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At 15 months, he will generally have taken the plunge. Various factors (heredity, cerebral maturity, personal temperament…) explain this difference between small beings otherwise endowed, except handicap or health problems, with exactly the same advantages. But beware: the precocity of the walk does not mean that the child will advance at the same pace in all his acquisitions. To tell the truth, the age of the first steps does not indicate anything at all! A few months later, it will no longer appear. So no impatience, your child will pass, like all his peers, this stage inscribed in his genetic program.
0-12 months: Baby trains
Walking is part of what is called general motor skills, that is to say the set of functions allowing movement and movement in space. It is given special importance for two reasons: it gives the child access to autonomy of movement and it opens the way to other skills.
The infant concentrates its muscle tone in the limbs. Gradually, this tone will move towards the axis of the body. Result: he can finally flex his legs, then support his head and then his trunk.
His bodybuilding is developed from the head to the legs. The neck strengthens first, allowing it to hold and then turn its head (gradually, from 2 to 6 months). The back then strengthens and it acquires the sitting position (around 5 months with support, 7-8 months without support). When his arms in turn gain strength, he can stand up by clinging to a support or to the hands held out to him (7-8 months). Finally, the musculature of his legs supports him enough to stay in a standing position (with support, around 9-10 months).
At the same time, its mobility is increasing. From 3 months, lying on his back, he leans on his forearms to rise. From 4 months, he turns from the back to the side, then from the stomach to the back. The reverse movement (from the back to the stomach) is more of a problem for him because he cannot use his arms, but he does so around 5-6 months. This prone position, associated with the new strength of his arms, opens him, if he wishes, the possibility of crawling around 8-9 months. At the same time, he goes from lying down to sitting down and vice versa. Finally, he can drag himself on the buttocks to approach the objects that excite his lust! Two more months of patience, and he will succeed in moving by resting on his knees and hands, in other words “on all fours”.
His discoveries whet his appetite! Naturally, the young child always goes towards progress and autonomy, without ever falling asleep on his laurels. From 6 months, he stretches out his arms to be straightened. Firmly held, he then enjoys crouching and jumping. Unfortunately, we should not give him this pleasure for more than a few minutes at a time, at the risk of putting too much strain on his fragile muscles.
Around 8 months, able to stand up on his own, with support, by pulling on the arms and pushing on the legs, he tirelessly repeats the experience. Despite inevitable disappointments, his legs did not support him for long. Falling on her buttocks – and on her diapers! – without damage since he does not stiffen in his fall, he shows his annoyance … But start again immediately! Gradually, the seconds turn into minutes … That’s it, he is standing.
The final step is to let go. He needs to find his balance, which is about as easy as trying his hand at unicycle for the average adult! With the difference that he will succeed without fail, according to the proven method of repeated attempts. He lets go, oscillates, adjusts his arms to try to find his axis … and then collapses, if he has not had time to regain his support. He will undoubtedly have fun taking a few steps with both hands, then only one. But he will only find his balance on his own, exploring his own sensations.
12-18 months: let’s go!
One fine day, without warning, here he is. His soaring start, his determination to move forward, his gaze on the horizon, his arms outstretched as a sign of victory, suggest that he is aiming for a goal. Pure illusion. He has only one goal: to stay upright as long as possible. And that keeps him busy enough. The new sensations that walking gives him mobilize all his attention.
He still falls frequently, which does not discourage him in any way.. He sometimes lets himself fall on his buttocks to take a well-deserved break, which he uses to explore his environment with his eyes and hands. Far from controlling its progress, it stops abruptly, changes course… Carefully, it still helps itself walls or furniture, to guide itself, to hold back and to get up. Almost always he falls backwards, his layers absorbing the shock; you just have to beware of the edges of furniture that his head could strike against.
Around 15 months, he masters two important assets, kneel to get up, bend down to pick up something. However, it has not yet occurred to him to bend his knees to lift his leg and overcome an obstacle. He solves the problem by getting back on all fours and going over it. On condition that the obstacle in question is large and visible from afar because our beginner does not “feel” those at ground level; he can therefore neither avoid them, nor restore his position quickly enough to resist the imbalance.
Climb, he knows ! To satisfy his passion for heights, he even implements strategies that do justice to his intelligence. This does not suit your business because, not discerning a stable support from an unstable one, it also has absolutely no control over the descent. Don’t worry too much though: a fall on the buttocks to the ground doesn’t require you to rush. But if you see him perched in awkward position and expressing his fear, don’t wait. Avoid shouting and making sudden gestures that could cause him to move unhappily.
At around 18 months, he accelerates, sketching the movement of the race. Alas! he does not understand distances, much less the distance / speed ratio, from where unforeseen and sometimes painful encounters with an obstacle.
These first few months have been a tough period!
Now confident enough to no longer watch his feet, but still lost in space, the little one suffers many unpleasant surprises that he does not necessarily take with humor. A hug is often needed as an emergency remedy. Do not be offended if it slips from your arms in the seconds that follow: adventure calls for it.
18 months-3 years: is there a pilot in the car?
Limitations and annoyances will disappear over the next six months. Thanks to increasing muscle strength and confidence, the child gradually finds the right movements.
Around 2 years old, he already has a lot of new skills. He runs, stops exactly without falling systematically, takes a few steps back (but will not walk backwards until around 5 years old), goes up and then down a staircase without holding on, turns around quickly, jumps with both feet … yet not yet reached perfection. He doesn’t always react quickly enough. His movements escape him sometimes, poorly coordinated, imprecise, awkward. Depending on the position in which he falls, he struggles to get up on his own.
During a year, he perfects himself. He can count on his intelligence. Combined with an increasingly efficient memory, it allows him to assimilate and record information about his environment, where he takes benchmarks. He uses his experiences to develop strategies. He acts with a specific objective, then follows actions. His movements become more harmonious. Around the age of 3, he knows how to accomplish several at the same time.
He appreciates more and more the company of his fellows. Their frequentation stimulates him. The little ones observe each other, imitate each other. Warning: from 2 years old, they become really very fast. It only takes a few minutes for them to get out of your field of vision. In the square, you will hardly have time to finish your reading!
Its strong point: morale of steel. He ignores doubt. He starts out as a winner, certain of reaching his goal sooner or later, most of the time with good reason. On the other hand, he knows fear, to which he is more or less sensitive according to his temperament. This apprehension in the face of emptiness, or quite simply the unknown, somewhat compensates for his total inability to anticipate danger.
He lives in the present and in the concrete. Any new obstacle takes him by surprise. For example, the sight of a short walk does not encourage him to slow down. Gradually, after falling in this place, he will become wary. He only understands what he has experienced. As we cannot think of letting him experience the consequences of everything, we must impose prohibitions from his first steps.
He registers a forbidden without understanding the cause. When, around 18 months, the opposition crisis begins, it is not obeying you without knowing why that bothers him… but simply obeying you! With walking, he has gained a lot in autonomy. He no longer has anything in common with a newborn baby that we manipulate at will. When his parents’ interventions violate his freedom, he is not shy to let them know. However, he recognizes them as guides and supports and ends up submitting. Of course, this position of strength should not be abused. But do not hesitate to impose your will when necessary. Clear and firm instructions are expected from you, if only to dispose of prohibitions to transgress.
3-6 years: the conquest of space
His third birthday marks the discovery of new pleasures: dancing to the rhythm, driving a tricycle, shooting a balloon… He runs while avoiding obstacles, hops on one foot, climbs and descends steps without support… He adopts strategy without hesitation. adequate to overcome an obstacle: step over, jump, crawl, go around, climb… In short, he is endowed with very satisfactory mobility from his point of view because he does not know that he still needs a few years to tame the space.
Mastery of the body diagram is a long process that lasts until she is 5 years old. What is it about ? Ultimately, to take your own body as a benchmark in space and no longer external elements. The first stage was taken around 9 months, with the awareness of his individuality; a discovery which generates a certain anguish because, realizing that his mother and him constitute two distinct beings, he fears that she will disappear. Around 16 months, he associates his body with the image he sees in the mirror. He therefore strives to get to know this body better and to understand how it works.
We can help him by speaking. Around 18 months, he will like to designate parts of his body: participate in this game by naming them with him. We locate ourselves in space thanks to notions in the form of oppositions: inside / outside, above / below, in front of / behind… This remains very abstract for the child. Do not miss an opportunity to materialize these concepts during your games by showing him examples and naming them. To give an idea of the time it takes to assimilate them, note that they are reviewed from Kindergarten to CP.
Finding landmarks in time gives him even more difficulty. Remember that he lives in the immediate present and has not the slightest notion of duration. The daily rites represent the only benchmarks allowing him to materialize the passage of time. It will integrate these notions from the narrowest to the widest: the day, then the week (attending school greatly contributes to identifying this unit of time), finally the year (with the seasons that come back, well recognizable, if that is the case. weather, events like Christmas or the holidays).
The mastery of the body diagram stems from this knowledge, that of his body, that of space, that of space-time. He situates himself in the world and orientates himself there on the basis of himself. From a motor point of view, this opens up new pleasures for him: walking on a beam, throwing a ball into a goal …
From a psychological point of view, this confirms him in his natural egocentricity: the world revolves around him. Knowing that not a child escapes this stage and that it only remains to admit it and be patient, helps to improve communication which is sometimes difficult.
Child’s progress age by age
2 months : Lying on your back, lift your head and turn to your side.
3 Month : On the stomach, take support on the forearms.
4 Month : Rolls onto your back on your side. Holds his head when lifted to sit.
5 Month : Holds seated with support. Go from the stomach to the back.
6 Month : Go from back to stomach. Jump when held upright. Can crawl.
7/8 Months : Can sit without support. Sits and lies alone.
9/10 Months : Can crawl on all fours. Straightens up by clinging to a support.
11/12 Months : Walks while holding on to furniture, a toy or guided by an adult; sometimes alone.
15 Month : Stand up without support. Kneel down. Climb a staircase on all fours.
18 Month : Start running and jumping. Pull a toy behind him. Kick a ball with your foot. Climb up and down a staircase while holding on.
2 Years : Bows down and crouches. Rises alone when he falls. Master the race
2 ½ years : Jump with both feet. Go up and down a staircase without support.
3 Years : Dance in rhythm. Rides a tricycle.
4 Years : Jump on one foot. Walk on tiptoe. Throw a ball in the air. Learn about cycling.
5 Years : Walking backwards. Kick a ball into a goal. Jump rope. Touch the feet without bending the knees.