Helping Your Child Walk Better

There is one thing all children love to do, run their hearts out! However, for some children this can a difficult task. Whether it is recovering after an injury, a developmental deformity or difficulty with balance, walking may become a monumental event. However, with some help your child can make great progress in walking and running.

Tips for helping your child walk and run:

• Buy the right footwear. Although children go through pairs of shoes fast, remember that their feet are changing quickly and need the support of good shoes.
• Get your child’s feet measured. This helps with buying the proper footwear.
• Improve balance. Walking is progressive and takes quite a few years to master. Challenge your child’s balance to make them walk better. They can walk or run on foam, grass or sand to improve balance.
• Strengthen their hips. Often hip weakness can lead to problems with walking and even pain in the legs. If your child sits watching TV or playing video games a lot, their leg and hip muscles will get weaker. Play games side stepping, walking or running backwards and skipping to build up the hip muscles.
• Coordination. Improve the coordination of walking and running by doing fun drills. Lay down rings on the grass or soft surface and practice walking or running through the rings. Hop scotch is an old, but excellent way to increase leg strength and coordination.