Preparing to take their first steps

Many children won’t walk independently until 13 to 15 months or later, but your baby may already be working on the skills needed for this exciting milestone: pulling up to stand, lowering back down, cruising, and more.

In this post:

• Activity: Improve balance by turning to reach
• Article: Ways to practice pre-walking skills
• Ask & Learn: How can we help our baby walk on her own?

Improve balance by turning to reach 

Once your baby can stand as they hold onto furniture, help them take the next step: reaching behind them.

• As your little one stands with both hands on an ottoman or couch for support, draw their attention to the Montessori Egg Cup.
• Slowly move the plaything slightly behind them so that they turn away from their support and shift their weight to follow it.
• Encourage them to get the egg and/or cup.

This activity can help improve your child’s balance and strengthen their hips and core—all great preparation for walking ❤️ 

Ways to practice pre-walking skills

It may be some time before your baby takes their first wobbly steps ❤️ To get there, they have to learn how to shift their center of gravity to right themselves when they start to tip over. They’ll also start to put out their arms to protect themselves when they fall.

Here are some activities you can try at home to support your baby as they learn to walk:  

Getting vertical

• Standing play. Place toys, board books, and other high-interest items on a surface just high enough for your baby to reach once they’ve pulled into a standing position. Couches (with the seat cushions removed if possible), ottomans, and sturdy low tables work well for this.
• “Squat to stand“ play. Sit on the floor with your baby on your lap, just in front of a low surface they can pull up on, such as a coffee table. Help guide their hips into a standing position, then help them back down. This teaches your baby how it feels to go up and then down again, which strengthens the muscles they’ll use for walking.
• Kneeling play. Try encouraging a “tall kneel” in front of a low surface. A tall kneel means kneeling with your baby’s bottom lifted off their heels. Playing in this position works your baby’s core muscles and helps them practice balancing. Offer a fun toy on a nearby surface and help your baby reach for it while lifting their bottom off of their knees.

Learning to cruise

• Make your home cruise-friendly. Consider moving a few pieces of furniture closer together so your baby can move freely between them. You might move an extra chair into your living area or place an ottoman beside a chair instead of in front of it. Be mindful of places your baby can fall—pad them and cover all sharp corners. 
• Keep things close. Offer your baby toys on a surface just out of their reach when they’ve pulled up to stand to encourage cruising. You can increase the distance as your baby gets more comfortable taking weight off one foot in order to move the other. 
• Add some challenges. Once your baby can cruise in a straight line, create play setups that involve new challenges. Arrange furniture so that your baby needs to round a corner or move between two parallel surfaces, like a couch and low table set far enough apart that your baby needs to reach from one to the other.

Balancing on two feet

• Turn them around. To support turning while standing, offer your child a toy while you stand right behind them. They’ll need to rotate their body to grasp it, which helps them develop the balance needed to eventually walk.
• Support them from behind. Instead of having your baby face a wall or soft piece of furniture, try placing them with their back to the support. This gets them used to the feeling of having nothing in front of them while still having something to lean on.
• Stand away from surfaces. Sit your baby on the floor away from a supportive surface. Offer them a toy up above them. Keep a tight hold on the toy and as your baby grasps it, the toy will help them pull up. This gives your baby a new kind of balancing practice with less stabilizing support than they would get by holding onto a table or couch. 

What parents are asking our experts…

“Our baby has been walking with support for awhile. How can we help her walk on her own?”

Answer:

When your baby starts showing interest in being upright and mobile, you may be tempted to help by holding her hands above her head. I don’t recommend this because most babies have very fragile elbow joints. This position also won’t teach your baby the proper way to walk.

Try to hold your baby’s hands at or below her shoulder level instead. Once your baby is pulling up to stand and cruising, she also may experiment with moving from one piece of furniture to the next. You may see her cruise along kitchen cabinets or from the couch to the coffee table.

If furniture is set up to promote her success, she will walk in the near future. If she lowers down to the floor to crawl, try moving the furniture closer together so that getting from point A to point B is achievable in one step. A final note: If your daughter is using any type of push walker, I recommend eliminating it, as it may actually inhibit her progress.

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