Infant Development: The Walker

So now things get really interesting. Your crawler and stander is about to be mobile on two feet!

Marianne Hermsen-Van Wanrooy makes an interesting point I don’t recall from when my son was learning to walk. On page 62 of her book, “Baby Moves,” she states:

“Initially, he may go up on his toes when standing. But be aware that this is another form of muscle imbalance that your baby will need to get under control. Do not encourage him in any way to start to walk, not even cruising along the furniture, as he will first need to sort out the balance between flexors and extensors and go down on flat feet.” 

She goes on to state that once baby is flat footed, allow him to cruise along furniture for as long as he would like as this is an important developmental stage. He’ll be able to walk independently in his own time, so there is no reason to force it.

Some of my son's early steps. So happy!

According to Dr. Husband’s Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization notes, the ideal motor development sequence is:

1. Oblique sitting
2. Regular sit
3. Active sit
4. Crawling
5. Standing
6. Active stance
7. First steps

For me, watching for the active stance portion prior to the first step is something I'm going to try to remember for Baby Girl. It’s all so exciting for you, your partner and your baby that it’s difficult to not encourage those first tiny steps.

However, as much as I’ve said not to encourage, the DNS notes point out that the entire sequence listed above all depends on motivation. It’s the motivation of you, your voice, toys and objects that will inspire your baby to move through this sequence.

As a movement mommy, your role is to make sure those motivators are there but in the right space and at the right time, so they can inspire the correct movement for the stage your baby is at.