Things You'll Need:
- Patience
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Step 1
Hold off on baby's first pair of shoes. The best way for baby to learn balance and proper form is to walk bare foot.
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Step 2
Before a baby can walk they need to learn to pull themselves up and cruise (walk while holding onto furniture). So provide baby a safe place with no sharp corners to practice pulling up.
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Step 3
Once baby is cruising, encourage them to take steps away from the furniture and reward his/her effort with smiles and applause. Most parents are tempted to use walkers at this point. Push toys are fine, but avoid placing baby in a walker, they are dangerous around steps and prolong baby from learning to balance independently.
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Step 4
If baby is resists leaving the safety of furniture, provide an incentive. Maybe a favorite toy or snack. At this age, a parent's enthusiastic encouragement is often enough to get baby moving.
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Step 5
Get the entire family involved in helping baby take his or her first step. Enlist grandparents, caretakers and siblings to help encourage and watch out for baby's safety during this exciting time.
Comments
esmendelsohn said
on 8/13/2008 ps: add me to your friends! :)
esmendelsohn said
on 8/13/2008 I'm going through this now with my baby and she's not really secure with cruising away from the funiture. She'll stand on her own for a few seconds then she'll sit herself down and crawl away. My older two are trying to teach her to walk. It's really cute!