Starting to walk questions -

[justnodandsmile]

Hi my son is just starting to walk and I have a few questions I'm hoping the lovely mumsnet ladies might be able to help with:

1. can you buy helmets anywhere for babies learning to walk? My son is 9 months and wants to be constantly on his feet but he is very wobbly and we have stone floors....

2. people keep asking me if he's 'walking' and I'm not sure- he takes about 10 wobbly steps before I have to catch him. I have to follow him everywhere to catch him before he falls- is he now officially 'walking' or does that not count?

3. when do I get him proper shoes? Am I too early now? He demands to be constantly on his feet and is outdoors a lot. I know I shouldn't put them on him if he doesn't need them so his feet can develop properly, but Im petrified he will stand on something sharp and he keeps ruining those fabric shoes outside....

Would very much appreciate your help-I've never done this 'learning to walk' thing before!

1 I have never heard of helmsts for babies learning to walk, most of us have managed without and have lived to tell the tale.

2 If he is walking unaided (not holding on to anything) then that usually counts as walking, even if wobbly. You don't have to give a yes/no answer; you could just tell them what you've told us here.

3 I know Clarks are not keen to sell proper shoes to babies who haven't been walking for a while but they are OK with selling their little canvas shoes with rubber soles, (plimsole style) so you might investigate these as they are also quite appropriate for this time of year.

ok, my opinion, for what it's worth

1. yes you can, but kids have been learning to walk since forever without them and it's been just fine. Helmets (IMO) create a false sense of security both for the child and you. You could potentially pay less attention because you feel he is safe, and he learns that falling down doesn't hurt and start leaping off the top of the sofa

2. yes! if he can walk then he's walking in my opinion :)

3. i would wait as long as possible before getting proper shoes. you're right that they develop best with nothing on. I'd use soft baby shoes for when he is out in your garden as you can presumably make sure he has a safe area to walk in. they're also fine in shopping centres etc. If you do need to be somewhere that you don't feel is safe then by all means get him fitted with some real shoes, wearing them now and then won't harm him

something like this might work for him right now. they're technically pre-walkers, but the rubbery sole should be fine outside unless you're somewhere really rugged!

You ladies are wonderful, thank you. I'm such a nervous nelly goodness knows how I'd have coped in the pre-mumsnet era! Those little shoes look perfect for what I want, just something soft with a rubber sole for occasional use- thank you!

Yes, those were the shoes I meant, thisisyesterday. DS had them for a whole summer and they were much more hardwearing than they look.

My dd is walking in a similar fashion and is just starting to get fairly sturdy and walking for longer distances. She has walked whilst holding on to the furniture or behind her walker toy since she was about 61/2 months and had just taken a few steps at her one year check. I discussed it with my HV and she recommended getting the soft rubber shoes asap to get her used to wearing something on her feet. The lady at Clarkes agreed with my HV - she said if you wait until they are walking properly and confidently then sometimes introducing shoes can then put them off. However, at £24 a pair there is always the chance that she just wanted to sell me shoes!! I found that my DD has wanted to be on her feet even more since getting her shoes. She constantly points at her feet and says 'sues' and loves it when we put them on.

Just to be clear, she shoes are the first walker ones, not proper hard soled shoes. They are designed to allow the foot to grow and my DD only wears them for a short time each day.

My DD was so unsteady at first, and I concentrated on child proofing thd rooms we were in most - removing trips, making sure there were no hard corners at her height, (coffee table and hearth were worst), and then being ready to catch her...
It didn't last that long, the really wobbly phase though... Good luck, it's lots of fun!

"proper shoes" are almost certainly not warranted at any age at all - "barefoot" shoes - ie ones which just protect the wearer from the elements are almost certainly much better. So as soft and flexible as you can go.

DS had these and I would thoroughly recommend them for outdoor wear (would probably stick with bare feet or leather shoes for indoors - avoid socks if you have stone floors as they might be too slippery). These are incredibly soft and flexible and have a bit of grip too. I would just make sure you get your DS properly fitted if you decide to go for some shoes given how young he is.

1. You can (they do them for children who cannot bang their heads for medical reasons), but couldn't you just put down some rugs with non-slip material underneath for the most used areas while he finds his feet?

2. He is walking unaided so yes he is walking

3. Try cruising shoes, my DD1 was in this sort of thing for the first three months or so after she started walking. We used to take her outside in them on her reins once she became more confident at walking.

Totally agree with the others; one thing I would say is he's an early walker and sometimes they don't have a lot of sense so watch him when he goes near tables that he can crawl under and then stand up banging his head! But helmets aren't nec. IMO!

DD was an early walker (10 months) but from experience it's not the learning to walk phase as much as the learning to run phase that causes the most bumped heads/mum's heart in mouth. They learn to put their hands out quickly enough though. Plus the human skull is an amazing thing - much like a helmet really!

Yes yes babydolls Our 2 DDs had no problems with running but our DS lOVED it; repeatedly running down slopes and falling down on his nose we've go photos of him with horrible scabs on his nose at that running stage!

I've had 2 early walkers now. We also have stone floors as we live somewhere very hot and so no carpets! They have both been fine. We had the Clarks cruisers for both as at this stage they will still crawl a little bit and so the rubber bit on the toes helps to protect them a bit more when outside. I would put off proper shoes for as long as you can.

I'd rather have had a few more months with a sedentary baby but it's a lovely stage none the less!