugs on all corners, limiters on the doors. The floor should not be slippery, and the carpet should not move on it.
• There should be no steps or thresholds on the baby's path, so it is better to learn to walk at home in the room, rather than on the street.
• Shoes can become an additional source of inconvenience and anxiety, so it is better to teach your baby to walk barefoot or wearing socks that do not slip on the floor.
• The child should see that his parents are always nearby and can back him up and catch him if he stumbles or loses his balance.
• There shouldn’t be too many incentives for the baby, otherwise he will get confused and won’t understand which item he needs to go after.
• Tights or panties should not interfere, slide down or get tangled between the legs.
• During such activities, the baby should feel good and be in comfortable conditions (warm, fresh).
• There is no need to rush things, demanding that the baby immediately walk half the room on his own. It’s correct if the first steps are few: a couple or three. Otherwise the child may get scared.

To encourage your child to walk independently, take him for walks more often in places where small children run. Let him be inspired by their skills, the ability to handle toys with free hands, and strive for this himself.

Choosing shoes

First of all, shoes should be stable, comfortable and made of quality material. For example, soft sandals and beautiful knitted booties are not suitable for walking, but shoes made of soft leather and with stable soles will be a suitable option. It is also important that it is not slippery, otherwise the child may slip and get injured while walking.

It is better to learn to walk barefoot at home, and, if possible, you should be allowed to walk without shoes (if it is safe). This hardens and promotes correct foot placement and development of the musculoskeletal system.

We are moving towards independent steps

To teach a child to walk without support and safety nets, he must first be taught to walk with them. That is, to give the skill of moving “almost by yourself,” not on static support in the form of sofas or cabinets. You can create such a feeling, giving the joy of movement and gradually awakening the desire to move without outside help, using the following techniques and devices.

• The hoop will help you quickly teach walking to a baby who can stand but is afraid to move. The little one should be placed inside the circle so that its arms hold the hoop, gradually moving the hoop forward. Mom's praise and support will be the best incentive for the child. He will soon realize how much joy he can get from moving this way. Gradually, the fear of leaving your support will pass.
• The same insurance against unexpected falls is provided by special children's leash straps, by which parents support the baby while he stomps. Such “reins” will help the baby not be afraid of falls, but at the same time walk actively.
• Stroller or rolling toy. By pushing these objects in front of him, the child can move, and the mother will not be afraid that he will fall. But you still need to insure the baby while being nearby, because surprises cannot be ruled out.
• Free your hand. By leading the baby around the room by both hands, he is gradually taught to hold only one hand. To do this, you can put a favorite toy in his second hand and offer, for example, to take it to dad or to his place. This will improve your balance.

If a baby constantly stumbles and falls, even while holding the hands of an adult, this may indicate vision problems. Consult an ophthalmologist so as not to miss a possible problem. If everything is in order, pay attention to training the vestibular apparatus.

When the baby learns to confidently stomp while holding one hand, the very last stage of learning to walk independently will be to provoke the baby to let go of the adult’s hand. To do this, it is important to create a good atmosphere, smile at the baby, encourage him, tell him how smart he is.

Let the father lead the child by the hand, and the mother waits ahead, calling him into a hug or beckoning him with a toy. You need to make sure that dad’s hand comes off the little one’s hand about a couple of steps away from mom, so that the baby takes them without having time to get scared, but feeling free for a second. If everything worked out, the child needs to be hugged and praised. The next time, dad lets go of the child’s hand one step earlier, then another one. But at the same time he remains ready to catch the crumbs if he does start to fall.

If parents act consistently and patiently, without forcing events, accepting their child as he is, then in the end they will wait for the happy moment when the child learns to walk without their help and feels independent and free.

How to teach a child to walk?

This question is asked by many parents, which means that child development specialists already have several answers and recommendations.

Is it worth buying a walker?

No matter what baby product manufacturers say, child development researchers have found no evidence that walkers are effective. On the contrary, using walkers with a tight fit disrupts the baby’s muscle training, and he learns to walk on his toes.

Instead of walkers, which are not recommended, you can buy your baby a moving support: a toy stroller or a fairly large car that will help maintain balance when moving.

Exercises to help mom

There are many games and exercises to help teach your baby to walk. Here are just a few of them:

• Place a chair, table and other furniture close to each other to create your baby’s own “route”. With the help of objects, it is much easier to move on your feet.
• Sit opposite the standing baby so that there is literally half a meter between them. Stretch out your hands to him and call the baby, and he will definitely take a step towards you.
• Take off your shoes. Shoes often get in the way for children just learning to walk (imagine if you were taught to write while wearing gloves). The ability to walk barefoot will allow your baby to quickly coordinate his body and learn to walk confidently.
• Give your baby freedom, but provide a safe space. Not a single child has learned to walk without falling, so instead of preventing them, it is better to arrange the nursery so that landings do not have consequences. Remove sharp corners of furniture (some parents buy special pads or simply cover them with foam rubber), make sure that the baby cannot reach unsafe support (unstable and fragile objects, for example, a hanging tablecloth or a glass vase standing on the floor), place pillows on the floor or blankets.

Optimal training period

The norm for mastering walking is considered to be 9-16 months, and the first attempts become a happy and important event for the whole family. Minor deviations should be taken into account:

1. Very early period. It is not uncommon for a baby to stand on his feet at 7 months, and after a short period of time he is already walking. Relatives and friends are delighted, and the doctor warns of a possible danger to the fragile spine. In this case, you need to look only at the development of your child. If he is ahead of his peers in other parameters, there is no reason to worry.
2. Early period. If a child takes his first steps at 9 months of age, he has mastered the skills ahead of schedule. There is nothing wrong with this, in the absence of stimulation from adults.
3. Late period. The first steps, even at 1.5 years old, are considered normal for a child. It is important to take into account the weight of the baby with which he was born, general development and pathologies. Premature babies often lag behind their peers.

For a healthy child, a late start to walking can also be considered normal. You should not worry, because the child’s body knows exactly when it is ready for such loads on the spine.