Gait disturbance in children: causes and symptoms

Exercises for a child to walk

To help your baby, do simple exercises with him regularly.

On the ball

Place your child on a fitball or large ball with his back to you. Swing it back and forth, left and right, holding it securely by the hips. The exercise develops coordination and the vestibular system - important skills for walking.

Try to get up

When the baby is 9-10 months old and can already actively crawl, introduce exercises for standing against a support. To do this, place a bright toy or your child’s favorite rattle on the chair and attract his attention. Having crawled to it, the child will attempt to stand up in order to reach the desired object. Secure the chair so that it does not tip over.

Make a step

When the child learns to stand firmly against a support, he will have to take his first step. Again, use your favorite toy, hand it to your child at such a distance that the baby will have to tear himself away from the support to grab it.

Journey

Children love to explore the surroundings, so you can take him on a trip around the house. Place interesting toys and books in places that are at eye level with the child and show him how to move from support to support. Be there to always lend a hand and support the baby.

We and our children

Authors : Nikitin B. and L.

The first steps, how much joy they bring to everyone: both children and adults! And how much anxiety... Grandmothers and mothers are especially afraid: what if they fall? It’s not so scary in a soft crib, but what if it’s on a hard floor? And they help. They teach him to walk so that the baby does not fall: they hold him by the arms, by the collar of his coat, by the scarf, put him in a special walker, or put on something like a harness. And so on until the child learns to walk. Who benefits from this? Of course, first of all, it’s calmer for adults. What about the baby? Such “help” is of little benefit to him. After all, his movements are constrained, he does not feel his capabilities, does not recognize dangers and does not learn at all... to fall. “Does this really need to be learned?” - you ask. Necessarily! Because grandmother and mother will not always be nearby, and in any running, outdoor game, or sport, there are often situations when a fall cannot be avoided. This means that a severe bruise or injury can occur where someone who knows how to fall will only get away with a slight fright, or even not notice such a small thing at all. Athletes, especially sambo wrestlers, acrobats, gymnasts, figure skaters, parachutists, are even specially taught to fall: group, tense their muscles, soften the blow with spring-loaded legs, arms, and rolls. But here’s what’s interesting: all these techniques are much easier for children to master in the first years of life than adults, and without any special training, if, of course, they are allowed. Many times, seeing how masterfully our guys can fall, how well they control their bodies, we tried to remember: where did it all begin? After all, we didn’t specifically teach them this... But we didn’t interfere with them either - that’s the point! By letting them crawl on the floor very early, allowing them to travel through all the rooms on their own, we could not prevent the baby from finding some kind of support, getting up from the floor, and then... and falling. Children made such attempts to stand up, holding onto something, dozens, even hundreds of times. And many of these attempts end in failure—in failure. From the very beginning, our kids did it very cleverly and even a little funny. Swinging back, the baby easily folded (exactly like a penknife) and sat softly on the floor, and swinging forward, put out his arms and got on all fours. When the little hands are strong, they will spring back and neither the forehead nor the nose will reach the floor. Most often, he did not even have time to get scared and continued the journey as if nothing had happened. Neither we nor the baby attached any importance to these falls and were not afraid of them. Only once did we get seriously scared. Nine-month-old Alyosha somehow had to be left with his grandmother for the whole day. And when I returned home in the evening, without any precautions, as always, I left it on the floor in the middle of the room. And then I saw a completely unusual picture. Alyosha took a few steps, stopped, swayed back and began to fall. But he fell somehow strangely, straightening up and throwing his head back, and therefore hit his head hard on the floor. What's the matter? I couldn't understand where his ability to fall had gone. The “secret” was revealed the next morning when my grandmother came to us. It turns out that she, afraid that Alyosha, who was beginning to walk, might fall, walked behind him all day and held the back of his head with her hand. As soon as the baby rocked back, his grandmother’s hand was there, and he was resting the back of his head on it. One day was enough for Alyosha to replace his method of protecting himself from bruises with his grandmother’s. And as a result, a bump on the back of the head. This incident once again convinced us that it is better to refrain from such “help”. Many times later we had to rejoice that our guys at critical moments (tripped, slipped, lost their balance, etc.) got out of the situation surprisingly easily. Here's just one example. My two daughters and I are quickly running along the asphalt street. It’s getting dark, we are in a hurry to deliver home the ice cream we just bought. The youngest runs holding my finger, and six-year-old Anya is a few steps ahead. Every runner has a popsicle in their hand. They run with all their might: the ice cream is melting. And suddenly Anyuta stumbled while running. I said to her: oh, and she’ll break her face on the asphalt! But she is falling! - managed to bend in an arc, like a rocking horse, and rolled from her knees to her stomach, then to her chest, and at the same time, her free hand extended forward, like a spring, extinguished the inertia of the body. Immediately jumping up, she triumphantly showed the popsicle: here, they say, it’s intact! I was afraid that Anya would seriously hurt her face, but it turns out she was worried about the fate of the ice cream. She didn't even have time to get her nose dirty with dust. And yet we helped the kids learn to walk. Not only because we let them into the sports room, where they could find all sorts of supports and trample around them, but we also gave the baby two of our fingers. At first, these fingers were firm, reliable, the child held on tenaciously and walked with me, his mother or older brothers and sisters throughout the house. But after a few days, when the child began to stomp quite confidently, one of these fingers suddenly became unreliable, began to sway, move wherever you pulled it, and could not serve as a good support. The kid had to maintain balance with only one hand, holding only the “hard” finger and abandoning the other completely, because it was of little use. And after a while, the second hand became less and less reliable. Involuntarily, the baby had to rely more and more on his own strength, and he gradually began to walk on his own. It happened that the baby could easily get by without support, but he never dared to take the first step, even on his own he was afraid. This is what happened to us with the oldest one. “Give him something in his hands,” the grandmother advised, “he will be distracted and stop being scared.” I handed my son a piece of paper. He took it with his free hand and held his mother's finger with the other. The piece of paper immediately interested him, and, having forgotten himself, he took it with both hands. The first time he stood there for a minute! And then it’s easy. The same piece of paper helped one of the daughters take her first steps: she walked... holding on to the piece of paper as a support. And she walked on her own. Even later, we did not lead the children by the hand, as is usually customary, but, on the contrary, they themselves held, if they wanted, my or mother’s fingers. At the same time, his little hands gradually trained and became so strong that even if he stumbled, he hung on his finger and did not fall. And for an adult, this is convenient, since the finger surprisingly subtly senses whether the child is holding tightly, how confidently he is already walking, whether it is possible to walk with him faster, or whether he is tired and needs to walk a few steps more calmly, or even put him on his shoulders.

published 02/17/2007 12:36 updated 01/09/2019 — Child care, hygiene, Growth and development, Bathing and swimming

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What to do if your child does not walk at one and a half years?

What should parents do if their child is already one and a half years old, and he still has not started walking on his own?

Firstly, parents need to be patient, because what lies ahead is a rather difficult process of finding out the true reason for the child’s refusal to move in an upright position.

Secondly, to determine the cause, you need to involve the following specialists:

• a pediatrician who, after examining the baby and drawing conclusions about his general condition, will write out referrals to doctors of a more narrow focus;
• surgeon - a doctor who will professionally assess the condition of the baby’s muscle corset and joints;
• a neurologist is a specialist who will evaluate the child’s psychomotor development, muscle tone, his reflexes and reactions to certain stimuli. If the doctor notes any alarming signs, he will prescribe a specific rehabilitation program.

Please note
It is very important to show the baby to a specialist of this profile at three months to make sure that the baby is developing according to the norms corresponding to his age.

• orthopedist - a specialist of the most narrow profile, to whom, as a rule, surgeons or neurologists refer if the baby suspects any problems with bones, joints and muscles.

According to orthopedists, the most common problems are:

• hip dysplasia;
• hypertonicity (constant tension) of muscles;
• muscular dystonia.

Important

In order to identify and eliminate possible orthopedic problems in a timely manner, preventive examinations by a specialist should not be neglected during the first year of the child’s life. Because subsequently problems may arise with the baby’s independent movement.

If your visits to the doctors are over, and you have a conclusion in your hands that your child is completely healthy, but he still does not want to walk, then you should patiently continue to work with the baby, taking into account the above rules, and wait a little longer. Show wisdom and ingenuity, and your baby will meet you very soon.

At the same time, do not forget about the simple joys of life: just love the baby, hug, kiss. A friendly attitude and a positive atmosphere are the best help and support for your child.

Tokareva Larisa, pediatrician, medical columnist

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Are there more serious reasons?

1. Congenital pathologies of the musculoskeletal system can lead to developmental delays, but, as a rule, parents are aware of these problems from birth.
2. One of the reasons may be fetal hypoxia during pregnancy, which entails damage to brain cells. It can be of varying severity and lead to developmental delays.
3. Sometimes the cause is weak muscle tone. Or vice versa – hypertonicity.

Lack of upright walking skills in a year can also be caused by an underdeveloped musculoskeletal system. Children with this diagnosis should be under the supervision of specialists. But doctors can also “look through” the problem. Parents should be alert if:

1. At one year old the baby does not crawl.
2. Can't get on all fours.
3. Doesn't hold the back well in a sitting position.
4. Cannot sit up independently or does so with difficulty.
5. Do not stand against a support.
6. Doesn't make any attempts at all to walk or even stand on his feet against a support.

When your little one actively moves around the entire apartment, stands up against a support, tries to climb onto a sofa or chair, has no physical pathologies, but does not want to walk with his legs, there should be no reason for concern. You just need to wait, maybe help a little, but no more.