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As a new parent, you might often wonder, “When does your baby start walking?” and How to encourage your baby to walk?
Start with trunk and neck strength.
Provide the foundation to coordinate the use of hands and walking.
Your baby gains head control before trunk control and can roll left and right.
Your baby will use his trunk muscles before he can control his feet.
Without stability at your baby’s core muscles, hips, and shoulders, he will not have strength and stability in the tiny muscles of the arms, legs, feet, and hands.
It is a progressive process that builds on those earlier floor time activities, tummy time, pushing up on hands to lift his head and look around and building stability.
Balance is key.
Your baby is born with no sense of balance.
Your baby develops balance significantly over the first year. There are many things you can do to help your baby develop a sense of balance.
Stimulate your baby’s developing a sense of balance by merely talking, reading, and singing to him.
Let your baby learn balance through practice and repetition of vertical, and horizontal positions and different movements throughout the day.
Use baby carriers that allow your baby to be vertical on your chest, so he has to hold his head upright against gravity.
This helps to build neck strength and processing balance and equilibrium.
Practise floor time and crawling.
Floortime and crawling are important milestones for walking.
It helps to strengthen your baby’s core muscles and the hip muscles for future walking.
It also helps to develop balance, coordination, and agility.
Let your baby pull up on his own.
Once your baby starts moving from crawling to sitting and back to crawling, he will start pulling himself up to the standing position on furniture or his crib.
Your baby’s tiny muscles of his feet, knees and hips are ready to bear his weight.
It is time to let your baby stand in a jumper.
A jumper will help your baby to build lower body strength and a sense of balance.
Look after your baby when he is using the jumper and do not let him spend more than twenty minutes at a time.
Take first steps.
Your baby will begin to attempt that first steps around the same time he becomes good at crawling.
Don’t be surprised if your baby can take a step or two but still prefers crawling because he gets much faster from one place to another.
The start time for walking varies from one baby to another between nine months to sixteen months old.
If you have questions or concerns about your baby’s timeframe to start walking, talk to your baby’s healthcare provider.
How to encourage your baby to walk?
Tips
1. Learn to walk bare feet.
Try to resist the urge to put adorable little shoes on your baby.
Your baby relies on splaying his toes on the floor for balance.
2. Remember to childproof your home.
Walk around on your knees at your baby’s new level and look for hazards such as blind cords, uncovered outlets and drawers that he can open.
Make sure all furniture that your baby might pull himself up on is securely anchored to the wall. This helps to prevent the furniture fall onto your baby.
3. Consider whether to let your baby use a walker.
There are pros and cons when using a walker.
This allows your baby to learn walking but your baby can move very quickly and might fall.
Walkers can cause strain to your baby’s tiny feet, knees and hips if he is not developmentally prepared to bear his own weight.
Walk the first step is one of the most unforgettable moments for new parents.
Remember the timing when babies start walking is different for each baby.
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Genesis Tampines Childcare 1989 is one of the best preschool and childcare in Tampines. Our Preschool Tampines have over 30 years of experience in nurturing thousands of infants, toddlers and preschoolers. At our Tampines Childcare, we advocate that every child is unique and precious who needs to be loved and cherished.
As a leading early childhood centre in Singapore since 1989, we are committed to nurturing our early learners holistically through various learning areas and positive learning dispositions. We place a strong emphasis on the way our teachers facilitate and interact with the children.
Our Childcare Tampines believe that every child is unique and precious who needs to be loved and cherished. Hence, our holistic curriculum aims to create meaningful learning experiences for each and every one of them!
Our Playgroup Tampines provides parents with the confidence that their children are in the good hands of our trained and caring teachers.
Our professional team of preschool teachers has a good understanding of child development and learning principles. We apply them efficiently and set the stage to create a meaningful learning experience that supports your child's discovery.
We consistently create a positive and cozy environment that will give your child a sense of security which builds their self-confidence to explore the world around them.
If you are looking for a good Tampines infant care or Tampines preschool or Tampines childcare near Tampines Central, do consider Nurture Infant House or Genesis Childcare 1989.
Located alongside our childcare in Tampines is our Nurture Infant House. If you are looking for Tampines infant care or infant care in Tampines, do visit Nurture Infant House. It is for infants aged 2 months to 18 months old. You can learn more about our infant care Tampines here.
Lastly, would you like to visit our Genesis Childcare 1989 to find out more about our environment and setup as well as understand our operations by talking to our teachers and supervisor?
Genesis Childcare 1989 (Playgroup to Kindergarten 2)
Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-63/65 S(520433)
Nurture Infant House (2 to 18 months Infants)
Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-61 S(520433)
Opening hours: Monday to Friday (7am to 7pm) & Saturday (7am to 2pm)
Public Bus services: 8 / 21 / 28 / 29 / 293
Tel: 96664141