When Will They Walk?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

06 Jul 2006 05:35 PM

As milestones go, when your baby begins to walk is considered the hurdle between infant and toddler. After all, a toddler is someone who toddles around and until your baby takes those first few precarious and precious steps - they are still an infant. Too many parents are so eager for each stage that they live and breathe by the recommendations in books like What to Expect in The First Year. There's nothing wrong with these recommendations, but while some babies are beginning to toddle at 9 months, other babies may take until they are 18 months.

My daughter was a late bloomer and while I know there were some people who voiced concerns about how long it was taking her to get around to walking - remember - no one wrote the book based on your baby. They wrote it based on what the average baby does. The average baby is determined by a statistical average of a sampling of babies. But let me not digress.

Don't Rush When They Walk

Babies develop at their own pace and nothing you say or do is going to change what that pace is. In fact, you can do more harm than good if you try to rush the development. Walking is a baby's first major move towards independence from you and once they start walking - they don't stop. In fact, running quickly follows.

Your baby needs to develop muscle strength and coordination during his or her first few months of life. They will learn to crawl, roll over and sit up and hold themselves upright in the sitting position. The average baby is starting to pull themselves up on things around 8 months or so. Now before you start glancing at the calendar and thinking your 9 month old isn't doing that - let me say again: there is nothing wrong with your baby.

My daughter did not walk until she was 18 months old. She didn't bother pulling herself up on things until after she was a year. In fact, she walked before she could crawl. How, you may ask, did she do this? Because she bounced everywhere she went. She did what we called butt scooting across the floor. Once she was able to hold herself up right in a sitting position - rather than crawl or try to pull herself up, she just bounced along the floor and got some lift at times.

Be Delighted In Their Personal Accomplishments

When our friends asked us if we'd had her checked out because she wasn't walking yet, I just laughed at them. There was nothing wrong with her, but our daughter was a pretty big kid. By 12 months, she was wearing 2T's and larger. Her body grew faster than her muscles could develop and since she was tall and long, we knew it was going to take her longer.

Besides, I personally enjoyed the butt scooting she did everywhere. We even have it on video.

In the meanwhile, take comfort in the fact that the average baby begins pulling up at about 8 months and they take their first steps sometimes between 9 and 12 months. Many babies are walking well by 14 to 15 months of age - but if it takes longer - don't worry about it. Most babies no matter when they start, are walking by the time they are 18 months old.

I've seen babies walking fine at 9 months. I've seen my own take until she was 18 months. If you worked the average between two babies - one walking at 9 months and the other walking at 18 months - the average age for walking would be about 13 and half months. So don't worry about what the book says. If you are really concerned about your baby's development - talk to your pediatrician.

When did your baby start to walk?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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Christina Huffman (1406) 07 Jul 2006 04:25 AM

WE have a butt scooter at our house too! She's taking her first steps now at 14 months. My first born didn't walk until 16 months and my second at 15. My boy who was born three months premature walked at 12 months! That one surprised me.

Heather Long (16954) 07 Jul 2006 05:30 AM

Isn't the butt scooting delightful? And my 9 month old nephew is already toddling by holding onto hands -- he hasn't quite taken the first few steps on his own, but he's about breaking his neck to do it!

Hettepop (10) 01 Nov 2006 09:19 PM

Hi Heather, Thanks for writing about the butt-scooter in your family. I have twin granddaughters(fraternal) who are now 14 months old. One of them was born with congenital hypothyroid. She had a rather traumatic time at birth and spent two weeks in the NICU. She has been seeing an Early Intervention therapist every two weeks since she was 6 weeks old. Her twin sister reached all the usual milestones right on target and walked at 11 months. The other baby loves to butt-scoot and hates being on her tummy to try to crawl. She just recently started standing up in her crib and does pull herself up to stand, but when she wants to get somewhere, she flies along on her butt. Her therapist told my daughter to discourage this and keep getting her to crawl. It is encouraging that your baby did the same thing and walked at 18 momths. Does she still like to butt-scoot sometimes? I am happy that you had a positive attitude about it because my granddaughter is also a happy baby. Her twin is very sweet and affectionate to her. Thanks again for writing about this in a positive way. The grandbabies' Oma "Hettepop"