dumb question? when is walking walking?!

[compo]

Ds is just 19 months and today took a few steps from me to get to dh. Do you call that walking? Would you say that today is the day he started walking? Or do you wait until he stands up on his own and walks off? Bit paranoid i guess cos he's a late walker cmpared to every baby we knw and people keep asking me if he's walking eyt so just wanted to know if at last I can say yes!! Also, all these early walkers - do people say they are walking when they start walking round the furntiture? Is that why babies of 8 months are deemed to be walking?!!!

oh yes that's DEFINITELY walking! as soon as they take steps unaided!

no - i think walking is when they take their first unspported steps. So not crusing around furniture but definayrly walking unaided between you and DH!

Well done to Compo junior

I only count walking as the day they decide to not crawl any more, or at least to walk most of the time.

But first steps are good. My DS2 is walking maybe 25% of the time now.

Aw thanks you guys - I know it's dumb but I feel so happy I guess I just convinced myself that he never would because everyone kept asking!!

it isn't dumb! it's fab when they do stuff like that... especially when you don't see ti coming!

I'm so happy, I don't even mind that apparently he did it at nursery this afternoon first!!

lol... he's probably been doing it secretly for ages... just when no-ne is looking

He'll be running next week .

Those are his first steps. But he's not exactly walking yet. But sounds like it won't be long.

its so brilliant when they do it for the first time. with Ds it seemed to go from first tentative steps to full-blown running and needing proper shoes in about three weeks. bursting with pride but at the same time...very scary, had to up the childproofing significantly....imagine the havoc they can wreak when they've got their hands free! there's a lot to be said for walking later.

compo that's great, I would call that "first steps".
As others say, in terms of proper shoes etc, I deem walking to be when they do it most of the time, or, as in the case of ds1, when we stopped counting steps because we had got to 35 or something! He was 16.5mo then btw.
Some babies do walk early (my ds2 took his first steps at 9mo) but 19 mo is within NT parameters so there's no point comparing.
A friend of ds2's was a late walker for a good medical reason (which her parents knew about) but she's great now and her speech is much clearer than ds2's. (He was too busy rushing about to bother, y'see)

IMO they start walking the day they take their first steps (which are often only 3 or 4) and take then without holding on to anything!

then over the next few days a weeks they use walking more and more and crawling less and less.

Once they have taken unaided steps they start walking...

and yes babies DO take forst steps and start 'walking' from 8 months!