Learning to walk
So we know baby walkers aren't recommended for safety reasons and that they don't encourage walking. Here are some activities that you can try instead to encourage your little one to take those first steps:
FLOOR TIME: being able to move on the floor is an important step in gross motor development. You can increase the challenge by placing sofa cushions on the floor and positioning your babies toys so they have to crawl over/onto the cushions to reach them. This workout will increase your baby’s muscle strength, co-ordination and problem solving skills needed for walking.
CRUISING: once your baby is confidently cruising along surfaces, encourage them to bridge gaps in-between surfaces. Have a look at your environment and make sure there are lots of safe and secure surfaces of different heights for your baby to practise moving between.
STANDING: once your baby is pulling to stand at surfaces, encourage them to stay in standing to play. Once they get stronger and more confident with this, see if they will release one or both hands to reach for toys. Standing and reaching helps develop muscle strength, co-ordination and balance needed for walking.
PUSH-ALONG WALKER: if your baby is taking steps when you hold their hands, try a push along walker instead. This is more challenging as they have to control the walker and it will help to increase their confidence, muscle strength and weight shift needed for independent walking.
TIP: use motivating toys and lots of positive re-enforcement to encourage your baby to move. Learning new skills takes lots of repetition, so make sure to keep it fun!
IMPORTANT: make sure your baby is closely supervised when practising any of the above activities and that the space is clear & safe. Ensure all toys, including push-along walkers are CE or UKCA marked.