When should children walk

When Your Baby Starts to Walk

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD on March 12, 2021

Your baby learning to walk can be some of the most exciting and memorable moments of parenthood. From a very young age, your baby strengthens their muscles, slowly preparing to take their first steps. Usually between 6 and 13 months, your baby will crawl. Between 9 and 12 months, they’ll pull themselves up. And between 8 and 18 months, they’ll walk for the first time.

How Babies Develop Walking Skills

Your baby will develop many skills, including balance, coordination, standing up and supporting their body weight from one leg to the other. Each new skill will build upon the previous skills, making them more prepared to start walking.

Watching your baby take their first steps on their own is an experience you'll never forget. When your baby does start walking, it happens in stages, which include these big milestones:

6 months. Babies start to sit up on their own.

6-9 months. Babies start crawling.

9 months. Babies begin to pull themselves up on furniture like the couch or coffee table, so they can stand.

9-12 months. Babies may start to stand up, hold onto furniture and explore the room.

11-13 months. During this exciting time, you can expect to see your baby start to walk on their own.

Keep in mind that each baby is different and may start walking earlier or later than when the experts deem is "normal". There can be a lot of variation among children's development, and that's totally normal.

If your baby is 18 months or older and hasn’t started walking yet, or if you’re concerned about your child’s development, contact your pediatrician. Watch out for these warning signs of late walkers:

Your baby doesn't roll over in either direction or sit with help
Your baby doesn't support some weight on legs
Your baby doesn't try to attract your attention through their actions
Your baby doesn’t try to talk or babble
Your baby shows no interest in games of peekaboo

Ways to Help Your Baby Start Walking

To help your baby start walking, you can try the following tips:

Play together. When you’re around your baby, you can help them feel safer during playtime. That way, they're more comfortable exploring and have higher confidence.

Encourage moving. Moving around helps your baby build their muscles, which will help them when they start walking and eventually running. You can do this by kneeling in front of your baby, holding out your hands and encouraging them to come to you.

While toddlers are beginning to walk, it's normal for them to take a few spills, that's just a part of learning. While you can't save your baby from every fall, you can reduce the chance of injury.

You can help them by "baby-proofing" your home by making their space as safe as possible:

Put locks on doors and cabinets to help keep your baby away from unsafe items like chemicals
Pad sharp corners of furniture
Install a child-proof gate to prevent your baby from going down the stairs
Keep items like pots and pans on the back of your stovetop

Baby Products for Walking

Baby walkers. Medical professionals do not recommend using baby walkers. Because a walker makes it easy for your baby to get around, your baby’s leg muscles may not develop properly. Also, when a baby is propped up on a baby walker, it can be easier for them to get into things they normally wouldn’t be able to reach, like hot items or poisons that could be dangerous. This makes baby walkers even less safe.

Baby shoes. Hold off on buying baby shoes right away. Walking barefoot helps your child to develop improved balance and coordination. Wait until they start walking outside regularly until you introduce them to baby shoes.

What’s Next After Your Baby Starts Walking?

Your baby's first steps are only the beginning of an exciting new phase in their life. Here's what else you can expect as they become a toddler:

14 months: At this age, your toddler will likely be able to stand on their own, squat, stand back up, and maybe even walk backwards.
15 months: Your child will be pretty good at walking and will likely enjoy push-and-pull toys and exploring new things.
16 months: Your baby will start to show an interest in going up and down the stairs, although they will likely still look to you for help with this one.
18 months: By 18 months, your child will probably have the walking thing down and enjoy moving around on their own. They’ll probably enjoy climbing on furniture and dancing to music, too.

As your child gains more confidence and independence, it opens up all kinds of new opportunities. It’s an exciting time, so don't forget to enjoy it.

14-Month-Old Not Walking: Should You Worry?

Overview

Your baby will hit many developmental milestones during the first year of life. These include learning how to hold their bottle, rolling over, crawling, sitting up, and eventually walking without assistance.

If you’ve read books on child development, or if you have other children, you may expect your baby to take their first steps somewhere between 10 and 12 months. So if your baby doesn’t begin walking by 14 months, you may worry.

It’s important to remember that babies develop and reach milestones at different ages. The fact that your baby isn’t walking by 14 months doesn’t always indicate a problem.

Should you worry if your baby isn’t walking?

If your baby isn’t walking by 14 months, your concerns are understandable. You want your child to reach milestones, and you don’t want your baby to lag behind other children of similar age. But a baby being unable to walk at 14 months isn’t usually indicative of a problem. While some babies begin walking before 12 months, others don’t walk until 16 or 17 months.

To determine whether your baby’s inability to walk is a cause for concern, consider the big picture. For example, although your baby is unable to walk at 14 months, you may notice that your baby is able to perform other motor skills with no problem, like standing alone, pulling up on furniture, and bouncing up and down.

These are signs that your baby’s motor skills are developing. Therefore, you may witness their first steps soon. Continue to monitor your baby’s progress. If your baby doesn’t walk by the age of 18 months, talk with your doctor.

You should also talk to your doctor if you feel your baby’s motor skills aren’t developing properly. This might be the case if your 14-month-old is unable to stand, pull up, or bounce.

It’s also important to realize that some babies born prematurely begin walking later than children of the same age. If your baby was premature, don’t immediately panic over their inability to walk. Use your child’s adjusted age when tracking developmental milestones. The adjusted age is based on your baby’s original due date.

If you have a 14-month-old, but you gave birth three months early, your baby’s adjusted age is 11 months. In this case, it may take your baby an additional two to three months to learn how to balance and walk, which is normal. Don’t worry. In all likelihood, your baby will catch up.

How do babies learn to walk?

Babies learn to walk gradually as they become bigger and their leg muscles become stronger. Because of weak muscles, a newborn’s legs can’t support their weight. Typically, babies begin scooting or crawling around the age of 7 months. Around this age they also begin to bounce up and down while being held in a standing position. This action helps strengthen your baby’s leg muscles in preparation for taking their first steps.

Around the age of 8 to 9 months, your baby may begin pulling up on objects, like chairs and tables. Some babies even lift their feet up and down while holding onto an object, as if they’re about to walk.

Walking involves balance and confidence. Not only does your baby learn how to stand up alone, there’s also the challenge of learning how to coordinate steps without falling. This takes time.

Since babies develop strength in her legs at different ages, it’s normal for some babies to walk sooner than others. Some babies take their first steps as early as 9 or 10 months.

How to help your baby walk

Some babies that don’t begin walking by 14 months simply need more practice. To help babies take their first steps, parents and caregivers can get on the floor and hold their hands while they’re in a standing position. Slowly guide the baby across the floor. This exercise teaches babies how to lift their legs and move across the room. It also helps babies develop stronger leg muscles and improves their balance.

As a parent, you may have a natural urge to hold or carry your baby while at home. But the more floor time your baby receives, the more opportunity your baby has to become mobile and walk independently. Allow your baby to scoot, crawl, and pull up as often as possible.

Baby walkers are often used as a teaching tool for babies learning to walk. But these are not a safe choice. Surprisingly, baby walkers can delay walking in babies. Some babies have also been injured as a result of walkers. You may consider using a push toy, but you should always supervise your baby with these to make sure they don’t tip over.

Some parents also think putting shoes on their baby’s feet can help them walk faster. The truth is, shoes often make it harder for babies to take their first steps. Shoes are recommended for outdoor walking, but many babies learn to walk faster when barefoot inside the home.

As you help your baby learn to walk, make sure you create a safe environment inside the home. This includes removing rugs that may trip your baby and cause injury. You can also install safety gates near staircases, and remove tables or shelves with sharp edges.

When to see a doctor

Although you shouldn’t panic if your baby is a delayed walker, there’s no harm in speaking with your doctor if your baby isn’t walking by 1 1/2, or earlier if you suspect a problem. Sometimes, delayed walking is caused by a foot or leg problem such as developmental hip dysplasia, rickets (softening or weakening of bones), or conditions that affect muscle tone like cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Check with your doctor if your baby seems to limp or if the legs appear weak or uneven.

Remember that no two children are alike, so don’t compare your baby’s progress with other children, or become overly anxious if your baby doesn’t walk by 14 months. When it comes to walking, some children are slow learners — but they don’t stay too far behind.

First steps. At what age does a child start walking?

- Our Vanya went today! - Mom joyfully meets dad after work, beaming with happiness. - Vanechka, look who's come! – And the hero of the holiday cautiously and timidly stupidly meets his big daddy, who throws him right up to the ceiling...

Do not compare: everything is subjective

The first steps of a baby are always a holiday, in every family. Moms on the playground show off the achievements of the little ones: Olenka has learned to crawl off the sofa, Ilyusha has been getting up and walking along the sofa for the third day already, but Vanechka took the first independent steps in his life! Ilyushin's mother is upset - after all, her son is a whole month older, but he still does not walk.

There is no need to be upset at all! The age when babies begin to walk without leaning on a wall or other support ranges from 8 to 14 months - everyone is different. Experts call different numbers. It is recommended to consult a doctor if the baby is one and a half years old, and he still has not gone. In other sources, the upper limit is 16 months.

As you can see, the age of the first independent steps for each child is very individual, as well as the growth schedule and other physical achievements.

Babies walk differently

The moment when the baby gets into his bed and, holding tightly to the sides, awkwardly steps along the crib, in fact, is considered the beginning of walking. The delighted mother rushes things, takes the baby out of the crib and puts it on the floor in order to finally walk around the room with him by the hand. Do not hurry! With exercises in the crib, the little one strengthens its still clumsy legs, training the muscles and making them stronger.

The gait of toddlers is not at all like the gait of adults. No wonder - after all, it will form only by the age of 4-5, at the same age characteristic synchronous movements of the arms and legs will appear, when the right arm rises simultaneously with the left leg in the swing, and vice versa (it looks as if a person is marching at a free pace ; actually, after all, all people walk like that).

In the meantime, children who are or are about to turn one year old walk with their legs wide apart for balance, while the feet are turned outward, and the legs themselves are bent at the knee and hip joints. At the age of 2-3 years, babies walk differently: their legs are almost straightened, that is, they are practically not bent at the knees, so it seems that the baby has stood on stilts.

Barefoot or shoes?

Every mother is sure that the first steps are the signal to buy a whole arsenal of new children's shoes. Interlaced sandals with beads, tiny shoes with rhinestones, demi-season boots decorated with flowers, elegant sneakers with a fashionable print. However, when choosing shoes, the main criterion should remain quality and comfort, and only then - the appearance and synchronization with children's fashion trends.

So, what is the best way for a baby to start a new life – in slippers or socks, or even barefoot?

Orthopedists recommend taking the first step in shoes that are necessarily equipped with an arch support. They claim that this serves as a prevention of flat feet, in addition, shoes limit the foot and prevent it from spreading. But differences of opinion exist even among orthopedists. In the book " Take off your shoes - and go " American orthopedist Simon Wikler concludes based on his own research: the more a person walks barefoot and the more flexible the sole of his shoes, the healthier his foot. He recommends letting children go barefoot more often.

There are other opinions that coincide with this « barefoot » theory, but with an important correction: babies must walk with bare feet, but not at home, on a smooth laminate or tile, but in nature. On sand or pebbles, on grass or a path in the garden - any natural uneven surface is good here. Grains of sand and pebbles, blades of grass and the relief pattern of paths irritate the skin of the foot. And she, in turn, sends nerve signals to the muscles, which react with the formation of the correct arch of the foot, the very springy arch that does not imprint on the trace of a healthy leg, developed without pathologies. It is this arch that helps to form the arch support in orthopedic shoes.

When a child starts walking and how to help him

Have patience.

When the child should go

Pediatricians agree on some things. The average child takes their first step at 12 months. The key word here is average. And your unique one has every right (approved by pediatricians and physiologists) to go to a different age.

The scope of the norm in this case varies quite widely - from 8 months to one and a half years.

Many parents are proud that their children start walking earlier than most. It seems to them that this speaks of the development of the child. But this is just a far-fetched excuse to amuse their parental vanity.

The period in which the child will go is related to his development, physical or intellectual abilities in exactly the same way as the shape of the nose or the color of the hair. In plain text, no way. Someone is red, someone has gray eyes, and someone went on their own at 8 months.

However, there are still certain situations when a delay in starting to walk should alert.

When to start worrying

First of all, a healthy baby must somehow take the first independent step before 20 months. By this age, the children have grown strong enough that it was given to them without much effort. If the child refuses to walk or does it only with support, it is necessary to contact the pediatrician. You may need additional examinations from other specialized specialists - an orthopedist or a neuropathologist.

Secondly, the big picture is important. It's one thing if the child does not walk, but his motor functions are obviously developing: he confidently rolls over, sits down, reaches for toys, crawls, tries to rise against the wall of the crib or climb onto the sofa, jumps enthusiastically when you hold him by the hands. And it’s quite another if his physical activity seems insufficient to you. This is also a serious reason to additionally consult a doctor.

If none of these situations apply to you and your children, relax. The child will definitely start walking as soon as he is ready for it.

What determines when a child goes

By and large, this is a lottery. No pediatrician will undertake to predict the exact dates, even observing a specific baby from birth and knowing everything about the family history. However, there are some regularities that allow us to make assumptions.

Here are the main factors that can affect (but not necessarily) the age at which a child takes his first independent steps.

Genetics

If a father or mother started walking at an early age, children will probably inherit this feature. The reverse is also true. If, for example, a father preferred to crawl for up to a year and a half, his son may choose the same tactic.

Weight and body type

Plumper and heavier children find it harder to get on their feet and balance than their leaner and more muscular buddies.

Some personality traits

Getting to your feet and taking the first step without support is quite a risky undertaking. Some children act on the principle of "head into the pool": they simply remove their hands from the wall or sofa and step into the unknown. Of course, they fall, sometimes it hurts, but they try again. Perhaps this propensity for risky behavior is a part of their character that will stay with them forever.

Other infants, on the other hand, behave in a more measured manner, walking only when they are sure that they can cope with this task. Caution and the ability to calculate their own strengths can also be innate features of their personality.

Duration of pregnancy

Children who were born prematurely, as a rule, begin to walk a little later than their peers.

How to help your child take the first step and begin to walk confidently

It is impossible to force children to go to a certain date. Walking, for all its seeming simplicity, is a very complex and energy-intensive process: what does it take to maintain balance on one leg at the moment when the other takes a step. The body of the child must mature for this stage. But you can help. True, you will have to start long before the first step.

What to do at 2 months

Around this age, babies first try to roll over. Encourage this movement. Lay out your child more often in a soft, safe space filled with bright toys - so that you want to look at them and, possibly, get them.

Encourage children to spend more time on their stomachs. Trying to raise your head and look at the world around you strengthens the muscles of your back and neck, which play an important role in maintaining balance while walking.

What to do at 4-6 months

The period when the child learns to sit up and possibly crawl. Provide a place to explore the world: let the children spend more time not in a crib or playpen, but on the floor - spread out some blankets and lay out toys. Trying to reach objects is a great workout for small muscles.

What to do at 6-8 months

The child is already sitting confidently, or even crawling. Give him tasks for dynamics: for example, roll a bright ball on the floor so that you want to catch it. Such a ball hunt trains the vestibular apparatus and coordination.

Another exercise that has the same purpose is as follows: make the child sit with his back to you and rock gently.

What to do around 8 months old

As babies become stronger and more curious, they tend to break away from their usual gender. For example, get a toy lurking on the couch. Or try to climb on mom (dad), holding on to trousers or a bathrobe with your hands.

Encourage these movements. Put your favorite bear cubs out in a conspicuous place. Or, when the child is sitting, invitingly stretch your hands towards him from the height of your own height, without bending down, to encourage him to reach out to you.

If you see that the child is ready to get up, help him do it. And then show how to bend your knees to get back on the safe floor.

During this period, it would be good to buy a stationary game center, which you can play with just getting up. This encourages children to spend more time standing up.

What to do at 9-10 months

Teach your child to stand without support. At least a couple of seconds. To do this, at a time when he is holding on to something, offer to take his favorite or new toy. This will force him to take his hands off the support.

A slightly more advanced exercise: help the child stand up and then give a plastic stick as a support. Carefully move the object - the baby will start to follow him. A stroller can also play the role of a wand: put it next to it during a walk, let it grab the frame and slowly move forward.

Heavy stable toys on wheels (toy lawn mowers, carts) will also be a good simulator: by pushing them in front of them, children learn to do step by step.

What to do at 10 months and older

At this age, many children can already walk. But often they are afraid of a large open space around. Make sure that the child has the opportunity to move “along the wall” - that is, in a maximum of a step or two, move from one support to another. This will create a sense of security.

To get children to go out into the open, you can use a regular gymnastics hoop. Throw it on the child, giving him the opportunity to lean on his hands, and lead the hoop to the center of the room. The kid will follow the support.

But the experts advise to refuse popular walkers.

Firstly, these items reduce the child's desire to learn to walk: really, why, because he already knows how to move in space in this convenient contraption? Secondly, walkers are simply unsafe. Thanks to them, children in a matter of seconds can be where they should not be. For example, in front of the stairs leading down or at the table, on the edge of which there is a cup of hot coffee. Adults simply do not have time to keep track of this.

When you realize that your child is already trying to walk, be sure to get on all fours and look around from the height of his eyes. Sharp corners, sockets, edges of tablecloths that you want to grab and drag down, an iron on an ironing board, and the like - all these dangers must be neutralized.