The Play Space

Walking.

These considerations help support your baby from first steps through expert walking.

• 1. Know when to choose shoes vs. barefeet.

  You’ve probably heard “barefoot is best.” But this is an oversimplification and bare feet all the time isn't realistic once your baby is walking. Shoes are part of life.

  Shoes help us negotiate uneven terrain by providing the muscles and joints in our feet with additional support and traction.

  Introducing shoes shortly after your child begins walking can help them adjust to walking in shoes.

  Shoes add weight, length, and width to their natural foot shape. This means that your new walker will need to adjust how they use their muscles to compensate for the shoes.

  It might be a little wonky the first few times, but kiddos adjust quickly to the change and soon have no problem walking safely with shoes on.

  There is a reason why you have heard “barefoot is best.” It really does have benefits for your child’s walking development.

  Having feet exposed allows for a rich flow of sensory information through your baby’s feet as they navigate a variety of surfaces. It also allows them to use their toes, and all the tiny muscles of their feet, to balance on different terrain. As these muscles of the feet strengthen, they end up developing into the arches of the feet. And strong muscles supporting the feet can help prevent injuries later in life.

• 2. Start with a level, firm, walking surface.

  The surface your baby is standing and walking on will make a difference. For a baby, even standing on medium-pile carpet or soft play mat is going to challenge their balance more than a hard floor.

  It’s a great idea to practice standing and walking on a variety of surfaces, keeping in mind how the qualities of each surface affect your baby’s body.

• 3. Create obstacles to walk around.

  Consider this your excuse to not clean today. Leave some toys on the floor, it gives your baby an opportunity to practice negotiating obstacles as they are learning to walk.

• 4. Practice walking in an area with plenty of space.

  Practice walking in an area with a nice amount of space, and fewer objects to reach out to for support. Distance allows for more repetition and practice.

• 5. Make the push toy unavailable.

  Your baby has probably been pushing something around the house like crazy. It’s their favorite way to get around at this point.

  But once you feel like your baby is getting close to taking some steps on their own, go ahead and make the push toy unavailable for periods of time throughout the day.

  This will cue them to make more attempts to walk on their own.

• 6. Introduce uneven surfaces for walking.

  Once you have a new walker on the loose, start introducing them to uneven surfaces like grass, gravel or sand, and inclines and declines like hills and ramps.

  Negotiating and navigating these types of terrains will challenge their balance in new ways, and improve their strength.