What Will Help a Baby Learn to Bear Weight on His Legs?

Babies are captivating for their quick development and ability to learn and grow over a short period.

In the first year of their life, they can grow in baby teeth, eat solid foods, learn sign language, develop an understanding for speech, and walk.

In order to walk, though, an infant must first acclimate to bearing weight on his legs. This is a normal process, but there are things you can do to assist your child.

Figuring Out Time Frames

Most babies develop the ability to bear weight on their legs between 6 months to 9 months old.

This can be a long process of bearing weight in order to develop the legs and back muscles. It's very likely the child will have progressed enough to stand while holding on to stationary objects by the end of this stage.

Practice Makes Perfect

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The process of becoming erect is very long but important for a child.

Bearing weight on the legs and feet is the first step in this process because it helps acclimate the bones and muscles to the workload of standing. Think of bearing weight as practice for standing up.

Over time, the child gets better at bearing weight and is able to last longer on his own. Eventually, he progresses to standing stable with the help of holding onto furniture.

Baby's Moving so Baby-Proof Everything

If your baby is beginning to practice bearing weight, he's going to be more mobile in your home. He will also stand up and quickly fall often. Because of this, it's important to eliminate potential risk factors such as sharp-edged furniture and other items around the home.

Give your baby ample space to crawl and practice bearing weight. You can also set up a playpen to better control the environment.

Get Involved

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Being involved with your child can facilitate the weight-bearing process. You can do this by engaging with your child, attempting to coax him into standing positions.

Praising a child after bearing weight and falling is an easy way to positively reinforce the act of bearing weight, encouraging the child to try again. You can also hold toys above for the baby to try to reach, hopefully trying to stand up in the process.

Give Baby Some Examples

Babies learn a great deal from observing how other people perform various actions. Speech is learned by listening to the voices of others.

In a similar way, your child can benefit from being around other children who are learning to bear weight or walk. This lets them see the act from a different point of view, allowing them to try to replicate the action on their own.