When Do Babies Start Walking On Their Own? (Age & Sign)

When do babies start walking? This is one of the biggest and most important questions, which comes in every parent’s mind as soon as their baby becomes 6 months old. When it comes to our baby, parents are a little restless. We wait very eagerly for them to start talking, start walking, and start running.

But to understand the answer to the question When do babies start walking? We need to understand the baby’s physical development. Babies do not start walking overnight, every month the baby’s body develops itself and make it strong enough for the baby to start walking.

Every baby is different and unique, some babies start walking at an early age and some take time, but there is nothing called good or bad timing when it comes to babies. In the US, the average age baby starts to walk is approximately 12 months. So, to calm down your anxiety and to answer your every question related to baby walking is here in this blog. 

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What age do babies start walking?

Most babies start walking between 9 and 12 months, till the age of 14-15 months they become a good walker. But if your baby has not yet started walking, there is nothing to worry about. Some perfectly normal child does not walk up until they are 16 or 17 months old.

Walking is the first step of independence for your baby. During her first year, your baby is busy developing coordination between the muscles and also strengthening the muscles. She will enjoy her crawling, sitting, and rolling over before she starts to walk.

After she has reached around 10 months, it is just a matter of time, she will start walking towards her independence. She will hold the furniture and will walk by its support. And then within no time, she will come running to you.

How to help your baby walk?

• Spend less time carrying him–  We all love cuddling and carrying our baby, but spending too much time holding the baby will only delay the walking of your baby. They need to be on the ground rolling and sitting so that their muscles are strengthened when they start to walk.

It is our responsibility to make our babies move forward in their life. They do not know what’s next for them. Teach them how to walk by holding their fingers and making them take small steps.

• Skip the baby walker– Parents often think, that baby walker helps baby to walk. But no baby walker does not motivate the baby to walk. Walker keeps the child seated in one position with hips flexed and using only a lower leg, and this does not count in an actual walking position.

Walkers can be dangerous too if they collapse or fall down the stairs.

• Minimize the time baby spends in the playpen– If you have a playpen, in which toddler sits with all its toys, you need to minimize it, as there is no activity like crawling happening in the playpen. Playpen tends to restrict the baby movement. So, if your baby is spending a lot of time in playpen, this can make her a late walker.
• Give him a push toy– Introduce your child to a plush toy, the toys which help him move forward with support. Some of these toys can also have wheels so that they move slowly while playing. But this does not mean, that you have to spend money on new toys when trying a baby to teach how to walk. You can give him a diaper box too, which he can push around.
• Let the baby go barefoot– Don’t hurry in giving your baby the shoes, the more the baby is barefoot the more he will be able to make a grip with his toes, and making a grip is necessary for the baby to start walking. Barefoot will help the baby to make balance and walk properly.

What age do babies walk?

No baby starts walking overnight. Slowly every month their body develops the body skill which leads to finally walking. Following are the signs of walking of baby months-

6-9 months– This is the time when your baby starts to sit up independently, slowly she will try to experiment with the crawling. Some babies do not crawl, they directly start walking. So, remember if your baby is on the side of sitting and crawling, she will start walking soon.

But, if till 9 months, your baby is not able to sit unassisted, it is time you go and check on the pediatrician.

9-12 months– In these three months, your baby will start standing by holding any furniture or his toys. He will pull himself up and will be able to stand independently for a few seconds. Baby will also start cruising (walking while holding something), this is when the question When do babies start walking? Keep bothering parents.

12-18 months– Now, your baby has become toddler, she can walk independently but still is not firm with her toes. If your child is unable to walk till 15 months, you can check-up with the doctor, although it is still not late, it will be good to catch up with the doctor just in case of any issue.

Some babies are more cautious than others, they will just take a few steps and will stop as they fear falling down. While some babies, do not care if they fall down, they will walk a long distance.

Read about- Things to know about your newborn baby

How can parents help a baby walking?

We as parents have the utmost responsibility towards our child. We must look after them and guide them when they are in need. The first way to help our baby is to make him walk. Parents can do the following things-

• As your baby learns to pull himself up, you as a parent should encourage them so that they keep doing it.
• Now, when they have pulled themselves up and are in standing position, they might get confused about how to go back to sitting, that’s when instead of carrying the baby we should teach him how to bend the knee to sit down.
• Encourage your baby to stand up, by standing in front of him or making his fav. toy out of his reach.
• Always make sure you are there to catch your baby in case he is stuck somewhere or falls down, because if the baby falls down while walking and gets hurt he may be afraid to try it again.

What to do when my baby starts to walk?

After you have recorded those magical tiny steps towards independence on your phone, now your child will master other things. And you ought to be very careful.

• Standing– After your child has started walking, now at 14 months, he/she will be able to stand alone. She will even try some different things while standing like squatting and getting up. She will also try to walk backward.
• Steadier Walking– At about 16 months your baby will walk steadier, without falling down. He can even pull and push the toys. Now, you can see he will walk with his legs fairly far apart and her feet pointed outward. This helps him to maintain the balance.
• Climbing and Kicking– By 18 months your child will be a proficient walker. She will start climbing on all types of furniture and stairs. You need to be more careful now, make sure the furniture does not have any sharp ends and you have a small door on the stairs always. She will also try to kick a ball, but won’t be successful. You can record her new dance moves.
• Jumping– At 25 or 26 months, your baby has grown enough, she will start jumping and even running.
• Baby Proof Apartment– Now, is the time to baby-proof your apartment, make sure no electric sockets are left open, all the drawers are locked, nothing is lying around which baby can grab and eat.

When should my baby wear shoes?

Do not hurry in giving your loved one the shoes. The more the child is barefoot, the more grip they can make. Of course, when you go out, they need to wear a pair of shoes. But when they are inside the home, let them be barefoot it helps to improve their balance.

What to do if my baby doesn’t walk

Getting a panic is never an option for parents. But we indeed start getting worried when it comes to our baby. If your baby is not yet walking, do not worry. Compare your little one with his age group children, and if you think your baby is very late, it is good to visit a doctor.

A doctor can properly check your child’s overall development which will include gross and fine motor skills. If your child is 12 months and is not walking, but he is crawling then you do not need to worry. If a child is 15 months old and is not walking but he is crawling and cruising, you still don’t need to worry.

You should refer to a doctor when your child is 18 months old and has still not started walking. In this case, the doctor can refer you to the physiotherapist, and the doctor will check the flexibility of your child.

12 months: Just crawling not walking- Do not worry

15 months: Crawling and cruising, but not walking- Do not worry

18 months: Still not walking- Consult a doctor

Best toys which help baby walk

You don’t need any special toys for your baby, to help them learn walking. Every child is special and they start walking soon. However certain toys can encourage your baby to walk.

1. Activity cube-

Activity cube like the one below is a great toy as they promote standing and cruising of the baby, which leads to the walking of the baby. They also promote playing in all type of positions, which strengthen the babies muscles.

2. Activity walker-

I and my husband used this toy when my son started to sit and this has proven to be great as it keeps him engage and he is also slowly learning to walk with it. 

Just be aware, that when your child is trying to walk with this toy you give him support.

3. Push and Ride toys- 

his was really helpful, as my daughter likes to take her dolls on the walk on this toy. Now, when she has become a toddler, she still rides it.

Do babies have to crawl before they can walk?

It is not at all necessary, for babies to crawl first before they start walking. Some babies directly start walking, and some take time. Every child’s body structure and development is different. You cannot compare them, even comparing siblings won’t do them justice.

Things to keep in mind When Do Babies Start Walking

After knowing everything about your baby walking, there are some things to keep in mind as a parent-

• Let your little one be Barefoot when he is learning to walk. As they can feel and grip the ground with their toes if they are barefoot.
• Motivate them– Encourage your baby to come to you, or put their fav. toy out of their reach.
• Give Support- Always give your baby support, when they need it while sitting, standing, or walking.
• Play- Let your baby play in all the positions, this helps in strengthening of muscles.
• Opportunities- Don’t always pick up your baby, let them crawl or walk instead on their own.

So, these are some of the ways in When Do Babies Start Walking. Remember there is no fixed time schedule for babies to start walking.

When did your baby start to walk?