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Parenting

How long does it take to learn to walk?

11 replies

Prusik · 11/06/2018 07:56

Ds1 took his first steps at Christmas. He's now 17 months and I still can't take him outside as he bangs himself so much. He constantly falls over and doesn't seem to be able to put his hands out to save himself. Not comparing him to others but he definitely is very unstable in comparison to friends little ones who started walking after him. I'm not worried but it's slow going. Does this seem ok? How can I help?

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letallthechildrenboogie · 11/06/2018 08:05

They are often wobbly for quite a while. Might help to give him a toy buggy to push if it's stable enough. How old is he?

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GreenTulips · 11/06/2018 08:06

Taken him put he needs the practise, use reigns or a push along to steady him.

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letallthechildrenboogie · 11/06/2018 08:06

Sorry. Just seen... Ask your HV if you're worried but if he's up and going I think just patience. Good luck!

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Prusik · 11/06/2018 08:45

I'll get him out as much as I can. It's tricky as he has a five month old brother. I tend to put little one in carrier and big one in pram

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Eeeeek2 · 12/06/2018 08:55

See if he'll help you push the pram, ds finds it easier if it's in parent facing mode with our pram. I have reins for him which are half because of the road and half because you can catch him before he face plants the floor.

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mogonfoxnight · 12/06/2018 09:11

My eldest was slow to walk - very slow actually, only just within milestones - and he used to get very frustrated with his legs which occasionally collapsed under him. I worried! I did a lot of extra things with him to help strengthen his gross motor skills once he was walking, such as gym classes and long walks, and made sure he was eating lots of nutritious food. He seemed behind until he was about 4. After that he was absolutely fine and he is quite sporty. He still loses weight and energy quickly if he doesn't eat and sleep well. His fine motor skills and everything else have always been absolutely fine, pretty strong, it was just the gross motor skills which were the problem. I just mention it to your doctor/HV and I imagine their advice will be to keep an eye on it, and also read up on gross motor skills, maybe.

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mogonfoxnight · 12/06/2018 09:16

I posted too soon. By "read up on gross motor skills" I meant you may get ideas for activities to help. Also could you try putting the 5 month in a baby bjorn on your chest, leaving you hands free to hold hands with the 17 month old?

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Prusik · 16/06/2018 09:11

I don't know why but I didn't think to look up gross motor skill activities. Feels silly now as I used to be a teacher. I literally apply none of my knowledge to my kids for some reason!!!

I find the baby in the carrier hinders more than helps as he sort of gets in the way. We did manage a walk yesterday afternoon which was nice. Also I got the in-laws on board yesterday for a trip to the local farm so they had baby and I had the toddler. That really helped.

New shoes have also made a positive difference.
Thank you all. Just can't believe he was such an early cruiser and walking has taken such a long time compared to others. Especially since he was cruising months before them and also took first steps months before them too.

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mogonfoxnight · 18/06/2018 18:49

I was the same as you in the sense that I kicked myself for not doing it sooner than I did! All was fine in the end though!

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MumOfTwoMasterOfNone · 18/06/2018 23:45

DS4 took his first steps at 15 months. It took him a very long time to master walking and eventually running. He's still a very clumsy child.
DD2 was walking and running within a few days at 11 months and is very stable on her feet. They're all completely different and do things in their own time.

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AlwaysWantedToBeATenenbaum · 19/06/2018 12:41

My son (16 months) has been properly walking - by this I mean more than just 2 or 3 steps without falling down - for about a month now and he's still a wee bit wobbly and often falls down. He hasn't quite figured out that if something is on the floor he needs to go around it and just tries to walk over it resulting in a fall.
There's not really a set time frame though. They'll learn to get steadier the more walking they do. I've noticed that if he gets a bit wobbly he's getting better at putting out his arms to steady himself. If we're outside I just hold his hand to catch him if he falls.
But don't worry at all.

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