From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash
When do babies walk? Standing, walkers and shoes
When most babies walk
These are the standing and walking milestones from the CDC's checklists, in the CDC's own words.2 This milestone checklist is not a substitute for a standardized, validated developmental screening tool. These developmental milestones show what most children (75% or more) can do by each age.
- By 12 months: Pulls up to stand
- By 12 months: Walks, holding on to furniture
- By 15 months: Takes a few steps on their own
- By 18 months: Walks without holding on to anyone or anything
First steps are shaky, and a baby may take only one before dropping. Most go from those first steps to walking with confidence within days.1 If your baby was born more than 3 weeks early, use their corrected age (counted from your due date) when you read these.
Is it bad to let my baby stand or bounce on my lap?
No. From about 4 to 7 months, when you hold them with their feet on the floor, babies may curl their toes, "practice walking" or bounce up and down. The AAP describes this as preparation for crawling and standing.3 The UK's pediatric physiotherapists list supported standing among the things that help a baby toward walking.4
If you are worried about bowed legs: many babies and toddlers look bowlegged until about age 2, and their legs usually straighten on their own.56 Corrective shoes and braces are rarely helpful.5 The signs to ask your pediatrician about are below.
Baby walkers: skip them
Walkers look like a head start, but they do not help babies learn to walk, and they can delay it.17 They are also a real injury risk:
- Most walker injuries come from rolling down stairs, often with broken bones or head injuries.
- A walker lets a baby reach higher, to hot drinks, pot handles, heaters and poisons.
- Most walker injuries happen while an adult is watching, because a baby in a walker can move more than 3 feet in a second.7
The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban on walkers with wheels, and they are already banned in Canada.7 The UK's pediatric physiotherapists advise against them too, and add that walkers can make a baby walk on their toes.4 Better choices: a stationary activity center with no wheels, a play yard, or a sturdy push wagon weighted so it will not tip when your baby pulls up on it.17
Holding hands, and the elbow injury to avoid
If you walk holding your baby's hands, keep the grip relaxed, and never lift, swing or yank a child by the hands or wrists: that is how nursemaid's elbow happens. To lift your child, hold them under the arms.8
Shoes: barefoot indoors, simple shoes outside
Putting shoes on sooner will not help a baby walk sooner, and hard, stiff soles can make it harder, because they stop the foot moving naturally. While your baby learns, barefoot is best, and socks or booties with nonskid soles are fine for cold toes.9
Once they walk outside, they need shoes: closed-toe, comfortable and flexible, with nonskid soles and room to grow. Wedges, inserts, special arches and other shaping features have no proven benefit for most children and may make walking harder. Feet grow fast at this age, so check the fit every month.1
What actually helps
- Time on the floor. Tummy time, rolling, sitting, crawling and pulling up to stand all help a baby progress toward standing and walking.4
- Something steady to pull up on. Make sure it has no sharp edges and is heavy enough, or fixed down, so it will not tip.1
- Room to cruise. Walking along the furniture, holding on, comes before walking alone.2
- A calm reaction to falls. Bumps are part of learning, and a baby takes their cue from you: a quick hug and back to it.1
When to talk to your pediatrician
You know your child best. Do not wait. If your child is not meeting one or more milestones, has lost skills they once had, or you have other concerns, act early. Talk with your child’s doctor, share your concerns, and ask about developmental screening.2
About legs, the AAP lists these signs to raise with your pediatrician:5
- The curve is extreme.
- Only one leg is affected.
- The bowing gets worse after age 2.
- Knock-knees last past age 7.
- Your child is also unusually short for their age.
See the CDC milestone checklist for every age.
Related reading
See the CDC milestone checklist, a realistic 8-month-old schedule, and what changes at the first birthday.
Frequently asked questions
When do most babies start walking?
Many babies take their first steps around their first birthday, and starting earlier or later is normal too. The CDC's milestone checklists list "Takes a few steps on their own" at 15 months and "Walks without holding on to anyone or anything" at 18 months, things most children (75% or more) can do by those ages. If something on the list is missing, or you are worried, talk with your child's doctor.
Do baby walkers help babies learn to walk?
No. The American Academy of Pediatrics says walkers do not help and can delay walking, and it has called for a ban on walkers with wheels because babies in them fall down stairs. They are banned in Canada. A stationary activity center with no wheels, or floor time, is the better choice.
Is it bad to let my baby stand or bounce on my lap?
No. Held with their feet on the floor, babies of 4 to 7 months may curl their toes, "practice walking" or bounce up and down, and the AAP describes this as preparation for crawling and standing. Bowed legs are normal until about age 2 and usually straighten on their own. Ask your pediatrician if the bowing is extreme, only on one side, or getting worse after age 2.
When does a baby need shoes?
Once they walk outside. Shoes on sooner do not help a baby walk sooner, and stiff soles can make it harder, so barefoot is best while they learn indoors. For outside, choose flexible, closed-toe shoes with nonskid soles and room to grow. Arches, inserts and other shaping features have no proven benefit for most children.
Is it okay to hold my baby’s hands to help them walk?
Keep the grip relaxed, and never lift, swing or yank a child by the hands or wrists. That is how nursemaid’s elbow happens. To lift your child, hold them under the arms.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Movement milestones, babies 8 to 12 months
- CDC, Learn the Signs. Act Early. (milestone checklists, 2022 revision, developed with the AAP)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Movement milestones, babies 4 to 7 months
- Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (UK): Baby-walkers, are they necessary? (June 2024)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Bowlegs and knock-knees
- NHS: Leg and foot problems in children
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Baby walkers, a dangerous choice
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Nursemaid’s elbow
- KidsHealth (Nemours): Is my baby ready for shoes?
Tick it off as you go
The same CDC list is on What's next in YummyYucky, for the age your child is in and the one coming next. Tick what you have seen and take it to the well visit. It never gives a score. Free.
Open the checklist, freeLast updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.
This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.
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