How to teach a child to walk? We reveal the secrets of preparing the musculoskeletal system and methods of learning to walk without support

All parents look forward to their little one's first smile, first word, first tooth, and of course, first step. Within a year, the baby turns from a tiny, blind lump into a little person. A lot of changes happen to him and his main helpers on the way to adulthood are his parents. In order for a child to take his first step, his musculoskeletal system must become stronger, and the mother must ensure that this step does not occur too early. A delay in the start of walking also indicates some deviations from the norm. In this article we will talk about how to teach a child to walk? At the same time, do not harm the development and health of the toddler.

When can a child be taught to walk?

Before teaching your child to walk, you should make sure that your back is strong. The best training for the spinal muscles and the entire musculoskeletal system is active crawling, as well as independent sitting. There are exceptions when the toddler begins to walk without crawling, but this is not always good. By 9–10 months, most children are already crawling with all their might and trying to stand on their feet. But these are not strict standards, because everything depends on individual characteristics. The first attempts to stand independently occur near the support, then the hands let go of it, then the first step follows with holding, and in the finale the baby moves his legs without support. What time does this happen?

It is difficult for specialists to answer, since many factors influence walking skills, but the framework of conventional norms exists and they show that a normally developing baby without deviations should learn to walk from 9 months to 1 year and 3 months.

How to recognize that it is too early?

Sometimes “nimble” toddlers get up on their feet at 7 months, and after a short period of time, they walk on their own. Many people say that if you walk on your own, then everything is fine, but pediatricians say that walking earlier harms the spine. Of course, you won’t be able to force your toddler not to walk, but you shouldn’t encourage his actions either. Try to ensure that a child who begins to walk early (9 months is also early) spends as little time on his feet as possible and spends most of his time crawling. In cases of early walking, closely monitor the baby:

if he is actively developing, does not lag behind his peers, does not show signs of fatigue or possible pain in the back or legs, then rejoice at the child’s first steps;
If you notice any deviations or manifestations of pathologies, run to the doctor.

How do you know if your baby is late taking his first step?

It should be noted right away that premature babies always begin to walk much later than full-term ones. The timing for such babies is shifted to six months and the first step is closer to two years - this is the norm. More details about the development of premature babies in the article:. As for standard development, a year and a half is too late for the first step.

Why does this happen?

Quite often the cause lies in neurological or physiological disorders. As soon as your child gets on his feet, pay attention to:

feet, how they are formed;
how crooked the legs are;
how he places his feet (toes apart or inward);
Is he clumsy?

If there are such symptoms, be sure to show him to an orthopedist and neurologist. But don’t panic right away, as the delay in the skill can be affected by:

genetic predisposition, if mom or dad started walking late, then you shouldn’t expect the baby to go early;
excess weight does not allow the toddler to support his body on his feet;
temperament, phlegmatic children with slow manners always start walking later;
lack of vitamin D (rickets), this affects the child’s musculoskeletal system. How to recognize rickets in time, read the article: ;
A bad experience on your first trip quite often becomes the reason for fear of going again. In such cases, young parents are simply obliged to teach their child to walk.

How to teach a child to walk? Preparatory stage

In order to teach a child to walk, you need to develop muscles ahead of time. After all, the development of the musculoskeletal system begins in the first months of life. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the newborn’s body for future stress long before starting to teach the child to walk. The preparatory stage of development consists of simple procedures that can accelerate physical development:

Starting at two months of age, encourage your baby to try to roll over to his side. Such movements contribute to the development of muscles in the back, arms, legs, and neck. You can teach how to do this with the help of a toy. Initially, hold the toy over the baby, then place it on the bed. The baby, interested, will turn behind her.
Place the newborn on his stomach. Actively use this method when the little one learns to roll over. This type of lying strengthens the neck and back muscles. In addition, do not forget about massage, learn how to do it from the article:.
Before your little one tries to sit down, teach him to pull himself up. To do this, let him grab your index fingers with his hands. Then pull the baby up as if sitting down. Such exercises can be carried out at 4-5 months before bathing.
In order to stimulate action and teach the child to walk, after he learns to sit on his own, invite him to reach for the toy by stretching. Also offer to crawl to it. Come up with tasks for your child so that he doesn’t stay in one place for a long time.
To teach a child to walk, his legs must be strong, so conduct classes on bending and straightening your knees. This should be done through gymnastics, as well as jumping with your help (holding him by the armpits).

How to teach a child to walk? What will help develop the skill?

Initially, you should make sure that the baby is ready to take his first step. The main indicators of readiness are the following actions on his part:

knows how to get up from his knees;
worth quite a bit
moves by holding onto a support.

Teaching to walk means creating optimal conditions for the development of a skill.

What and how to walk?

If your apartment has parquet, linoleum or tile flooring, it is better to cover it with carpet. Since the baby, taking the first uncertain steps, will slip on such a floor. Feet do not slip on the carpet, and the child will stand more confidently. As an option, you can purchase socks with rubberized soles.
Any toddler feels more confident barefoot, so there’s no need to rush and put shoes on him. Learning to walk in shoes is much more difficult than learning to walk barefoot. Therefore, if it’s summer outside and there is an opportunity to go out into the yard barefoot, feel free to use it, because in addition to the first walking skills, barefoot walks strengthen the feet and serve as a prevention of flat feet, which you can read about in the article:.

Choosing the first shoes

The first shoes determine how quickly the baby develops the skill of walking. After all, you will agree that you hardly want to walk for a long time in uncomfortable shoes. Therefore, the first shoe must meet the following criteria:

True to size, the leg should not dangle;
hard heel and high heel;
the presence of an instep support, since it is this that mechanically forms the arch of the foot in childhood;
natural materials so that the leg does not float and does not cause allergic reactions. You can read about possible symptoms of allergic reactions in the article:.

It is best to buy not by eye, but only by trying it on. The baby should walk around in new clothes, and young parents need to check if there are any red marks on the skin of the feet.

Clearing space for "maneuvers"

To teach walking, you need a space in which the little one can move freely without holding on. To do this, remove bulky and little-used items from the room where your little one spends time. Give space for the first "maneuvers". After the baby starts walking, try to clear an area for “maneuvers” throughout the apartment, since he will not limit himself to one room.

Let's take the first step. How to teach a child to walk without support?

After the little one has stood on his feet and is trying to move with support from one end of the sofa to the other, you can try to teach him to walk on his own. The main condition for an independent hike is to feel the support of your parents. Practice walking around the house holding your hand more often. Offer to go and see what dad/mom is doing, who is hiding in the next room, etc.

You can teach walking by supporting the child under the armpits, moving forward with him. Over time, completely loosen your hands, and the baby will move on its own, and a little later, when he’s busy moving his legs, he won’t even notice how you completely remove your hands.

Use toys that the child can push. This could be a pushchair, a doll stroller, a wheelbarrow, etc. The main thing is that such a toy is comfortable to grab and roll.

Distract your toddler's attention when he is walking near a support. Offer him a toy or talk to him. Very often, when distracted, babies let go of the support and continue moving on their own.

Keep a close eye on your child, as his steps are still very imperfect, and he may fall, and the first failures with severe bruises may discourage him from trying to walk for a long time.

Call your baby to you from a distance, provoking him to let go of the support and take a step on his own.

What should you not do if you want to teach your child to walk independently?

Quite often, in an unbridled desire to teach, young parents make mistakes. What you shouldn’t do and what mistakes you shouldn’t make while teaching your child.

Take your time, because if you put your baby on his feet at 6–7 months, you risk damaging the baby’s musculoskeletal system and giving him scoliosis. Nature arranged it in such a way that when the toddler’s muscles are ready, he will stand up on his own.
Avoid walkers. If you want to teach your child to walk faster, then walkers are not your help. With their help, the baby only pushes off with his legs, bouncing, but does not acquire the skill of moving and maintaining balance. Experts say that walking for a long time in a walker (more than 3 months) can lead to deformation of the feet.
It’s also not worth being too protective and helping to walk. He must try and find out for himself. After all, not a single child has yet learned to walk without falls and bumps. The parents' task is to make falls safer, but what's the point of being overprotective?
Inconvenient or incorrectly selected first shoes. Let the little one run barefoot indoors, but when going outside you need good shoes. Its criteria have already been written above. Don't skimp on your baby's first shoes, and you can teach him to walk without any problems.

When answering the question of how to teach a child to walk, remember: the more you encourage your little one to go hiking, the stronger his desire to learn to walk.

Author of the publication: Nikita Rybakov