How do you strengthen your baby's legs?

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asked Nov 10, 2022 in Baby/Newborn by repaidcap (1,340 points)
How do you strengthen your baby's legs?

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answered Mar 5, 2023 by Cathy21 (85,770 points)
Some things you can do to strengthen your baby's are by moving the baby's legs back and forth like a bicycle and encouraging your baby to squat and pick things up which strengthen the baby's leg and hip and thigh muscles.

To strengthen your baby's legs for standing you should encourage the baby to squat by placing toys at their feet when they are supported by a sofa or chair and encourage your baby to squat and pick the toys up.

This up and down motion of squatting builds and strengthens the baby's hip and thigh muscles which helps the baby stand.

Babies usually begin bearing weight on their legs by 3 months to 4 months of age.

And when the baby is 7 months old they will start to bear weight on their legs using their feet that are flat on the floor or on your lap for short periods of time.

However your baby will still need a lot of help with bearing their weight on their legs.

If your 1 year old is not walking yet it just means they are not ready to walk yet.

Although most babies will walk by 1 year of age it's not the case for all babies.

Some babies don't begin walking until 17 or 18 months so you should not worry about your baby not walking until they reach 17 or 18 months and they still are not walking.

Ideally a healthy baby should walk by 12 months and sometimes sooner.

But it's okay if the baby is not walking good by 12 months as it can take awhile for some babies to learn to walk while others learn faster.

When babies and toddlers are learning to walk it's best for them to learn to walk without shoes.

When babies and toddlers are first learning to walk most of them are flat footed because of the bones and muscles as well as ligaments in the feet are underdeveloped and when the toddler walks barefoot it helps to encourage balance, posture and coordination.

Barefoot is best for toddlers to allow their feet to grow and develop.

When at home and in the house it's good for toddlers to go barefoot or at least wear just a pair of socks.

Shoes can be restricting and when possible the toddler should go without shoes.

Of course if the toddler is outside away from home they should wear shoes but at home they are best off barefoot.

If the toddlers feet are cold or the room is cool you should put socks on the toddler at night.

However if it's warm the toddler may be more comfortable sleeping without socks.

During winter months it's best to put socks on the toddler to keep their feet warm as they lose some body heat through their feet.

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