How To Encourage Baby To Walk? 5 Helpful Activities

1. Help Them Cruise

Before babies can begin walking without any support, they do require some support from parents or objects. This is also known as cruising, which involves stepping sideways using a stable furniture piece as support. The best way to help them cruise is to give them an opportunity to practice this motor skill.

For example, you can:

• Place the favorite toys of your child on the opposite end of a table or couch that they are at
• When you do this, it will encourage them to come closer to the object using the support
• As they keep doing this, they will soon stop using support to walk

2. Hold Hands While Walking

Another activity you can do with your child is hold hands with them while they walk. Before a child can participate in any new activity, they need to feel supported, which is where you come in. Help them be a little independent by walking side by side with them.

It will help them gain balance, and even if they fall, they know that they will be safe because you are there. Once your baby is comfortable with the movement, you can slowly start leaving their hand. One by one, they will become confident with independent walking.

3. Use The Power Of Push Toys

Giving a push toy to your child is a great activity that will help practice dynamic support. This is when the child relies less on the support and adjusts body to keep walking. They will coordinate their movement with the body while using as less support as possible.

However, we recommend that you don’t place your baby in a walker, as the standing position is not natural. Besides that, there are some safety concerns that come with a baby walker. Instead, you can offer them doll strollers, grocery carts, and much more to practice this.

4. Exploring Barefoot

A great activity to get your child to walk is to help them explore barefoot. That is because it allows the child to experience various tactile sensations through their feet. They also use these sensations to recruit muscles that help them create arch support while walking.

You can take off their socks and shoes when you are in the park so that they can easily walk on the grass. However, you can apply the same to different grounds, such as carpets, floors, and mats. It allows the child to become familiar with different sensations and practice walking barefoot.

5. Stool Sitting Activity

Have your child sit on a stool without any back support, but be sure to create safe conditions so that they don’t fall. Here is what you need to do:

• Their feet should touch the floor so they can push the floor against the feet while the hips and knees are at ninety degree
• When the baby is in such a position, you can ask them to pick any toy from the floor and then sit back

As this starts happening, you can keep moving the toy around to strengthen different muscles and increase their reach. In the long run, it will help strengthen the back, leg, and shoulder muscles of your baby. Besides that, it will also help keep your baby in a position where they are supporting their weight using the body.

The baby will be more comfortable sitting and standing up when you keep practicing this. As it progresses, they will start walking in no time. Don’t forget to supervise your child during all times when doing this activity so they can feel safe when they stand up to pick up the toys.

Final Thoughts

These are the top five helpful activities that will encourage your child to begin walking. Remember that walking will only be a result of consistency, so you must keep practicing these activities from time to time.

Once you do, your child will be much more confident in walking. So, choose the activities you want to do and help your child walk independently without any problems.