When did your toddlers start to follow some kind of direction?

[Bambinobaby]

When out and about walking, when were you able to somewhat direct them? My little one is only 13 months and when we go out for ‘walks’, it’s entirely baby led and I just make sure she’s going around safely but I’m wondering when we might be able to go for family walks where she might actually follow a path? I was guessing somewhere between 2-3 years old?

My 2.5yo does. My friends 2.5yo doesn’t. I usually have to include “can you find a… drain cover / yellow flower / bench?” Or “oo look at this snail / red berry / big stick … come and see”. Eta we were out together today which is why I use my friend child as a reference. With paths I do try to give some choice where possible.

I think around 17-18 months for us. Doesn't mean he followed instructions every time! But that was the age he started to understand directions.

It was around 18-20 months for us

Not really sure what you mean by follow a path because - aside from when I’m an enclosed park - a condition of walking out at that age is that their hand stays firmly in your hand or it’s back in the buggy.

Yes this. I can’t think of a time my dc would have walked that wouldn’t have been under my direction either because I would have been holding their hand or because it would have been an enclosed path that we were going on anyway.

So I guess a better way of phrasing it would be when did they start to consciously understand to follow where you’re going or as someone else put it, follow instruction. My little girl isn’t sprinting around the streets but if I take her anywhere for a walk, she doesn’t understand she needs to come with me and will try to turn in a different direction to go somewhere else and pull away. I’m a FTM so I have no idea of when these kinds of expectations come about

When we first took DS on a "walk" at about 14 months I remember being taken by complete surprise when he wandered off the path into the long grass. For some reason it never occurred to me that he wouldn't understand paths lol.

We're at 18 months now, he is starting to understand to follow mummy or daddy when he's free ranging in open spaces. But nowhere near reliable. Try to make him hold my hand if we're anywhere near roads/lots of people but he refuses a lot. So it's be picked up or in the pram in that scenario.

My kids were always on a harness. They were strapped into the pram, high chair and push chair. Just never trusted them not to climb out. And thinking back, rightly so, they were that sort of kid. Yes, horrible to be strapped down, but better that than a bad fall. And when they were walking, they wore the harness with reins. So they were able to be at a sensible distance from me, and sort of wander off, but could be hoiked back where necessary. And the harness came in dead handy at the throwing themselves on the floor stage. I could ignore it, pick them up by the harness and hold them at arms length, thus avoiding the furious flailing limbs. So that stage didn't last long!

2.5 and if she wasn't on reins she'd still be going wherever she liked for the most part I think, I'd start with reins now - if you use them from early on they never know any different and they are a god send as they get bigger. I think from around 3 most can start to be trusted with some basic road safety eg staying on the pavement, under close supervision.

To give you some perspective, neither of my kids were walking at 13 months! Both were late walkers and didn't walk until 18 months.

By around 2.5 they are generally reliable walkers.

Would be in a buggy at that age for the walk and get them out when you get them to the destination , say a park, for a run around.

2ish I suppose, if he was in the right mood.

We used to still take the pram until about 2.5 even if he walked because otherwise he’d stop and demand to be carried.

Also highly recommend baby reins / rucksack with reins.

Definitely wouldn’t trust a child under 7 with road safety. Always hold their hand by a road.

At 13 months mine couldn't walk without holding my hand for balance so she was always holding my hand so always went where I wanted her to. Once she was walking properly, at about 15 months, I started using reins so that I could stop her darting off. In parks etc I let her toddle where she wanted but if we were walking along a pavement I directed where she went and if she wouldn't go then I generally had the pushchair with us so she went into that.