As your baby grows and becomes stronger, one of the impulses many parents have is to stand their baby on their lap. A baby’s instinct is to push against any solid barrier that touches their feet, and so to many parents this looks like their baby is trying to stand up. They are not completely mistaken either. The instinct to push against things with both arms and legs is an instinct that helps babies strengthen their muscles, and prepares them for crawling and eventually walking. However, a baby will push with not just his feet, but with his toes. This can lead to muscle memory that causes the development of the very bad habit of toe-walking. Toe-walking has many serious consequences over time, including bone fractures and malformation. One way you can help prevent this bad habit from forming is:
Always put the pressure on your baby’s heels.
When your baby is laying on your chest, you can cup his heels in your hands, or if he is laying up against your thighs while you recline, you can put a thumb under each heel and apply gentle resistance pressure. When you hold your baby up and let him put weight on his feet, observe whether he tends to push all the way up onto his toes. If he does, remove the pressure from his feet right away. Don’t worry if it happens here and there, simply try to encourage him to associate his heels with bearing weight as often as you reasonably can. Habits are formed by always doing things one way, so if you reinforce heel pressure from time to time, it should be enough to interrupt the development of toe-walking.
Happy parenting!
