Is Walking Early Really Bad?

Ive never heard that walking early is bad. Just don't use "walkers" where the baby sits in a seat with the feet on the floor to push and roll around. Those develop the wrong muscles. But just holding her up or cruising with her should be fine.

Old wives tale. One thing that you don't want to do is use things like a walker as that does *not* help them walk faster and it doesn't use the muscles that they would actually use for walking. And they aren't safe either!

I've never heard that. I started walking between 8 1/2 and 9 months, my sister was the same, and neither of us have ever had any problems. It sounds like one of those fabulous old wives tales. My grandma actually yells at me if I lift my arms above my head because I'm pregnant and she thinks it will make the umbilical cord wrap around the baby's neck. :)

no way!, walking early is awesome, besides all kids are bowlegged when they first start, its because the knees are set for "crawling mode" and early walkers still have the bent knee, my oldest walked by 11 months, my youngest walked at 9 months. they are both strait as an arrow now.

All of my children walked early. And, they all loved to stand from very young. They have no issues with their legs. I think that is an old wives' tale.

Oh that's rediculous. I've had plenty of daycare babies and my own first 3 babies that were up and walking by 9 months. Some have been walking around furniture at 8 months. None of them had bowlegs.

my now 11 year old son started walking in great strides when he was 8 months old! he never crawled, just one day stood up and decided to cruise around on his own two feet! he has never had problems with his legs and is still a very active and healthy boy! i think he figured out that he could get into more mischief when he was up and about on his own! lol! :) Good luck!

My son (now 13 months) was eager to learn to walk too and this sounds a lot like his learning pattern. I think if your daughter is the one initiating these things it is okay. A baby isn't going to do anything she is not ready for.
If you are truly worried, ask your pediatrician.

Someone on here responded how it is important to not skip crawling. According to my pediatrician and many other sources I've read it is normal and okay for babies to skip crawling. My son did. He can crawl (and walk, and run, and climb! oh my) now, but he walked first. Just throwing that out there for anyone who may find it helpful.

I have never heard of anything bad coming from it. I remember my son LOVED to stand as a little baby, and his great-grandparents would tell me I would make him bow-legged by doing that. NOT TRUE!

The only major downside I can see is that walking babies/toddlers get into TROUBLE! Haha. Make sure you are completely baby-proofed. :)

My son started walking at 11 months, full on walking/running. There was no cute falls and wobbly walking with him. She is probably just going to be an early walker, don't sweat the small stuff!

My DS (now 19) walked at 9 months -- guess what? Was running by 12 months! No problems with his legs ever!!!

My daughter walked at 7 months, ran at 10 months. She successfully completed 20 years of dancing and is now a teacher! She majored in ballet. So this nonsense about messing up a baby's legs and such must certainly be a old wives tale. Your a good mom who knows your baby well. Keep up the good work!

Ugh I'm getting so sick and tired of hearing wives tales. They cause sooo much trouble! But no fear, there is nothing wrong with walking early.

my daughter has been standing from the time she was born (literally, at her one week check up, the doctor was trying to pull her up to a sitting position and she just stood. She never wanted to sit in a lap, always standing. Her legs are perfectly fine. Actually, a couple of boys at her daycare who were late walkers are much more bowlegged than she ever was.

your baby will be fine. My daughter was cruising the furniture at 8 months and full on walking all by her self by 9 months and she didn't have bow legs or anything. I have never heard of it being bad to walk really early. I mean yeah they get into more trouble LOL but other than that don't worry about it.

Never heard that.

My son walked at 9 months, and did everything you say you do with you child. He always liked to walk, be lead around by his fingers, etc. And no bowed legs, whatsoever.

Ok, just read Riley's post, and I see where the confusion was. So I guess this is a moot point!

I had a late walker (15 months) a "normal" walker (12 months) and an "early" walker at 9 months. Their legs are all fine. My 12 month walker had the most bowed legs, but they are straight now at 4 years. It didn't have anything to do with walking or standing, he just came out that way :)

J.

My first walked at 9 months. She walks funny only because she is stalky (just like her dad) She is in great shape. She is 4 now/ The only headache is trying to keep a 9 month old out of stuff they shouldnt be able to reach yet!!! lol

I saw the Mom cleared up what she was meaning. I just wanted to add my middle son walked right after he turned 9 months. All babies are a little bow legged, that just works itself out in most cases. My brothers didn't, he wore leg braces for a little while and was fine.

Hi R.,

As long as you aren't doing this *all* the time for her to get around-- and it doesn't sound like you are-- I think she'll be okay. Your daughter is crawling, and that is a good sign that there's a positive flow of development, instead of things to be concerned about. There is some concern with toys like Johnny Jump-Ups, 'walkers' and exersaucers, and I think this is largely due to the fact that some parents put their kids in them for longer amounts of time than is probably recommened. This is well-intentioned, because some kids really love these toys which keep them upright, but overall, too much time in them can interfere with muscle alignment and how the brain perceives different muscles to be used for movement. The supported posture ( holding fingers or the listed toys) teaches the muscles and body a different way of working than walking does.

Early walkers, too, will tend to walk with their legs a bit more spread apart than older children or adults, and this may be a way their body compensates while they are learning to balance themselves upright. So, if your doctor doesn't express concerns, I wouldn't worry.

I hope this helps.

H.

I've not heard of this; but my oldest niece was walking at 9 m/o (the earliest of all the grandkids) and she has no problems with her legs. My gut feeling is, if it caused a problem with her legs, she wouldn't do it.

However, if her legs look bowed, she may be deficient in vitamin D and be getting rickets, so I would get her levels checked out and perhaps supplement her.

We "walked" my son around the same way when he was a baby and he started walking independently at 8 1/2 months and he is now 9 yrs old and has never had issues with bow legs or anything else.

My daughter started stumbling around & standing on her own at 9 months. At 10 she was walking like a pro. Her legs are long, lean, straight and beautiful. :)

I"m not sure why people say this. Crawling is a VERY important stage and it's not good, for babies to skip this. If you can encourage her to crawl (if she's not already), do so. As far as bow legs, it's a wives tale probably.

My husband and our daughter walked totally unassisted at 6 months.. She is a National Merit Scholar, dble major, deans list and never had any physical problems..

She was always pushing her legs from the moment she was born.. Even lifted her head the moment she was laid on my stomach and I called out her name for the first time..

You cannot stop them..

I think the issue isn't so much walking early as it is skipping crawling. There is some brain stuff that happens with crawling and doctors say that babies shouldn't skip over it, but as long as they crawl and then walk, I think it's fine no matter the age!

My daughter was running at 8 mos old and she is now almost 3 years old and has no problems with her legs.

She was pigeon-toed when she was younger and asked the Dr. about it...but he said it had more to do with how she was positioned in the womb than anything else and he said it would clear up...and it did.

Every kid is different. Don't worry too much about it. You can't go back and start over and not allow her to 'walk' around when she was little...so, I say don't fret over it. Your daughter will be OK.

My daughter literally came out ready to go!
She too had strong little legs and wanted to be upright and standing since she was weeks old.
She was full-on walking at 7 months.
She was tiny...she weighed like 12 pounds at a year old so it was so bizarre to see such a tiny little thing walking around. But it's true. She walked before she crawled.
She had/has absolutely no problems with bowed legs, etc. I personally think it may have been easier for her to walk early and find her balance because she was so petite. I never worried about excess weight on her legs.
Babies legs don't straighten out for a while due to the fact that they've been curled up inside us throughout their development in the womb. Your pediatrician would have mentioned if she truly had "bowed" legs.
I certainly wasn't prepared for my baby to be up and around as early as she was, but that was just her and there was no stopping her.
Like I said, she had no problems as a result of it.

Batten down the hatches. She'll be running before you know it.

Best wishes!