The development of toddlers and the key points of choosing shoes

With the arrival of the baby's toddler age, every father hopes that his child can take the first step smoothly and move towards the future life avenue! What process will the baby go through when learning to walk? What doubts does dad have than mommy? When do you need to wear shoes? How to choose a pair of good shoes suitable for your baby?

Normal toddler range: 1 1 month? 1 year and 4 months! When is it normal for a baby to learn to walk? Gu Yajun, a physical therapist in the rehabilitation department of Geng Xin Hospital, said that the age range for children to learn to walk by themselves is actually very large, ranging from 1 1 month to 1 year and 4 months, which is still normal. Generally speaking, 9? 10-month-old babies can stand up on the table by themselves; 10? 1 1 month old, the baby can hold the table sideways. /kloc-about 0/2 months, the baby can probably walk a few steps by himself.

When the baby first learns to walk, in order to keep his center of gravity, his hands will be raised high and the distance between his feet will be wide to keep balance. When he walks, the soles of his feet will make a loud noise because of direct contact with the ground, which looks very cute. These movements are normal toddlers at first, because the baby's arch and foot muscles are not well developed and unstable, but after about 1.5 years old, the baby will walk better and better.

The speed of learning to walk is also related to life experience. In the medical field, the recognized reference index of infant development is the Denver Development Checklist, and walking is one of the rude movements. About 1 1.5 months old, about 1/4 babies can walk stably by themselves, and by 14 months old, nearly 90% babies can reach it.

Gu Yajun's therapist pointed out that many parents in outpatient clinics are very anxious because their baby is over 1 year old and can't walk very well. In fact, this has something to do with their life experiences. Some babies suffer less. For example, parents spend less time with them and practicing walking, and toddlers may develop more slowly than other children.

Usually, as long as you encourage and help your baby, they will have the desire to stand up and walk, so parents don't have to worry too much.

However, if the baby is over 1 year-old, but even the action of standing has not appeared, or over 1 year-old and a half, it is suggested that parents take the baby to see a doctor to confirm whether there are any bone, nerve or muscle problems to be solved. However, if 1 2 months old, walking is not very good, but you can stand with something, you can observe it again.

Four stages of baby learning

5? 7 months old: you can sit by yourself and don't need support. 10 months old: Can you stand up with the table? 1 1 month old: able to stand on the table. 12 months old: most of them can walk a few steps by themselves. 0-year-old O-leg, 2-year-old X-leg? Many parents often find that their children have so-called "O-legs" when they are babies. Because they are worried about the difference in their legs, they take their children to the hospital for treatment. Therapist Gu Yajun said that this is because when their baby is in the mother's belly, the legs are often "sitting", so newborn babies often show O-legs. It's normal to have O-legs at the age of 2.

As for 2? 4-year-old babies often have X-shaped legs because of the load-bearing of walking. Contrary to the previous situation, this process is called "pendulum phenomenon", which usually reaches 6? At the age of 7, he will return to normal knee extension. Dad doesn't have to worry too much than mommy.

After the age of 8, the legs are gradually shaped. If after 8 years old, the angle of the baby's leg deformation is still too large or the feet are asymmetrical, it is recommended that dad take the baby to the hospital for further examination, so that professional doctors can evaluate whether they have leg diseases such as rickets. Rickets often occurs in infancy, and it is a disease with poor bone calcification due to calcium or vitamin D deficiency. The onset of rickets is slow, and it is not easy to attract attention. It will reduce the child's resistance, easily complicated with pneumonia and diarrhea, and affect the baby's growth and development.

O-legs and X-legs caused by poor posture. Gu Yajun, a therapist, pointed out that in addition to the influence of leg development process or the abnormality of congenital bone structure, sometimes O-shaped legs or X-shaped legs are also related to the poor gait of the baby when walking, such as walking with an outer figure or an inner figure, which needs to be corrected.

It is very common for children to wear shoes and ride bicycles to improve their walking "inner eight" in clinic. Gu Yajun, a therapist, said that it is difficult for a younger baby to communicate with him what exercise to do to train the strength of the outer thigh. The easiest way is to let them wear shoes, ride bicycles, or squat down often to improve the direction and strength of their legs when walking. When they grow up, they can be taught to use elastic belt or kick shuttlecock to help them improve.

In addition, for some children with habitual bad posture, parents should often help their children to detect their posture problems and correct them through oral correction.

W-shaped sitting posture affects leg development. Under what circumstances must I wear corrective shoes or surgical treatment? Gu Yajun, a therapist, explained that under normal circumstances, braces are recommended for correction or surgery, except for congenital skeletal abnormalities or obvious O-shaped legs after 2 years old (which may be related to premature learning to walk and premature weight bearing on the legs). As for the generally inconspicuous O-leg or X-leg, as long as it does not affect the function of life, it is actually acceptable.

What parents need to pay more attention to is the baby's sitting posture. They usually have a W-shaped sitting posture. Because of the low sense of balance and muscle tension at first, this posture can be the most stable and the muscles can be the most relaxed, but it will have a negative impact on the development of leg bones and muscles. It's best not to last too long. It is better to help your child to correct into a sitting position with his legs straight at any time.

Structural flatfoot and functional flatfoot children were born without arch. Plus the load-bearing and output of the foot, it is about 3? At the age of 4, the arch of the foot will gradually develop, about 6? Mature at the age of seven.

Gu Yajun's therapist pointed out that the so-called flat feet can be divided into structural flat feet and functional flat feet. The former is always in a state of no arch and "flat feet" regardless of whether the foot is load-bearing, which is more congenital structural abnormality and difficult to improve, but in fact, if there are no uncomfortable symptoms, such as foot pain, you don't need to care too much, but if the function is affected.

The more common is "functional flat feet". When the baby's feet are loaded, the arch will disappear, but when they are not loaded or stand on tiptoe, the arch will appear again. Babies with muscle tension or low endurance are more susceptible. This kind of flat foot can promote the development of arch by doing more exercises to practice lower limb strength, such as tiptoe, toe movement (holding a towel), barefoot in different places and so on.

Because the arch of the foot begins to develop around 3 or 4 years old, the baby still has a chance to improve before going to kindergarten.

* * * deficiency, affecting the development of arch. In addition to congenital inheritance, flatfoot is also related to acquired deficiency. For example, if you stay at home with your mother most of the time, sit on the ground and play, and rarely move around, your arch will not develop. However, many parents are depressed because they try their best to help their children practice, but by the age of 6 or 7, they still can't see the arch development of their children.

In this regard, Gu Yajun's therapist believes that it is not necessary to be too serious. As long as you have the strength to practice your feet in the process, it will be helpful to your child's later life. In fact, many people have flat feet, unless it seriously affects their lives, such as frequent falls and leg pain, you don't need to care too much, so as not to affect your child's mind.

How to help your baby learn to walk? Key point 1: Practice "Walking Forward" with big hands and small hands. It is suggested that parents can start practicing walking with their babies from around 1 year old. For example, when the baby can walk with furniture, you can try to lead him around with both hands, or provide some incentives (such as acousto-optic toys) to attract the baby to take a step and increase the motivation to walk.

Gu Yajun, a therapist, said that parents can help their children "move forward" because children will hold the east and west sides at first, but they can't practice moving forward by themselves, because once they let go, they will fall. Parents can hold the child's hand, or they can hold the child's armpit and lead the child forward. When the child is relatively stable, they can only hold one hand.

Focus 2: Preparing to practice walking furniture and toys is an important process for a baby to learn to walk. The railing of the bed is usually the first tool used by the baby. Solid furniture, such as a big table or TV cabinet, often becomes a tool for babies to walk. In addition, Gu Yajun's therapist suggested that a stable stool and toy cart can make the baby move forward slowly, push and maintain stability, and it is also an important tool for the baby to learn to walk!

The third point: provide a safe toddler environment * If the ground is made of hard material, it can be padded to prevent falls and collisions. * The four corners of the table should be smooth or padded with anti-collision pads. * Carefully store articles that are easy to trip, such as wires and toys that may cause slipping. * Beware of furniture that is easy to dump, such as electric fans and high chairs. * Don't put things on the edge of the table, especially hot or fragile items. * Stairs, bathtubs, kitchen waste buckets, etc. Care should be taken to prevent falling or drowning.

The fourth point: it is not good to study too early or overprotect! Occasionally, I will see some fathers who are eager to help their babies learn to walk, pulling their children who are only 8 or 9 months old to stand up and practice striding. Can this really help the baby develop toddlers? Gu Yajun, a therapist, believes that this is not appropriate because the bones and muscles of the legs of 8 or 9 months old children are still developing. If the child is allowed to bear the weight too early, it will easily affect the development of the whole lower limb.

In addition, at present, scholars generally believe that crawling is helpful to children's development in all aspects, and the crawling time is actually very short. Once children learn to walk, they don't want to climb, because they think it is faster to walk with their feet, so it is suggested that there is no need to teach their babies to walk before 1 year old.

Some dads are more inclined to overprotect their babies than their mothers, fearing that they will get dirty when playing, so they often hold them on their bodies or put them on carts or beds, which virtually reduces the opportunities for many babies to actively practice crawling, standing and walking, which is equivalent to depriving their babies of learning opportunities.

The function of shoes and the key points of choosing shoes 1. Baby who can't walk yet! When should I put shoes and socks on my baby? What are the important conditions for a pair of good shoes for a baby under 5 years old? Gu Yajun, a therapist, said that it is usually necessary to wear shoes and socks for babies when they are taken out, but for babies who can't walk, the main function of shoes is only to keep warm and decorate. At this stage, the key point of choosing shoes is to be comfortable and breathable.

As for socks, in addition to keeping warm, they also have the function of preventing excessive friction between feet and shoes, so if the weather is not cold and the baby doesn't wear shoes, there is basically no need to wear socks. It is recommended that children be exposed to all kinds of materials and safe floors barefoot, such as tiles, boards and clever spelling. This will also help the development of the arch of the foot, and also allow the baby's foot nerves to receive more * * * from the environment to enhance the proprioception.

2. Gu Yajun, a therapist for toddlers, pointed out that toddler shoes are shoes worn by babies in the early stage of toddlers, which mainly have the following characteristics:

Protect your feet from harm. At this time, the baby may occasionally go outdoors with his parents. Wearing toddler shoes can prevent the baby from stepping on sharp objects on the ground and avoid injury. The feeling of being used to wearing shoes is that the baby has just started to learn to walk, and it is not stable to walk, so it is unlikely to wear heavy shoes such as sports shoes or cloth shoes. The characteristics of toddler shoes are very breathable and soft, but unlike ordinary shoes, they have so many walking functions, mainly to get the baby used to wearing shoes, so they are only suitable for the initial stage of walking. Anti-skid function Most babies who have just learned to walk are still sitting in a unicycle when they go out. Occasionally, parents will let them go down for a few steps, but because it is outdoors and the baby is unstable, the anti-skid function is particularly important. 3. Children with increased activity For children who walk well and have relatively increased activity, the choice of shoes becomes more important. Gu Yajun's therapist believes that a pair of shoes suitable for babies at this stage should at least have the following characteristics:

0 1 ankle protection functional shoes must be able to cover the inner and outer ankles of the foot to increase the stability when walking. Try not to let the baby walk in slippers, high heels or high heels for a long time, because these shoes are unstable and easy to trip and sprain the baby.

Insole is moderately soft and hard. Insoles that are too soft will have no protective effect and may hurt the baby, but if they are too hard, they will be uncomfortable after walking for a long time. Dad can do a smaller test than mommy: grab the front and rear ends of the shoes and twist them. The front and rear ends should be able to twist, but the middle should not be deformed together. If the front and rear ends can't be twisted, it means that the insole is too hard and the middle is deformed together, which means that the insole is too soft. As for the height of the insole, it is suggested to be 0.5? The best thickness is 1 cm.

Breathable baby's feet are easy to sweat, so the breathable and perspiration function of shoes is also very important. Some shoes with special smooth materials are beautiful, but the disadvantage is that they are airtight and can be worn for a short time, but if you need to walk a long way, you'd better wear ordinary cloth shoes and sports shoes.

The toe cap should not be too big. Some parents mistakenly think that the wider the toe cap, the more comfortable it will be for the baby to wear, but in fact, too wide the toe cap will make the baby's feet stagger when walking, which is easy to form an incorrect gait.

Heels should not be too right-angled. The heel needs to have a little curvature, which is ergonomic and conforms to the baby's gait. Walking is more labor-saving.

Is it feasible to buy shoes of a larger size? The baby's little feet grow fast. Before long, he will have a new pair of shoes and help him buy bigger shoes. Is it feasible? Gu Yajun's therapist pointed out that under normal circumstances, the baby's gait and foot development in the future will not be affected by the style of shoes, but the size of shoes has a great influence on his toddler development. Therefore, parents are not advised to buy a bigger size shoes for their baby, because the shoes are too big, the front space is too big, and the baby is walking in the wrong direction. It is recommended to wear it in the right size.

Generally speaking, when the toes are pushed forward, the heel should have a width of 1, leaving enough space for the toes in front. Gu Yajun's therapist reminded his father that the baby's feet will always be longer than mommy's, about 1.5 per year? 2 cm, so at least once every 3 months to confirm whether the baby's shoes are too small.

Are rain boots suitable for children? If children's gait is not very stable, it is not recommended to let them wear rain boots, because they are hard and stuffy, just like high heels. Children's calves are very short, and high heels will not be conducive to leg bending; As for children over 3 years old who can already walk well, it is no problem to wear them for a short time.

Gu Yajun's current position: Physiotherapist, Rehabilitation Department, Gengshen Hospital Education: Bachelor of Physiotherapy, China Medical University, Master of Physiotherapy and Auxiliary Science and Technology Department, Yangming University.

Editor-in-Chief/Chen Yingjie Consulting/Gu Yajun, Physiotherapist Photography/Pandora Professional Children's Photography Comb/Sheep Show/Meng Wa: Chen Hongyu; Beautiful mommy: Wu; Handsome dad: Chen