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Know the Causes and Ways to Overcome Children's Late Walking

The child's first step is a developmental stage that parents look forward to. So do not be surprised when the child is walkinglate, parents feel worried. Well, to find out the causes and ways to deal with children walking late, let's see the explanation in this article!

Generally, children have started to be able to stand up and take their first steps between the ages of 8-18 months. At that age, children will walk by creeping on the objects around them.

Know the Causes and Ways to Overcome Children's Late Walking
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Possible Causes of Late Walking

There are several conditions in children that can cause them to walk late, namely:
  1. Have a delay in the development of the motor system
  2. Experiencing abnormalities in muscle strength and tone, for example due to cerebral palsy, hypotonia, or muscular dystrophy
  3. Have a brain infection, such as meningitis or encephalitis
  4. Having a brain injury
  5. Experiencing malnutrition or nutritional deficiencies that cause certain diseases, such as rickets
  6. Lack of stimulation from the environment and the habit of still being carried until the age of 12 months or using a baby walker

In addition, mothers who experience infections during pregnancy, such as TORCH, can also increase the risk of congenital defects that can have an impact on the child's delay in walking.

Father and Mother should check the condition of the child to the doctor if he is over 18 months old but the child is not yet able to walk, the child only walks on his toes (toe), the movement of one leg is different from the other (limping), or there is an abnormality in the shape of the child's foot .

Various Ways to Overcome Children who are Late Walking

To overcome the problem of children walking late, there are several ways that parents can do, namely:

1. Invite the child to walk by guiding him

The first way that Mom and Dad can do if your little one is running late is to regularly stimulate the child's walking ability. One of them held his hands and led him to walk.

To do this, position the child to stand facing forward, then hold his hands from behind, and help him to slowly walk. In addition to stimulating children to walk, this method is also useful for strengthening muscles and training children's body balance.

Do this activity slowly, but regularly. Also make sure the floor where your little one is practicing is not slippery, thereby reducing the risk of falling which can actually cause trauma to try again later.

2. Limit the duration of carrying the child

Carrying children is a very exciting moment for parents. However, for the good of the Little One, it is better if Mom and Dad don't carry him too often or too long.

Instead, let your little one play on the floor. That way, he will be stimulated to start standing, creeping, and finally walking.

3. Put the toy in a distant position

Placing toys far away can also encourage children to walk. Meanwhile, to make your little one want to stand up, Mom and Dad can invite him to play in a standing position.

4. Let the child go barefoot in the room

Try to get your little one used to doing activities barefoot indoors. The reason is, this is useful for training his body balance while standing. Mom and Dad can also buy toys that your little one can push to train them to walk, such as a stroller.

5. Avoid using a baby walker

Some parents think that baby walkers can stimulate children to walk. In fact, the use of a baby walker is not recommended to train children to walk.

This is because baby walkers can cause children to experience delays in walking, in addition to increasing the risk of injury, for example, pinching a child's finger and even falling or rolling a child due to a baby walker hitting furniture in the house due to lack of supervision.

The ways above can help Mom and Dad to stimulate and train children to walk. But before doing that, first make sure the area in the house is safe and free from items that can harm your little one, yes.

Keep in mind, the speed of development of each child is different, including in terms of walking. However, if Mom and Dad are worried, it never hurts to check your little one to the doctor.

Generally, the doctor will examine the physical condition and assess the child's movement (motor) abilities, find out the cause of the delay in walking, and provide suggestions for appropriate action to overcome the problem.