Watching a baby take their first steps is an unforgettable moment for any parent. It marks a significant milestone in their development, showcasing their growing independence and physical abilities. Understanding what to expect during this exciting stage and how to support your baby can make this journey even more rewarding.

What to Expect

Walking is a huge gross motor milestone, and it’s associated with a child’s understanding of his or her own body in relation to the environment." Washington University School of Medicine

Potential Influences on Walking

Walk Onset Age

The onset of independent walking spans a large normative age range, from 8 to >18 months (Martorell et al., 2006). But does onset age matter for improvements in walking skill? That is, does one month walking predict the same improvement in walking skill for an 8-month-old as for an 18-month-old? If an earlier walk onset age reflects faster neural-muscular maturation, then infants who begin walking at 8 months might also demonstrate faster improvements in walking skill. Alternatively, later walkers might have an advantage. Infants who begin walking at 18 months are presumably more neuro-muscularly mature and more perceptually and cognitively developed than younger infants and thus might demonstrate faster improvements in walking skill.

Spontaneous Activity: “How” is more important than “when”

After infants begin walking, they generate immense amounts of movement, but how much they move varies widely among infants. During free play in a laboratory playroom, babies take >2000 (many!) steps per hour (Hoch, O’Grady, & Adolph, 2019). Spontaneous locomotor activity is positively correlated with walking skill (Adolph et al., 2012; Cole, Robinson, & Adolph, 2016). Correlations in previous work may be driven by the rapid improvements in walking skill in the first three to four months after walk onset when developmental trajectories are steepest. Relations among spontaneous activity, elapsed time walking, and walking skill are less clear after the initial spurt of improvement. Indeed, even infants with similar months walking show considerable variability in how much they move.

‘‘Learning to walk is a pivotal developmental milestone that involves complex interactions between a child’s developing motor skills, sensory feedback, and environmental influences.’’ Child Development Center

Further, how infants accumulate walking steps is also highly variable. When infants take their first independent steps, they can manage only a few slow steps in each bout. But after infants walk well enough for researchers to measure their gait patterns on both legs—at least 4 continuous forward steps at steady state speed—they can take slow or fast steps at will, and they can produce short bouts of 1–3 steps or string together long sequences with dozens of steps (Lee, Cole, Golenia, & Adolph, 2018). And even after infants can walk quickly or produce long bouts consistently, the range of what infants choose to do varies widely. During free play in a playroom, short bouts of 1–3 steps account for the majority (up to 70%) of their walking bouts (Lee et al., 2018). Spontaneous step rate reflects how quickly infants choose to move; the percentage of short bouts reflects how often infants stop and go; and both factors may reflect differences in walking skill—especially in the first few months of walking.

Body Factors

At every age, differences in body characteristics impose different biomechanical constraints on walking. Taller or heavier babies, for example, might walk or learn to walk differently. Indeed, overweight infants tend to begin walking at older ages than slimmer infants (Slining, Adair, Goldman, Borja, & Bentley, 2010).

Furthermore, experimental manipulations of infants’ body dimensions directly affect walking skill. Infants display less mature walking patterns and incur more missteps and falls when wearing a nappy compared to walking naked (Cole, Lingeman, & Adolph, 2012), when wearing heavy pants compared to nappies (Theveniau, Boisgontier, Verieras, & Olivier, 2014), and when carrying objects compared to hands free (Heiman, Cole, Lee, & Adolph, 2019; Mangalindan, Schmuckler, & Li, 2014). Yet, little is known about the effects of natural variations in infants’ bodies on the development of walking skill.

Environmental Factors

The development of walking is also affected by the environmental context. For example, infants from homes with more available inside space display better gross motor skills (Saccani, Valentini, Pereirra, Muller, & Gabbard, 2013; Valadi & Gabbard, 2018).

Less use of infant equipment like highchairs, car seats, and “exersaucers” predicts earlier walk onset ages (Abbott & Bartlett, 2001).

In free play sessions in a playroom, infants move more when the environment offers toys designed for locomotion such as balls and toy strollers compared to toys designed for stationary play such as blocks and stuffed animals (Hoch, Hospodar, Alves, Selber, & Adolph, 2019). Moreover,

Infants playing in an empty room explore less of the room and stay closer to their caregivers compared to infants playing in the same room filled with toys (Hoch, O’Grady, et al., 2019).

Sociodemographic Factors

Sociodemographic factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status affect infants’ age at walk onset because they are associated with caregiving practices, which in turn enhance or limit opportunities for infants to practice upright movements (for reviews, see Adolph, Karasik, & Tamis-LeMonda, 2010; Adolph & Robinson, 2013, 2015). For example, infants from cultures that endorse rigorous handling and deliberate exercise begin walking several weeks to months earlier than cultures without formal handling and exercise routines (Hopkins & Westra, 1988; Super, 1976).

Sociodemographic factors can also influence the toys and social partners available for play, the space available in the home and neighbourhood to move, and caregivers’ provision of access to space. These factors may indirectly affect infants’ bodies and environments and thereby opportunities available for movement (Valadi & Gabbard, 2018; Venetsanou & Kambas, 2010). However, researchers have not yet established whether sociodemographic factors affect the development of walking skill after infants have begun to walk.

Timing of First Steps

Typical Age: Most babies take their first independent steps between 10 and 18 months (Web.md). However, this can vary widely. Some babies may start walking as early as 8 months, while others may wait until they are >18 months old.

Developmental Readiness: Before walking, babies usually go through stages of pulling up to stand, cruising, and taking a few steps while holding onto support.

Physical Signs of Readiness:

Improved Balance: Babies show better control over their body and movements, strength.
Increased muscle tone in the legs and core helps support standing and walking, and coordination.
Babies coordinate their movements more effectively, crucial for taking steps.

Simple actions like giving babies freedom to explore or offering motivation with brightly coloured toys just out of reach can make all the difference in helping them take those initial steps." 4moms

Conclusion

As your baby approaches the milestone of walking, understanding their developmental stages and providing supportive guidance can enhance their confidence and abilities. By creating a safe environment, encouraging physical activities, and offering emotional support, you can help your baby navigate this exciting journey of taking their first steps. Celebrate each milestone along the way, knowing that your encouragement and nurturing play a vital role in your baby’s development.

Reviewed by Dr. Perkins (NHS Doctor)

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