The acquisition of walking is the result of a long process. Your Baby has slowly started to gain confidence at home and get on his feet. Proudly, he can take a few steps, alone, to reach an object he covets. Once you’re out for a walk, that’s another matter. Discover the stages of your little one’s walk, in the grass, an environment not so easy to tame… Report.
Walk, explore, and get up
Your child discovers that he can crawl on all fours and considerably increase his range of action. Before thinking about walking, he must first develop his motor skills on the ground. Then, he explores, crosses obstacles, bypass them, pass under, over, climb… As Michèle Forestier, physiotherapist * emphasizes: “ A baby knows how to go up and down stairs long before he walks ! He learns to manage height and stretches his arms forward for protection when he falls. Happy to move and circulate as he pleases, the toddler ends up finding the living room sofa, the coffee table or any other support of around 30 cm on his way on which he will be able to lean with his hands and stand up. Once on his knees, he will have the idea to lift one and thus find himself in the position of “serving knight”. All he has to do is raise the other and Eureka! Here he is standing, leaning on the edge of the sofa, the ottoman or the chair, very proud of himself and quite happy to change his perspective.
Walking to get around
At first, the child seeks his balance, lets go of one hand, then the other. Raise one foot, the other, without moving a place, without trying to move forward. It is only once the balance has been found that he will try to move to find something or approach an object that arouses his interest. While leaning with his thorax on the edge of the sofa or the table, his hands well supported, the child moves all the way, first sideways, but never letting go. After a few training sessions, he is able to cross an angle. It’s far from easy because it turns funny.
Then comes the moment when the baby is able to change the support: he passes with jubilation from the coffee table to the sofa, from the sofa to the armchair… Better than a gym! And here it is now that he managed to stand up by leaning against a wall, a bay window, a mirror, a fridge… And that he manages to move to the side along the wall. At this point, he still does not walk forward. But all these stages prepare him for it. Mastering the balance and then moving sideways allows the baby to move forward now, by pushing in front of him a sliding object, a chair, an ottoman, a stool… The ingenious little one invented the principle of the pusher on his own, but without the wheels.
Walking can be learned
Then, he will give it to their heart’s content: by pushing and directing a rolling object, by experimenting with a real pusher or a small truck on which he sits, by walking his stroller… He is now able to stand upright. alone, to move forward using a mobile support and to get up if he falls in the middle of a room. It’s good, he’s ready for his first steps. We cannot repeat it enough, a child does not need the intervention of an adult to learn to walk. You have to let him do it by just providing him with opportunities to move his body and putting supports within his reach. For the rest, we accompany him by looking at him, encouraging him and congratulating him. If it must be touched, it is only to protect it from danger, a fall or a shock. If adult help is unnecessary, the “youpalas” are even more so. “They only have drawbacks! It shouldn’t exist! », Protests Michèle Forestier. The child sits in panties, he is cut in two: he moves his legs, but he does not see his feet, this distorts his perception of space and prevents him from developing his mobility on the ground. The same goes for “jumpers”, walking is not jumping!
Parents often tend to cut corners: as soon as a baby holds his neck and back straight, we don’t hesitate to sit him down on the sofa. Then a little later to keep him upright on his legs. Who hasn’t tried to make their baby walk between their legs by holding both hands? However, a little one who is made to walk in this way hangs from the adult’s arms and cannot develop correct balance or support. In addition, this habit of holding his hand to move forward is addictive. He associates walking with the presence of his parents and will find it more difficult to fend for himself. Saying “well done” to him when he progresses is very good! On the other hand, tell him: “ Come on, come see mom or dad! Stretching out his arms to take his first steps doesn’t help.
Walk to move forward
On the contrary, if he lets go, it is to please his parents when he is not necessarily ready. Suddenly, he is afraid, he falls and no longer wants to walk. Some children called upon too early make real blockages and categorically refuse to walk again for a month. Its first steps are certainly an important step, but it must be demystified! It is better to walk a little later while being well in your body, than to walk earlier without knowing how to protect yourself in the event of imbalance. When you see a one-year-old baby, the first question that comes to mind: “Does he know how to walk?” But it would be better to ask yourself, “What is he doing?” Does he move around, he is autonomous, he is agile, he is curious, does he move a lot? This is the most important, because walking is acquired between 10 and 18 months. We must therefore respect the rhythm of each child. If a 17 month old baby is still crawling and climbing all over the place, that’s okay. But if an 18-month-old has been moving on the buttocks for five or six months already, it’s more boring. Maybe that means we got ahead of the steps, put him down too early, and he couldn’t figure out how to get out of that position on his own. Suddenly, he zapped all fours and began to slide on his buttocks to move. To help him, you have to put him on his back and give him the opportunity to discover for himself all the natural steps that lead to walking. And you will see, he will come like everyone else.