13-Month-Old Toddler Development: Walking
If it hasn't happened yet, your kid will probably take those first shaky steps and officially earn his "toddler" stripes some time soon! If he doesn't seem anywhere near walking, don't stress! The "normal" range for walking is anywhere between 9 and 18 months (or beyond!). If your kid is taking his sweet time, he's probably thinking, "Why walk when Mom makes such a great chauffeur?" Smart cookie! What you're thinking: "If one more person asks me if my kid is walking yet, I'm going to pop him in the face!"
Ideally...
- While you're prepping the camera and the video recorder and grabbing the phone to call Grandma to celebrate your baby's first steps, there are a few other things you'll want to keep in mind as your toddler enters the world of the upright people.
- When your kid does take her first steps, you may notice she bobs and weaves like a drunken sailor. Totally normal and, no, she didn't hit the liquor cabinet!
- You might also find he walks on tippy toes, with his feet pointing inward or outward. This is also completely normal and nothing to worry about unless it lasts more than six months or somehow interferes with his walking. Same goes for flat feet and bowlegs (which can be supercute, btw!).
- Be prepared for your new walker to spend as much time falling down on his butt as he does up on his feet. It's all part of learning, so try not to freak out every time he goes crashing to the ground like a stuntman.
- When your toddler starts walking well, you'll want to pick up some shoes to protect his hardworking feet when he's stomping around outside. When he's inside and first learning to walk, however, let him pad around barefoot, as the best shoes for new walkers are no shoes at all!
- Kids tend to focus on one major milestone at a time. So if your kid isn't walking yet, he's probably perfecting some other vital development like language, fine motor skills or tantrum throwing.
Really...
- "My daughter's first birthday came... and went... and my little miracle still wasn't walking. By 13 months she wasn't even standing on her own. Was something wrong? Was my kid ever going to walk? I started to get nervous. It didn't help that my friends' kids had all been zooming around on two legs for months. Meanwhile, mine was still crawling around eye-level with the cats."
Read more of "My Late Walker" by AMDMommy
Everything you ever wanted to know ... and were just about to ask:
But wait! There's more...
Do It:
Feeties First
Help your kid conquer the stairs before they conquer him! Buy It: Walk-O-Long
Give your learning walker a hand without breaking your back! Cook It: Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
Give your explorer some on-the-go energy.
Help your kid conquer the stairs before they conquer him! Buy It: Walk-O-Long
Give your learning walker a hand without breaking your back! Cook It: Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
Give your explorer some on-the-go energy.
BACK: Toddler Development: Month 13: From Bottle to Cup / NEXT: Toddler Development: Month 14: Teeth
All kids grow and develop at different rates. So please don't compare your toddler with so-and-so's from across the street—you'll just drive yourself nuts. If you have any concerns, bring them up with your pediatrician at your kid's next checkup.
Submit!
ReadyForPreschool-.JPG?quality=0.6&height=60&width=60&)
