One Year Old Baby Doesn't Want to Walk

Verywell / Photo Illustration by Madelyn Goodnight / Getty Images

Healthy babies develop at unlike rates—and learning to walk is no dissimilar. Many parents worry if their child has not hit this key developmental milestone by their first altogether. But, you may exist relieved to know that 1 year is too shortly to begin to worry.

This article explains the signs you might notice as your baby starts approaching the walking milestone, how you can encourage them, and symptoms of filibuster that may warrant a conversation with a pediatric healthcare provider.

What to Look For

While plenty of babies take their first steps past 12 months or before, it's also perfectly normal for a child to not be walking at their first birthday or even several months after. In fact, many babies don't start toddling at all until effectually thirteen months. Some may not walk until 15 to 16 months of age—and that'southward yet in the typical range.

"Many babies don't walk by their outset birthday," says Alisa Baer, Doctor, board-certified pediatrician and fellow member of Verywell Family's Review Lath. Instead of looking at walking solitary, Dr. Baer looks for other milestones, similar whether your kid can bear weight on their legs when supported by 12 months, pull themselves up to a stand by xv months, and cruise (walking while holding onto objects for support) by fifteen months.

Click Play to Learn How to Teach a Baby to Walk

How to Encourage Walking

Even though your child is operating at their own pace, yous can always give a little encouragement. Your baby may be more probable to explore on 2 feet with these activities.

Let Them Become Barefoot

Babies need good traction to move around. "Kids can often have the all-time grip when barefoot on a surface with good traction (not a slippery floor)," says Dr. Baer. "And then letting your child become barefoot while in the firm whenever possible tin help. With shoes, those that take flexible soles are all-time for new walkers."

Movement the Activity Up

Maybe your child is an skilful crawler who finds lilliputian involvement in walking. If they're entirely mobile and itch serves them well, they may exist less motivated to experiment with walking. If you start to motility the action off the floor, however, they might be suddenly interested in giving walking a go.

Start putting toys on the edge of the couch or up on a coffee table. And so, when that has their interest piqued, and they are regularly pulling up and cruising the furniture, move the java table a niggling further from the burrow, then they accept to take an unassisted stride to get from one place to another. (Exist certain to baby-proof any hard edges or corners of your furniture.)

Entice Them With a Toy

Let your child pull up using a sturdy chair if yous're sitting on the floor. Position yourself a couple of feet away with a favorite toy and see if they effort to accept a step to get to you or the toy.

To encourage movement, avoid routinely providing a little circle of toys right around your child on the flooring, every bit proximity to easy amusement can discourage exploration. Instead, try spreading toys out effectually your child and then they have some motivation to get moving. Not so much that it's frustrating, but just enough out of reach that they are willing to piece of work for it a bit.

Additionally, you can offering your kid toys to hold when standing. Sometimes the feeling of belongings something can assistance. "Some kids volition accept more than independent steps in the start when their easily are full (each property a small toy or object) rather than empty," says Dr. Baer. "Egg shakers are great for kids to hold, as they brand racket equally the kid moves."

Offer Gratuitous Time on the Flooring

Other children may non exist interested in walking considering they don't go a lot of opportunities to practice. For example, some children are perfectly content to hang out playing in an exersaucer, high chair, playpen, crib, or even in your arms or a carrier.

That'south perfectly fine, just brand sure yous too requite them plenty of time to roam freely on the floor (supervised, of form), and so they can put those emerging big motor skills to use.

"Be sure your child has a safe area to play on the floor that has condom objects for them to pull to stand on," says Dr. Baer. She adds that parents should also ensure that article of furniture—especially TVs and annihilation with drawers that pull out—is anchored to the wall for rubber.

Y'all might think that an exersaucer, jumper, or stationary demonstration "walker" (note that mobile infant walkers are not rubber, as they can crusade injury) is helping your baby learn to stand and walk. However, research has constitute just the opposite.

In fact, despite the names of these products, research shows that these baby "walking" aids don't help babies walk sooner, tin hinder their progress toward the beginning steps, and even disrupt a child's natural gait.

Babies apply dissimilar muscle groups with these devices than when learning to walk. In addition, they rely on the device to catch them instead of learning to residuum themselves.

Luckily, a kid who loves the exersaucer is also likely to honey toys with a broad, supportive base and wheels with a slow, restricted roll. These safe toddler walker toys provide something secure to hold onto equally children larn to walk and balance. As a bonus, these products take upward a lot less floor space.

Safe Precautions

If you're worried about your child getting injure while learning to walk, call up this: Falls are going to happen—often when y'all're right by their side or just out of accomplish. Your child will lose their balance, fall, bump their head, or cut their lip.

It'southward natural to want to keep them safe from any harm, but it'due south important to let your toddler take the necessary tumbles along the fashion to learning to walk—that's why they're called toddlers, subsequently all. A few bumps and bruises are part of the learning procedure, and there'south piffling you can practice to prevent them (aside from infant-proofing).

Focus on what you tin practise to keep your toddler safer. For case, you can add a bumper around edges or sharp corners of article of furniture, buy toddler socks with grippy soles, and invest in area rugs for those spots where your kid often plays.

Alisa Baer, Physician

Exist certain your kid has a safety surface area to play on the floor that has safe objects for them to pull to stand up on.

— Alisa Baer, MD

And when they do fall? Just be ready with a bandage, a hug, an encouraging "adept job," and a kiss for their boo-boo.

When to Telephone call the Doctor

Near kids volition begin to walk sometime between their kickoff birthday and around 16 months, no matter what their parents do or don't do. However, be sure to discuss your concerns with a pediatrician if your child nonetheless hasn't shown any involvement in walking past xv to 16 months, especially if they are late on other milestones.

If your kid has whatsoever of the post-obit signs, you should contact a dr.:

• Suddenly stops walking
• Does non take any independent steps by 15 months
• Cannot walk independently by 18 months
• Walks unsteadily at 2 years
• Has an unusual gait at 3 years

Sometimes, a delay in walking can signify a developmental filibuster that requires handling, or another medical issue could be at play. Ordinarily, though, everything is fine, and your toddler may showtime toddling whatsoever mean solar day—fifty-fifty after showing no signs of trying merely a week or and then earlier.

A Word From Verywell

Most parents anxiously await their child'due south showtime steps—and it is super exciting to watch your infant learn to walk. Simply try to be patient and non worry also much nearly when information technology happens. Instead, relish the large moment when it comes—and be set up with a osculation and a purse of frozen veggies or a popsicle to soothe those bumps and bruises that come up hand-in-hand with first steps. If your child hasn't taken whatever steps by 15 months, bring this upwards with a healthcare provider.

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Source: https://www.verywellfamily.com/when-will-my-toddler-start-walking-289857

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