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Home › Articles › Milestones › Walking the Walk

Walking the Walk

When Babies Start Discovering the World on Two Legs

By Sue Marquette Poremba

Pages:  1  2  3  

"The gross motor skills that lead up to walking develop in a predictable pattern," LeComer says. "Parents can witness their babies gaining motor control of their heads and necks. Next, babies will progress to rolling over, reaching and then sitting. Babies then begin to creep and crawl and then stand up on their legs while holding on. About the time of their 1st birthday, they reach the highly anticipated milestone of walking independently."

At Their Own Pace
It is important to remember that all babies are different, says Dr. Lara Elizabeth Morse, a pediatric neurologist and director of the pediatric development center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J. Not only will they walk at different times, but they will also approach walking differently. "Some kids will crawl first, while other kids will have no interest in crawling," Dr. Morse says.

There is one universal sign that indicates a baby is soon ready to start walking, Dr. Morse says. When you are holding the child, she says to tip the child so the head is going downward. "If their hands go forward to break the fall, it shows the child is preparing to walk soon," she says. A sign that a child may be a late walker is their flexibility, says Dr. Morse. A very flexible child is likely to be a later walker due to slower developing muscle tone.

When a child isn't walking by his 1st birthday, many parents become concerned that there is something wrong. Both LeComer and Dr. Morse suggest noting the baby's overall development. Did he tend to be late with other milestones? If so, walking late simply follows the pattern. Were the child's siblings (if any) late to walk? What about the parents? If there is a family history of late walkers, it is more likely your child also will be a late walker.


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