Beginning Activities to Help your Child Learn to Stand and Walk!
During the first year of development, the ultimate goal of the human body is to get into an upright vertical position. Most of the developmental milestones that a child goes through, including tummy time, rolling, sitting, crawling, cruising etc help a young child prepare to get on their feet in order to start walking. In this blog post I’ll go through multiple exercises that can easily be performed at home with little or no equipment and each exercise will help your little one work towards achieving those first steps!
These exercises are appropriate for children who are neurotypical, those who have some delays in their development and those that are neurodivergent. Depending on how your child likes to move and which muscles are strongest you may need to modify the placement of your supporting hands. At the bottom of the instructions for each exercises I will provide alternative ways to make each exercise easier or more challenging as your child gets stronger and progresses.
These exercises are listed from easiest to hardest but based on your child’s strengths there may be some variations. As always, please feel free to message me via my website, on Instagram or via email if you have any questions about these activities. Let me know which ones you or your kiddo liked best!
Sit to Stand with Hands on Horizontal Surface
– place your child on a seat so that their thighs are horizontal and their lower legs are in a vertical position (90/90 position)
– place your hands on your child’s thighs with your fingers behind their legs (towards their buttocks) and your thumb on the front of their legs
– help shift your child’s weight forward so that their knees start moving over their feet and their nose starts moving over their toes
– help them push upwards into a standing position and allow them to place their hands on a horizontal surface like a couch, coffee table, large stable toy etc.
– try not to let your child pull themselves into a standing position by using their arms, we want them to focus on pushing upwards by using their leg muscles
make it easier: increase the height of the seat that your child sits on, the further your child’s hips are above their knees the easier the stand up will be, decline the seat so that it helps your child shift their weight forward
make it harder: decrease the height of the seat your child sits on, place your hands under your child’s knees when assisting them into standing
Sit to Stand with Hands on Vertical Surface
– place your child on a seat so that their thighs are horizontal and their lower legs are in a vertical position (90/90 position)
– place your hands on your child’s thighs with your fingers behind their legs (towards their buttocks) and your thumb on the front of their legs
– help shift your child’s weight forward so that their knees start moving over their feet and their nose starts moving over their toes
– help them push upwards into a standing position and allow them to place their hands on a vertical surface like a wall, back of the couch, tall cabinet, etc
make it easier: increase the height of the seat that your child sits on, the further your child’s hips are above their knees the easier the stand up will be, decline the seat so that it helps your child shift their weight forward
make it harder: decrease the height of the seat your child sits on, place your hands under your child’s knees when assisting them into standing
Standing with Back Against Wall
– place your child in a standing position and place their back against a stable surface like a wall, back of the couch, tall cabinet etc
– make sure that the surface your child is standing against is higher than the top of their head as you don’t want them trying to use their elbows or back of their head to “hold on”
– your child may enjoy playing with a light weight toy in this standing position, singing songs with you, making silly faces, etc.
– try not to allow your child to hold onto your or another supportive surface while they do this exercise – you want them learning how to use their legs to stand and balance (not their arms)
make it easier: hold the front of your child’s knees to help keep their legs straight
make it harder: have your child reach up and over their head to grab a toy, have your child reach to the left and then to the right – moving the toy slightly further than they can reach in any direction
Side Steps (cruising) with Hands on Supportive Surface
– help your child into a standing position with their hands on a coffee table, a wall, etc
– the exercise will be easier if your child is holding onto a horizontal surface (coffee table/couch) as compared to if your child is holding onto a vertical surface (wall)
– hold onto your child’s thighs, your fingers will be wrapping around the front of their legs and your thumbs will be near the back of their legs
– shift your child’s weight onto their right leg and then help them step to the side with their left leg
– after your child has taken a step with their left leg help shift their weight onto their left leg and then assist your child in taking a step inwards with their right leg
– repeat these steps 3-5 times to one side and then repeat to the other side
make it easier: have your child hold onto a horizontal surface, hold your child at the hips to help shift their weight and then slide your hand down if they need help stepping in/out
make it harder: have your child hold onto a vertical surface, hold your child just below their knees or right above their ankles (harder) when helping them take side steps
Stepping with hands on Vertical Surface
– place your child in sitting on a small stool/box/etc, making sure that the stool is a few feet away from a wall
– help your child move from sitting to standing, making sure their weight is shifting forward before pushing upwards (nose over toes)
– when you child stands up their hands should be on the wall and their body should be leaning slightly forward
– this position will encourage your child to take a step with 1 foot and then the other
– if they don’t step independently help them move one leg forward and see if they will step forward with the other leg
make it easier: help your child take steps by shifting their weight at the hips or physically advancing their legs by placing your hands on their ankles
make it harder: place your child on the stool, sitting with one shoulder facing the wall, help them stand up and only place one hand on the surface (their arm will be out to the side and in front of them), then have your child take steps forwards so that they feet are lined up with the hand on the wall
Standing Balance with Parent Hands on Hips, Thighs, Knees, Ankles
– place your child in a standing position in front of you, their back will be facing you
– place your hands initially on either side of your child’s hips
– if your child is very steady with your hands on their hips, move your hands down so that you are holding onto one thigh with each hand, your fingers will be in a horizontal position
– give firm input downwards from where your hands are into your child’s feet, your hands should not move but should be pushing downwards so that there is more input through your child’s feet
make it easier: when your hands are on your child’s thighs place your fingers above your child’s knees, your thumbs should be at the back of their legs and should be pointing upwards, to offer more support give firm pressure through your thumbs and into your child’s buttocks
make it harder: support your child below their knees or above their ankles (instead of at their hips or thighs), hold only onto one of your child’s legs and let go of the other, hold onto your child’s leg wherever they need the support and quickly let go and then return your hand to the initial supportive position
