When your baby is about to walk

Hopefully you’ve been training your baby to walk. You know, waking up at the crack of dawn, giving them their pre-warmup meal and then onto training as if your baby was about to enter The Olympics.

What kind of training you ask?

Cruising. Lots of cruising.

I normally start by pulling my stopwatch out and buffing the glass so I can read the time right. I then put my son on the edge of the coffee table and let him cruise around it. If he doesn’t cruise fast enough or he doesn’t beat his weekly personal best time, then he has to drop and gimme 20 pushups.

Ok seriously, there is not much you can do. Walking is a normal developmental milestone, meaning it is something they learn on their own when they are ready. You can help accelerate learning by creating an appropriate environment.

An Infant Friendly Walking Environment

Make sure you have a baby safe area for your little cruiser. A big ottoman or a coffee table without points works well as a base for baby to hold onto and walk around. Push toys are also really good. My son’s favorite is his Walk ‘n Ride. He zooms around his playroom behind it with a big smile on his face and cruises as fast as his balance allows before running into a wall. He loves it!

You want to have enough room for those little legs to build strength. They can’t really build much muscle if they are using a push toy inside a closet. So make sure to provide room. More importantly watch your child. Not only is it fun, but its safe. They fall alot at this stage while developing these precious skills.

Our son is starting to take independent steps now, but it’s been a slow process. I’ve heard that the more efficient crawler they are, the longer it takes to walk. This seems to hold true for DS as he pretty much can go from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds on his knees. I swear you think he is behind you, but then you turn around for a second and he’s already started climbing the stairs.

I digress. Our son can take anywhere between 4 -10 independent steps and then either falls forward or sits on his butt. My wife and I can’t wait for the day when he just keeps on going with that little robotic walk.

We just started using a broom stick where my DS stands up and hold ons. Then my wife and I each hold onto an end and walk with him. This exercise has really shown to improve his confidence because he is walking more independently.