When Will My Child Start Walking?

There are so many milestones for your child as they grow up, and walking is quite exciting. Before they can walk, they are mostly stuck in one place, although they can really move when they are crawling as well. Walking ultimately leads to your child to be able to more easily play outside, and take part in other activities. It also means less carrying them around.

While you’re probably anxious for your child to start walking, it will come quickly enough. Most kids start walking around the time their first birthday. Some kids will start walking earlier, and others will start walking later. If you’re really concerned about your child not walking yet, then you should consult with your child’s pediatrician. They will be able to tell you if there’s cause for concern. If your child is just over a year old, and not yet walking, it’s not really concerning. If they’re closer to 18 months, then your doctor can probably address any issues there may be.

Wanting your child to start walking is completely understandable, but you should realize that as soon as your child starts to walk, things are going to change quite a bit in your home. You will have a very little child who does not yet understand much of the world, and doesn’t really listen to you, moving around very quickly.

You may have previously been able to set your child down at an activity, walked away for a few minutes, and returned to them in the same location. Even when they were crawling, they could only get so far on their hands and knees. Beyond just being able to move quickly, your child is quite low to the ground when they’re moving around. Standing up will put their head at least twice as high as when crawling. They will find and see all kinds of new things that they hadn’t been able to before.

If you’re in a rush to get your child walking, you may want to slow down a little bit. Let it come naturally to them rather than rushing them to walk. Many parents want their kids walking as soon as possible, but in reality, almost all kids will walk naturally on their own without parents inserting themselves into the situation. Encouraging your kids to walk is great - that’s not what is being discouraged here. However, let it come naturally to them, and don’t overdo it.

With our first kid, we rushed into getting him to walk. We constantly were trying to get him on his feet, and moving. While it was fun to have an early walker to some degree, it added a lot of work. With our second child, we did just the opposite. We let him get to his feet on his own and start walking on his own. While we cheered him on during his learning, we didn’t force it. We gained a couple of months of not having to chase him all over, and he walks just as well if not better than his brother.

Don’t let your excitement to get to the walking milestone rush your child faster than they would normally progress. When your child starts walking, you’ll be just as excited, but you’ll have hopefully saved a little bit of time that you’re not constantly chasing after them.