New to walking/Different Surfaces?

Updated on September 26, 2010
J.S. asks from Morrisville, PA
8 answers

Hi! My 15 month old daughter is relatively new to walking and the majority of it has been done on a padded/carpeted floor in the family room. My question is...how do I safely teach my daughter to walk on hard surfaces (I.e. concrete patios, sidewalks,etc)? My fear is that she will fall and hit her head on the pavement - seeing as she tumbles quite often in the family room. She doesn't get hurt on the carpeted floor, but we all know how bad she could get hurt on concrete. My fear is that she will have the level of comfort outside as she does inside about not getting hurt - when we know she shouldn't.

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone! I decided hand-holding is the trick right now. So we walk all around outside - on the lawn, the sidewalks, in the house on the hardwood floors, etc. and I just hold her hand. I feel better, she gets more freedom and practice, and we're a happy team! Thank you ladies from one mom to another :)

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M.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

My friend noticed that her daughter was great at walking (and running), but not so great at landing. She got an inexpensive tent from Walmart and filled it with pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals. Now her daughter always looks for soft things to land on/at.

Also- I did buy a helmet for when my son was starting to stand and take spills. It's called a New Life helmet and I got it pretty cheaply on e-bay. We only used it a few times...

I'm glad you asked this! My son started walking a lot 2 days ago!
Good luck!

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Well, I hear you. It's scary when they start to walk...you'd like to put a helmet on them some days! :) But seriously, they are going to fall and get scraped and bruised. Try, as much as possible, to not hover and let her discover on her own. Even if she takes a tumble or two, she will be okay and she will get better every day! It's amazing how fast they learn and once they realize the independence of walking they want to do it all the time! Plus, it's starting to get cooler so just the wearing of pants will help a lot more than you think when it comes to tumbles on the pavement! Does she have any push toys? I think those help a lot too. My daughter loved to push it all up and down the sidewalk day and night. It helped her practice walking and being more sturdy on the concrete! Good luck and don't worry...too much.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.F.

answers from Houston on

I get what your saying but she is going to fall. All kids do, its a part of learning. When my kids started walking I would only put pants on them so their knees wouldn't get scraped up. My kids have fallen and still fall/trip everyday, so far only very minor bumps. I also only buy stride rite shoes for my kids. I think they fall less with them because they bend well.

3 moms found this helpful

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

My baby did better on concrete then she did on carpet. We moved into a house with no carpet, just hardwood floors, and even though she falls, she hasn't seriously gotten hurt. If you're really worried about it, look into getting walking wings. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404566 I am sure it will put your mind at ease. =)

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T.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

She'll figure it out - some things you just have to learn by doing. One mom mentioned that her son/daughter didn't trip as much on concrete and I think that's true. Our 3-1/2 year old started walking a week after her 1st birthday (March), so she started on carpet/tile and progressed to concrete before there was grass to cushion her outside...and let me tell you, they go from walking to running pretty quickly! Also, they often land on their diapered butt, so it's not as bad as you think. They adapt. My friend's son learned how to crawl using his hands and feet instead of knees at one park we go to that has concrete! Just let her go and be prepared with a boo boo bag!:)

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J.R.

answers from Philadelphia on

It's so scarey when they develop independence! As great as it would be to be able to wrap them in bubble wrap all the time, it's not realistic. I honestly can't count how many times my daughter (who is now 2) has stumbled or tripped and gotten a cut, scrape, or bruise. She practically walked around for months with a bruise on her forehead from falling on the pavement. And as soon as one scrapped knee heals she scrapes the other one. The key is she has to learn and learning and gaining that independence will come with some bumps and bruises. My heart still drops every time I see her trip or fall, but I just help her get up, give her a hug, wash off her knee and get her an ice pack for her forehead. With the weather getting cooler, your daughter will probably be wearning pants which will cut down or even eliminate knee scrapes. But she will fall and she will bump her head, but she will be OK. Holding her hand when she walks or giving her a sturdy push toy will help her keep her balance (and if you are holding her hand you can catch her when she trips). Enjoy this amazing time!!

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R.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter didn't trip near as often on concrete as she did on carpet. I think smooth concrete was easier to walk on than the carpet, which would catch her feet/shoes/socks... Will she fall, most likely, but they learn really fast about the different surfaces they are walking on, so she should be ok...
good luck!
R.

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B.R.

answers from York on

A lot depends on your daughter's personality too. My son is super-cautious. We have only one small carpeted area in our house, and that's where he took his first few steps at 13 months. Everyone said, "Lookout! He'll be walking all over in a couple of weeks!" Not true! At 15 months, he is finally starting to walk more than crawl. He seems to know which surfaces he needs to be more careful on. For almost two months, the only place he would take those tentative steps alone was on the carpeted area. On our tile, linoleum, and hardwood, he'd use push toys or hold my hand when he walked. Outside, he hated walking in the grass because the ground is so uneven and wanted to hold hands whenever we were on concrete. I've really lucked out that he is such a cautious kid! Now that he is walking more often on his own, I notice that he slows down on those scary surfaces like the ceramic tile and cement. He falls much less there. The only exception to his cautious ways from early on is that now he loves walking (and falling) on the grass. It's like he's practicing falling, because he falls every couple of steps and laughs like crazy. Whereas inside, falling is much more rare and makes him really frustrated. If your daughter is a cautious kid, you might not have to worry as much as you think! I understand from friends that the time to worry is when they are really good at walking because they stop paying attention to their feet and trip over obstacles they don't bother to look at!

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