Walking - Minneapolis,MN

I gave my daughter a dollstroller with a doll for her first birthday. That was her motivation! Worked really well.

I was tough and h*** o* my daughter when it came to crawling and walking, I knew she could do it so I wasn't very nice about helping. Sounds horrible but I let her struggle a bit and get frustrated and sure enough she finally got it. You gotta work for what you want and mom can't do everything for ya. I did help somewhat and was very very encouraging and would jump up and down and cheer.

A.-
My daughter did the same thing, she could do it but it was eaiser for me to do it with her so that is what she wanted. I had to just let her whine about it until she did it on her own because I knew she could and when I kept giving and helping she would have never done it on her own. Fisher Price makes a push toy that is very wide and can only go so fast so they don't take off on kids. Good Luck!

My little one did the exact same thing at the same age. Just when I thought my back was going to break, she started walking on her own- at around 14 months. Your instinct is right on about push toys- they get going way too fast and they just can't keep up. I let my daughter walk behind the stroller or grocery cart and help push- that way I could control it and she got to practice walking without sending mommy and daddy to the chiropractor :) Give it some time, she'll get there. Good luck!

I borrowed a little tikes push toy from a friend and then bought it for my second child for just that reason. It's a Mail Cart. I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but it's wheels don't really turn and they are wide apart. It's lower than a grocery cart for young ones and it seems to go slow on carpet and wood floors. My 9 1/2 month old has been using it!

My son is doing the exact same thing. He is almost 10 months old, and a few weeks ago, on vacation, he took some steps on his own. At the time, that's all he wanted to do. Now, however, he needs to ALWAYS be holding our hands or furniture, but does not want to be in arms. My mother said her kids all did the same thing. They lose a little confidence after the initial shock of being able to do it. She'll do it again- it IS just a phase. At least you have a little while before she is into everything!!!

The more independent they get the more they tend to need your reassurance. It is like they take 1 step forward and 2 back. It is a phase that will pass. You could try to get her to walk between you and someone else and congratulate her when she does. Try not to make a huge deal of it though, a soft "good job" will make it seem like less of a big deal. Another thing to try and do it to give her lots of cuddle time too.

My friends daughter had a bit fear after a fall which wasn't even that bad, but it must've scared her enough to not want to try agin without her parent's help, for fear of falling down again. When she falls, try not to freak out. You could even laugh a bit and high five her for falling if she's not hurt...that may build some of her self esteem and confidence in trying again on her own. Also, if you can use a Jonny Jump-up, that will strengthen her legs and lower back so she is able to hold herself up better when she's walking, which could speed up the walking by herself process. You could hold one end of a towel, and then she can hold the other end, and you won't have to bend down so much and she can still lead herself around and yet, she'll see that you are still sort of holding her because you're holding onto the towel. It might not hurt so much on your back. This will also give her a chance to catch herself when she's about to fall...falling can be a good thing sometimes. They have to learn sometime right?! Good luck.