Learning to walk

Walking for the first time is one of the many exciting and memorable milestones in your child's development. Your baby has been preparing to walk from an early age. Now all the rolling, sitting up, bottom shuffling, crawling, furniture cruising and standing results in your baby's newest adventure: first steps.

Babies usually start walking sometime between about 10 and 18 months of age. Before they start to walk, babies will usually have been crawling (between 7 and 12 months) and pulling themselves up to stand (usually between ages 9 and 12 months).

To walk, your baby needs to have developed many skills, including:

• balance
• coordination
• standing up
• being able to shift their body weight from one leg to the other

Each new skill builds on the previous skills your baby has learnt. As your baby gets older, the skills they learn get more and more complex.

While your baby was busy crawling and pulling up to stand, then cruising between pieces of furniture, they were building muscle strength. They were also developing skills like balance and coordination, which are all needed for walking and later, running.

Once your baby starts to walk, they continue this process. They may experiment with moving from the floor to standing then back down again. They may move from sitting to standing and back again, walking, and then squatting to play. All these activities also help strengthen their muscles and balance. They'll keep on practicing and experimenting to improve their walking skills. They may walk in different directions, on different surfaces and while carrying large toys.

There are many things you can do to help your baby learn to walk. Be sure to give your baby space to toddle and a chance to pull themselves up on furniture, and take their first steps.

Show them that you're excited by offering praise and words of encouragement — your baby may not understand everything you say, but will hear your excitement in your tone of voice and notice your facial expressions.

Here are some more tips on helping your baby learn to walk:

Play together

Being with or near your child when they explore helps them feel safe and builds their confidence. It's also important to give them a bit of space to explore and take risks with their first steps as toddlers.

Encourage independent walking

Being active and moving around builds your child's muscle strength and posture, which helps your child get better at walking and prepares them for running.

You can start by positioning yourself about two metres from your baby and encouraging them to walk to you. Once they've achieved this you can increase the distance. You can encourage them to push a toy pram or trolley. Once they're confident walking around, you can set up an obstacle course with soft cushions or foam shapes to walk over or around.

Make your home safe

As your baby starts to move around the house more, keeping their play area clear ensures there are no accidents and creates lots of opportunities to walk and explore.

Your baby doesn't need to wear shoes unless they are going outside. When they are inside, letting them crawl and walk in bare feet helps their feet and toes develop normally. If it's cold, then wearing socks are fine. Choose non-slip socks or socks with grip to help prevent slips. These are available in most babywear stores and departments.

When choosing shoes for your baby, it's important that you get shoes that fit properly right from the very start. Poorly fitting shoes can lead to foot deformities, and make it harder for your baby to learn to walk.

When buying shoes for your child, you should consider having them properly measured to make sure they aren't too tight and provide the correct support.

Learn more about children's feet and how to choose the right shoes.

If your baby is 18 months or older and isn't walking on their own yet, or if you're concerned about any areas of your baby's development, contact your child's doctor or a child health nurse for advice.

You should also seek medical advice if your child has started to walk, but then begins to:

• limp
• waddle
• refuse to walk

For more information about your baby's physical, emotional, social, language and cognitive development visit Starting Blocks.

Read the Pregnancy, Birth & Baby's guide to keeping baby safe.

Read more about your baby's growth and development in their first 12 months at Pregnancy, Birth & Baby's page.

You can call Parentline in your state or territory for advice and information:

• Parentline ACT: (02) 6287 3833, Mon to Fri, 9am – 5pm AEST / Sat, 10am – 12 midday
• Parent Line NSW: 1300 1300 52, Mon to Fri, 9am – 9pm / weekends, 4pm – 9pm
• Parentline Queensland and Northern Territory: 1300 30 1300, 7 days, 8am – 10pm
• Parent Helpline South Australia: 1300 364 100, 7 days, 7:15am – 9:15pm
• Parent Line Tasmania: 1300 808 178, 24 hours, 7 days
• Parentline Victoria: 13 22 89, 7 days, 8am – 12 midnight
• Ngala Parenting Line WA: (08) 9368 9368 or 1800 111 546, open 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm