Dooley Noted: 12/21/2015
I had the pleasure of watching Family Feud with my mother this morning.
One of the questions was very telling.
“Name something a baby learns to do without you teaching them.”
My answer: “Everything.”
My mom replied, “Not walking.”
I said, “Ma, they absolutely, positively learn that without your help.”
I see this all the time: parents loading their babies’ hips to encourage them to walk.
They hold their hands and watch them awkwardly move on hips that aren’t ready.
The baby does not need your help.
In fact, you and the baby are better off letting him figure things out for himself.
The baby cries, nurses, rolls, squats, crawls, props and walks – all without your cueing.
Parents and family are often so eager for the child to ambulate that they encourage the child to walk before the baby is ready.
This leads to hip loading and sequencing patterns that show up as gait abnormalities and truncated motor learning.
In my humble opinion, it shows up as scoliosis and hip compression issues, as all as knee and foot abnormalities. It even shows up as ADHD symptoms.
Remember: the average Olympian doesn’t start walking until 14 months. They spend exorbitant time crawling and developing rotary stability and cross patterning with the limbs.
So, if you are bragging about your kid walking at 9 months, you are gravely mistaken that your child is progressing faster.
In fact, if your child tries to walk too soon, get on the ground with them and start crawling around!
Advanced cross patterning (like crawling) is something we teach our team members at Catalyst SPORT as part of a basic workout.
Building stability on all fours will benefit the baby long after they start walking on two feet – on their own time.
And if you really want to help that baby walk well into his life, focus on improving YOUR OWN walking gait.
Remember: he’s watching you. And as his brain develops, he will start mimicking you.
Improve yourself to help your baby develop.
In the meantime, leave the baby to walk when he is ready.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
