GM.A.65 WALKS WITH BOTH HANDS HELD LOW

The baby looks most amusing when she takes her first steps. She is actually relying totally on both hands of the supporting person, and if 1 hand is released, she will fall. This is because as yet she is not able to use a properly developed weight shift from 1 leg to the other. Instead she leans forward and, with the help of the person walking her, she actually takes her legs out to the side, rotating them right out, bending at the hip and only a little at the knee, much as she does in cruising sideways. This is only a temporary measure as the control the baby learns in cruising to the side is incorporated into a more normal stride in walking forward.

How to Assess

Method: Stand behind your child, holding both her hands forward at chest level. Score plus if your child walks forward with hand support for 2 metres. She must take her legs forward, not out to the side.

How to Teach

Start to teach this skill standing behind your child and bending over to hold her hands, at about shoulder level in front of her, with her back to your front (that is, both of you facing the same way.) Let her grip your index finger, thumb one side, fingers on the other, as she does when she is holding a rail while standing. You will need to bend forward quite a way – teach someone else to do it for you if you have a bad back.

Cruising sideways around the furniture is the best preparation for your child’s walking skills, so allow her plenty of time to practise. It is advisable that children at this early stage wear ankle boots. This is a worthwhile precaution for children with flat feet and weak ankles.

Give her something to walk to and initially don’t attempt more than 5 or 6 steps. Keep her weight well forward over her feet, by keeping her hands well forward. Try to avoid her leaning back on your legs at any stage of the movement.

As she performs more of the movement alone, lower her hands to waist level. At this level, she will have to do most of the weight transference on her own.

Always, or when possible, practise this skill without a nappy to allow free movement of her legs. You will find that she will enjoy her walks and you will be able to go fix longer distances – from bed to the kitchen, down the hallway, from the car to the house, and eventually you can go for long walks around the house or garden – stopping to play at favourite spots. Talk to her about ‘walking’ so that she comes to know what the word means.

It is important to realise that low-toned babies may not walk until they are 18 months or older. Do not practise walking forward unless your baby has done a lot of sideways cruising on her own.