The first walk is one of the most exciting and memorable milestones in your child’s development. Your child has actually been preparing to walk from an early age, and now all of his rolling, sitting, shuffling, crawling, furniture moving and standing culminate in your child’s latest adventure – the first steps.
Babies usually start walking between the ages of 8 and 18 months. Before walking, babies usually crawl (at 6 to 13 months of age) and pull themselves up to stand up (usually at 9 to 12 months of age). In order to walk, your child must have many skills, including balance, coordination, the ability to stand and shift body weight from one foot to the other. Each new skill your child develops builds on the previous skills they have learned.
As your child gets older, the skills they learn become more and more complex. As your child crawls and pulls himself to stand up and then scurries between pieces of furniture, he develops valuable muscle strength and skills, such as balance and coordination, which are essential for walking and then running.