Reasons for late walking in babies

When do babies walk?

Most babies take their first steps sometime between 9 and 15 months. By 18 months, most toddlers can walk without holding on to anyone or anything.

But it takes a lot of preparation for walking to happen.

"Long before your baby takes those first exciting steps, their body is preparing for the ability to walk by gaining muscle strength, balance, and coordination," explains Liz Donner, M.D., a pediatric hospitalist and member of the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board.

"These skills develop gradually over the first year of life and after."

Here's how the journey to walking usually goes:

At first, your newborn's legs aren't nearly strong enough to support them, but if you hold your baby upright under their arms, they'll dangle their legs down and push against a hard surface with their feet, almost as if they're walking.

This is the stepping reflex, and it usually lasts until a baby is about 2 months old.

During those first months, your baby is

when do babies learn to walk on their own

when do babies learn to walk on tip toes