A Walk in the Park: Top tips to support your child's walking

Walking is a huge achievement for a developing baby and is a big reason for celebration, but it can also be a common source of worry for parents and caregivers. There is a large range of what is considered “normal”, and every child’s journey to walking can look a little different.

Being able to walk allows babies to better explore their environment and play in different ways, it also gives them a new way to be socially included. Whether they are taking a few steps along the couch or following you to the toilet, having a new walker in the house can be a busy time for the whole family.

When can I start to introduce standing to play time?

Babies as young as 6 weeks old will be able to stand and take weight through their legs when they are supported in standing, however we encourage standing in play when children are showing interest in trying to pull themselves up into standing. This is usually around 9 to 10 months of age.

Supported standing in play.

Transition from crawling to standing

If you are feeling like your baby has been crawling for-ever, you are not alone. The transition from crawling to walking involves many micro-milestones which take time for babies to work through. Do not fear, there are lots of ways you can introduce the idea of standing to your baby.

Climbing up and down steps or over obstacles:

You can start with something as small as putting objects on top of a small box so your baby has to crawl their hands up to reach for them. They might move their hands up onto the box and get into a kneeling position.

Kneeling at a bench/low table/toy.

When you are supporting and supervising, your child could climb up steps to reach for their favourite objects.

Supervised crawling up steps.

Foam climbing block sets can be borrowed from your local toy library for your baby to climb on. These are often more forgiving compared to steps/ stairs.

Foam climbing blocks or couch cushions.

Transition from standing to cruising

Reaching: Place toys slightly out of your child’s reach when they are standing up at a surface. Encourage them to lean and reach. This helps them practice switching weight from one leg to the other.

Side stepping: Progressively increase the distance you place objects away from your child and watch how they step along.

Side stepping/cruising along furniture.

When your child is an expert cruiser along the couch, cot, or coffee table, you can level up the challenge!

- Stand your child at a flat surface such as a wall or window. Use things like suction toys or post-it notes stuck to the wall to encourage your child to step along.

- Cruise between two surfaces, for example, from the couch to the coffee table, start with a short distance and gradually increase it.

- Stand your child at a surface and practice “no hands”. You might do this by singing songs with hand actions, doing double hi-5’s or passing your child a toy they have to hold with both hands.

Supported walking

If your child is an expert cruiser, they are most likely ready to start walking forwards. You can practice this by:

Holding hands: this option is cost free and fun for the child. If you can manage, try and hold both of the child’s hands down at their chest level rather than up in the air, this allows them to do more work and puts them in a better body position. As they improve you can hold one hand instead of two.

Walking holding hands.

Walking with a trolley: Trolleys are a good way to save your back, however, they can move very quickly and be a fall risk for little ones. Try bulking up the trolley with a few books to make it more stable.

Walking with a trolley walker.

Scarf walking: If your child is close to walking but will not let go of your hand, encourage your child to hold onto a piece of clothing at the same time as you. This allows them to still feel supported by you but to get used to letting go.

Walking between two people: Encourage your child to walk between the outstretched arms of two adults, gradually increase the distance between your hands (don’t underestimate the power of cheerleading here!)

Walking between two people.

Frequently asked walking questions:

Will a sit in baby walker help my child to walk faster?

Sit in baby walkers are a safe place to put children when you need to get on with cooking dinner, however, they are not so useful when it comes to learning to walk because they tend to hold a baby’s weight back into a less active position. Cruising and standing practice is far more effective.

Does my baby need to wear shoes?

Babies can have soft, flexible shoes to protect their feet while they are out and about crawling and cruising. However, they should spend most of their day in grippy socks or bare feet, this allows them to get the full sensory experience of weight bearing and helps strengthen their feet.

How can I keep myself and my baby safe during walking practice?

For parents and caregivers: Watch your back! Whenever you can, get down to your child’s level by kneeling or squatting rather than bending down from standing.

For babies: Newly walking babies are estimated to fall around 100 times per day. You can protect your child by doing things like covering up sharp furniture corners and putting up gates to steps and stairs so the inevitable falls cause less harm.

When should I get professional help?

If you are concerned about your child’s walking, speak to your maternal child health nurse or family doctor. They can refer you to a paediatric physiotherapist who can assess your child and give targeted support and guidance if your child has a delay in their motor skills or development.

We hope that you've found this blog helpful. If you have, please share it with your friends and family. Enjoy practicing walking with your little one!

From the team at Physiotherapy for Children