Inside: Exercises to help your baby walk. Collaborative post.
Aside from their first words, a child’s first steps are probably one of the critical developmental milestones in their life. It is a clear indication that they are making progress toward gaining independence.
Although all babies develop at their own pace, with some learning these skills earlier or later than expected, this particular event usually happens when your child reaches their first birthday. And naturally, as a parent, you want to do everything you can to encourage and support them as they start this new journey.
So get some baby walking shoes and use these helpful exercises to do just that.
Before You Begin
Before you start the exciting new journey of your baby’s first steps, it can be helpful to check off a few things first to create the ideal environment for them to start. For example, while it is suitable for babies to learn how to walk without shoes on, as it aids the development of muscles and bones in their feet, you should look to buy a pair of sturdy outdoor shoes with a grippy sole.
This will help with balance on the uneven ground outside.
Additionally, learning to walk means greater independence and an increased chance of your baby encountering things that could harm them. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to completely babyproof every inch of your home.
Still, unless you have created a “safe zone” for them to play without interference, you will need to pay close attention to furniture corners, power outlets, and objects within grabbing distance.
Crawling
Before your baby learns to walk, they must learn to crawl. A significant milestone to hit, crawling signals the start of their independent travel and allows the world to be entirely open for your little one. This feeling of discovery will be a massive motivation for them to keep pursuing new achievements.
Crawling also helps to build and exercise the muscles in children’s legs that they will eventually need to start walking. As you can see, each stage of development directly impacts the next step, meaning that you should encourage and allow your child to fully embrace each one individually.
Standing
Once crawling has been mastered, the next natural progression will be standing. You can either let your baby lead on when they feel ready to achieve this, but there are some exercises you can do with them to start building their muscle memory. At first, all babies will be wobbly on their feet, but by getting them steadier, there will be a stronger desire to start taking some steps.
If your baby shows little interest in this to begin with, don’t get discouraged. This is as new for them as it is for you. Once they become more familiar with it, they will be more likely to engage.
Alternatively, you can set them up on a small stool and help them stand by holding onto their upper arms. Keep the second piece of furniture close by that they can use to steady themselves. As they get better at doing this, move the second piece of furniture further away. They will be forced to take steps to reach it.
Assisted Walking
When your tot starts wanting to walk, helping them along is highly encouraged. Stand behind them and hold their hands. You can gently encourage them to step forward by moving their arms, but ultimately you need to let them make the steps n their own.
Your hands are there to help them stabilize and gain confidence in walking. As this increases, you can let go of them entirely and let them walk alone. You can stay standing behind them to offer help should they need it. Set up chairs or tables in strategic places your child can walk to. Rearranging these pieces will also allow them to learn how to navigate corners.
Cruising
Cruising is a word used to describe a baby’s desire to navigate in the space around them by using pieces of furniture and other objects to help stabilize them and allow them to stand and move confidently.
While it is important to let your little one move through this phase at their own pace and in their own means, you can help them significantly by making small obstacle courses for them to work their way around. Avoid anything with sharper corners that could cause injury.
Don’t feel too scared about them falling. It is an essential skill for them to learn, and they will often fall back onto their bottoms.
Independent Play
As much as you might want to help encourage and move along your child’s development, it is ultimately not something you can force. In fact, you will find that allowing them to do things on their own terms will benefit them far more than trying to force it.
You can support these activities by creating open and safe environments for them to explore. For example, placing toys, pillows, and safe furniture will give them items to move towards and use to explore further. The goal is to interfere as little as possible and allow them to work alone.