Walking for the first time can be one of the most exciting milestones in a child’s early development. As paediatric physiotherapists, we often see parents who are concerned that their child is not walking yet but other children their age are.
In a child’s first year of life, they are busy learning so many new skills at such a fast rate. Each new skill builds on the previous skill. To be able to walk, your child must have strong muscles, be able to keep their body balanced, be able to coordinate the reciprocal stepping pattern of walking and shift their body weight from one foot to the other. A child develops these skills when they are learning to sit, crawl, pull to stand, squat and cruise along furniture. There are so many ‘inch stones’ that build up to the complex milestone of walking!
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