We have a lot of little ones who are working on getting independent with walking (or even just standing). I know I have shared a few ideas here before for some tips and tricks but here is another one. We have been using a hula hoop with a few of them.
This has worked well with our kids who need just a little bit of ‘support’ and while they are holding onto the hula hoop we will work on lessening our hold so that there is decreasing stability coming from the hula hoop. Also, when you start out, remember that the higher the child is holding their arms above their head the more they are relying on external support so you want to work on lowering their arms and decreasing the stability. And, it’s not necessary to use a hula hoop, you can use any type of shared toy to help out, you just want to be able to wean off support or remove your support!
Something to consider is that kids can get dependent on holding things in their hands and then need to be weaned off of this. I call it the Dumbo’s feather phenomenon! So you may want to find a time that you are transitioning to supporting them by you holding their wrist or their t-shirt so they aren’t holding something in their hands. It varies for each child!
Another child that we have found this to be helpful with is kids with lower muscle tone. When we have used push toys with them we are finding that they like to slump onto the support while then moving their feet. This way they don’t have to engage their core as much or utilize hip and core stability. By using the hula hoop they aren’t able to slump onto it so they are forced to engage their core and hips more. In the beginning they require a really firm hold on the hula hoop, usually with me holding really close to their hands and then slowly moving my support and decreasing the stability. They may also need a little extra time in the beginning to get used to standing with holding the hula hoop. I may do some hand over hand initially and then moving away from that.
Basically this is just another trick to add to your toolbag to help get your little ones walking!
