Standing and getting ready to walk
Because a baby's development progresses from head to toe, control over the muscles of the knees, lower legs and feet is rarely achieved before the age of ten or 11 months.
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It's only at this time when he's strong enough and has sufficient balance to be able to take the whole weight on his feet and stand up.
Sitting down
Standing up is easy compared to sitting down, and it usually takes a baby three or four weeks to master getting back down to the floor again from a standing position. He usually does this by sitting down backwards with a thump, or by carefully sliding his hands down the support until his bottom's on the floor.
Until he's mastered this he'll probably just stand still and scream for your help. There may be a period of frustration for both of you before he learns to drop down into a sitting position. You can help your baby by lowering him down gently so that he gains confidence in the movement. You can also help by not getting annoyed when you have to do it over and over again.
Ready for “Cruising”?
After your baby has gained sufficient confidence from pulling himself up into a standing position and getting back down on to the floor again it will probably be about four weeks before he starts “cruising”. He does this by facing what he's holding on to and then gradually inching his hands along the support; he then brings the rest of his body into line with his hands by taking small sideways steps, one foot after the other. As he gets confident using this method he'll hold on to the support at arm's length and will only use it for balance.
Once your baby has reached this stage it's then only a very few weeks before he will let go of the support and move forwards to the next piece of furniture. These first few steps are very unsteady. To increase the width of the base, he will keep his feet quite wide apart and balance by holding his arms up and forwards, slightly bent at the elbows. It is not until your baby is quite proficient at walking that he will bring his feet closer together and let his hands drop to his sides.
Helping your baby to stand
- Don't put socks or shoes on your baby's feet. He has much better grip and balance when his feet are bare. If your house is cold, put bootees with suede soles on your baby's feet. Make sure that all your baby's clothing is loose so that movements aren't restricted.
- All the furniture in the room should be heavy, firm and stable so that there's no risk of it toppling on the baby as he holds on to it.
- Resist the temptation to hurry your baby with standing or walking. He'll do it in his own good time and nothing you do can hurry the process.
- Don't play tricks on your baby by suddenly removing your support. This will give your baby a bad fright and could damage his trust in you because until that moment you were the one thing that he could rely on.
- Don't start to use sleeping bags for the first time now - your baby will try to stand and will fall. If he's used to one it's all right to continue with it.
- Make sure that all wires and flexes are tucked away or firmly tacked down. He may start by cruising around furniture but a light flex may seem an ideal “hold” once he's on the move.
New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard
Posted 03.11.2010
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