This post is brought to you by Huggies® Little Movers. All opinions are 100% mine.
I work with children regularly as a play therapist. Our daughter—and many of the toddlers I see—were delayed in walking. She was still crawling at 17 months. Now that she is two, I’m happy to report she’s running around with no care in the world.
Here are 5 effective ways to help your toddler learn to walk:
1 – Teach them to cruise (walk while holding onto furniture)
Encourage cruising by placing a favorite toy or a small snack just out of reach on the opposite side of a low table or ottoman. Your child will be motivated to move along the furniture to get it. Stand behind them with your hands lightly on their torso to steady them and offer support if needed.
2 – Hold their hands… then teach them to let go
Start by holding both hands, then progress to holding one hand. If your child struggles to let go of both hands, give them a small object to hold in the free hand—a rattle or small toy works well. This helps build independence while keeping them comfortable and confident.
3 – Use a little motivator
Stand a few feet apart from another caregiver and have your child walk from one person to the other. A short distance and lots of cheering are often all it takes. Our daughter even took her first independent steps for a bite of ice cream—sometimes a tasty reward or enthusiastic encouragement makes all the difference.
4 – Play with them
Play-based activities build strength, balance, and confidence. One fun game suggested by Huggies and fitness expert Nikki Glor is “Crab Scoots.”
Crab Scoots
- Sit on your bottom with your hands behind you and legs in front.
- Lift your body off the ground and use your hands and feet to move backward across the room, like a crab.
- Baby will mimic you by sitting on their bottom and scooting backward using arms and legs to push along the floor.
- Scoot across the room or until you feel the burn! Benefit for baby: builds upper body strength. Benefit for mom or dad: works triceps and core.
Here are a few more ideas for playing with your kids:
5 – Keep them comfortable
Comfortable clothing and well-fitting diapers make movement easier. Huggies® Little Movers are designed with Double Grip Strips for a secure, comfortable fit and a LeakLock™ system to help protect against messes as your child scoots and explores. A snug, flexible fit helps toddlers move freely while learning to walk.
I submitted this photo to Huggies Moments of our baby on the move with the caption “Chasing after her big brothers… always!” You can add your own caption to an image or 15-second video when you upload to Share your Moving Moment.
Finally, enjoy these stages—crawling is temporary, and with gentle encouragement your little one will likely be walking before you know it.
ps – another post you might like: 5 learning activities for your one year old.