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This post is brought to you by Huggies® Little Movers. All opinions are 100% mine.
I work with kids on a weekly basis, as a play therapist. Our daughter, along with many of the toddlers that I have the privledge of working with, are delayed in walking. Our daughter was still crawling at 17 months. (Now that she is two, I’m happy to report that she is RUNNING around like she doesn’t have a care in the world).
On that note, here are 5 ways to help them learn to walk:
1- Teach them to cruise (walk, holding onto furniture)
To encourage them to do this, you are going to place things just out of reach, encourging them to want to walk for it. Place a toy or a puff (we used those little Gerber Puffs) on the opposite side of a piece of furniture and help them to walk to the other side to get it. (ex: a low coffee table or long ottoman) Stand behind your child with your hands lightly on them, to help keep them from falling. You are offering support if they need it.
2- Hold their hands… and then teach them to let go.
Start out holding both of their hands, but when they are ready, move to one hand. Our kids had a hard time ‘letting go’ of both hands when they were learning to walk, so I would simply give them something small to hold with the other hand (a small rattle worked well for us).
3- Use a little motivator.
Stand a few feet apart from your spouse and let your child walk from one to the other. Just a few steps apart is enough. Our kids loved to play this game (walk from one to another while we cheered).
Our daughter walked for the first time for a bite of ice cream… I kid you not!
She loves it just as much as her Mama… and her Pap! 
Try this fun game suggested by Huggies with the help of Nikki Glor, Fitness expert (they worked together to create some aweome tips!)
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 backwards across the room, like a crab.
- Baby will mimic you by sitting on their bottom and scooting backward using their arms and legs to move and push along the ground.
- Scoot across the room or until you feel the burn! Benefit for Baby: builds upper body strengthBenefit from Huggies® Little Movers: The LeakLockTM system keeps mess away as baby scoots across the floor. The SnugFit Waistband and Double Grip Strips keep baby secureBenefit for Mom or Dad: works triceps and core
Here are a few more tips for playing with your kids:
5- Keep them comfortable!
While I LOVE to dress our kids in adorable clothing, I found that when they were learning to walk, it was easiest to keep them in comfortable clothing. The same thing goes with diapers. Huggies® Little Movers diapers with Double Grip Strips (soft Velcro strips on the sides of front diaper panel for an all-around comfy fit) are a great option. These Huggies® Little Movers were designed to help your baby move comfortably. (Plus, right now you can get a $2.00 off coupon! Just upload a photo or video to Share your Moving Moment for the coupon & for a chance to be featured on the Huggies Facebook Page) Its a win-win, becuse you are saving money, getting a comfortable fit and it comes with the trusted protection of Huggies LeakLockTM system
Here is the picture that I submitted to Huggies Moments of our baby on the move…
I used the caption “Chasing after her big brothers… always!” (You get to add your own caption to the image or 15 second video when you upload it onto the Huggies.com/moments page to Share your Moving Moment )
Last, but not least… Enjoy these moments- crawling is a stage and they will probably be walking in no time!
ps- another post that you might like: 5 learning activities for your one year old.
Adorable pics, adorable dress. Please tell me where you got the dress up top!? Oh my…
It was a hand-me-down from my good friend. 🙂 (Most of her clothes are given to us b/c we had 3 boys, first, while our friends all had daughters)