Sarah Thompson

Option A: Milestone Charts

You have two good friends who both have thirteen-month-old children. One parent proudly

states that her child was able to walk at ten months, the other sadly states that her child has not

yet started walking. Is it obvious from the conversation that the parent of the walking child

believes her child to be advanced and that the parent of the non-walking child is deeply

concerned about her child’s lack of progress? What do you tell these parents?

Answer:

A child’s early development is a very delicate thing and their development is something

that a parent should monitor. While, it is true that comparing children at similar age can let you

know what behaviors and cognitive abilities they should be at, that comparison is not a fair

measurement because each child is developing at their own pace. Afterall, “The most dramatic

motor skill is independent walking, and all other motor skills to a newborn's head lifting to a

toddler’s stair-climbing, develop gradually over the first two years” (Berger 2014, pg 103). What

Berger is saying is that they very concept and ability of a child learning to walk is a large

milestone in a child’s growth which means learning to walk is going to take time. To help that

process of your child’s walking there are many things you can do, including but not limited to

doing leg strengthening and walking exercises. This essay will primarily focus on what you can

do to help your child and why you should not be worried about your child’s walking ability.

“Some adults spend hours helping infants walk” (Berger 2014, pg 104), this means that it

will take effort on your part to help your child. You can help your child by helping them stand

for extended periods of time, you can provide a walker for the child, and/or hold your child’s
hand and help them across a distance. All of those simple exercises will build the child’s strength

and muscle memory. Also remember to keep your baby on a healthy diet and as the child grows

they will naturally start to develop walking skills, like with brain maturation and a child's first

movements. “Gross motor skills follow a genetic timetables for maturation; they are also affected

by practice and experience” (Berger 2014, pg 106).

That being said the only way that children develop in any skill is by trial and error with

the help of the parents constant effort put forth in learning. Certain basic and common skills are

experiences for development in particular a variable experience that may or may not develop in

a particular infant for each infant is vastly different from others and comparing the two against

each other isn’t a correct way of measuring development.

Lastly, to help provide some comfort to you, “50% of all babies master walking skill at

walking well and 90 % percent of all babies master walking well at 15 months,” (Berger 2014,

pg 104). This means that your child is still within the normal range of time to learn to walk. You

as a parent have nothing to worry about just keep taking care of your child and everything will be

okay. Afterall infants and toddlers have a large capacity to learn and grow. If your child is not

walking after 15 months then I would take your child to a doctor for further consultation.

Works Cited
Berger, K. S., & Straub, R. O. (2014). Invitation to the Life Span.