Walking - Rochester, NY

Hi J.,

I think 9 months is much too early to expect him to walk on his own consistently. The average child doesn't walk till somewhere around a year old. I'd say don't push it and let him do it in his own time. My son, who is now 4 1/2, didn't crawl till almost a year old and didn't walk till 16 months, but you'd never know it now.

Hi J.
It is absolutely a waiting game and don't rush it. Trust that your child will walk when ready. Some children regress when pushed to hard. Let the child set the pace, just keep walking with him and he will get it. Good luck, mine is only beginning to crawl but my daughter walked at 8 monthes and was into everything. Think of the wait as a way to reinspect the safety gear. Judy

Hang in there Mom! Just like his first three steps he will turn around one of these days and surprise you with more. Don't be impatient (I know it's hard not to be) and give him lots of praise when it happens again. It will happen sooner than you'd have wished it once he starts walking, and pretty soon you'll be in my boat... my 6 week old grand-daughter recognised my voice tonight and cried when she couldn't see me. I was in the other room and talking to my daughter, she went in to see what the problem was but my grand-daughter wanted nothing to do with her mom, she wanted her grandma and graced me with the most beautiful smile when I took her in my arms. I am both proud that I was the one to get her first big smile but also saddened by the fact that it made my daughter feel less loved. It also brought back a flood of memories of all the firsts I missed of my own kids.

My son started walking at 10 months & our lives have never been the same. Don't worry, he'll do it again & when he really gets started you'll be wishing he was still crawling! You don't realize how much they can get into once they're wandering around the house.

Hey Jamie,
I have two girls 9 and 4 and they both went thru that. DOn't force him he will do he is still young. Babies aren't expected to walk till around 1 yr old. So be patuent and let him do what he wants he will walk when he is ready but the worst thing to do is to force him. That will only make it no more fun for him as it becomes a chore not fun. I hope this helps a little. Good Luck and Have fun.

My oldest daughter did the same thing - about 2 wks before she would turn 10 mos, she took a few steps. For the next week or so, she would take two or three steps here or there, mostly to get to a short-distance where there wasn't anything convenient to hold on to. Then she gave up - completely stopped. Would cruise, would crawl, but would not walk. She officially began walking a little over a month later, about two weeks before she was 1 year old.

Since then, I have realized a pattern of behavior when she (who is 3.5 now) wants to do something new. She will try it, but when it is harder than she thinks it should be, she backs away from it and picks it up again a while down the road. It's just her personality - everything from drawing to riding a bike, even food.

Now, having another child (11mos) who learned to walk at 9.5 mos so that she could chase her older sister, I find the little one's abilities more disconcerting. She is virtually fearless - walks, climbs, everything, with no sense of danger, or clear understanding of the word "no". Though I'm proud of her perseverance, in comparison to the two, it would do my heart a bit better if she could take on just a hint of her older sister's personality.

Take advantage of these non-walking days :) Your son will be walking before you know it!!!!!!!

it takes time they start to walk to show off then they go back to the baby thing to hide it cus we get so proud of our little ones adn we want to show our littles ones off and they know this so donot worry he will start the walking and moving all about again no worries i am a mother of 2 grown boys now and also work part time with 9 months to 5 year old kids in a day care so it is fun

Hi J.!!
My son started doing that at about the same age. He was basically experimenting. The best thing to do is to keep encouraging it. My son is now nearly 1 year old (1 on the 26th) he is all over the place walking. It's still slowly and cautiously, but he still crawls too. Whenever he does walk though, we always positivly re-enforce it. We clap and say, "Yeah!! Big big walking!!" He gets so excited and smiles and claps too. Then he quickly gets up and starts walking again. If your son doesn't want to right now, don't worry. He will soon enough,, and when he does there's no stopping him. Good luck!!

Sounds like you son is doing great. Do you have any push toys for him? I would stay away from walkers, though.

Don't watch him, when he thinks you aren't looking he will walk again. You are lucky my kids didn't start until they were almost a year. My youngest started on his birthday. Be patient, because he is about to be into everything.

You're doing all the right things! You could sit face to face on the floor with another adult, have the other adult hold baby standing, and encourage him to walk to you. Otherwise, it's normal for him to not do it again for a while.

don't rush it! he'll do it when he's good and ready.. he'll figure it out..my kids both took steps long before they actually walked.

When my youngest was a baby, she loved to be led around the house.Then she took her first couple of steps,then she just stopped.Well I waited and thought something was wrong. I found out she just wasn't ready to do it on her own.All children are different.When your child is ready,he will walk on his own.You can keep trying,but he'll do it when he feels secure enough to do it on his own.GOOD LUCK!!!

give time most kids don't walk untill they're 1y.o.