Walking on their own
Most babies take their first steps on their own at around 12 to 13 months. Nearly all healthy children walk on their own somewhere between about 8 and 18 months.
How sure are we?
Very sure. Large studies in many countries agree, using both researchers' tests and parents' reports. How we know this
What it’s a sign of
Your child can now get around on their feet, with their hands free to carry and explore.
Children vary a lot, and that's normal: a healthy child can walk at 9 months or at 17. Norwegian children walked latest on average in the WHO study. A child's progress can also jump around from month to month. New walkers fall a lot, around 17 times an hour.
We don't know exactly why some healthy children walk much later than others.
A main source for the ages
WHO Motor Development Study: Windows of achievement for six gross motor development milestones
WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group · 2006 · Acta Paediatrica
- Children
- About 800 children
- Where
- Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the United States
- Ages
- 4 months to 2 years
- How
- Trained researchers tested the same children every month or two, and parents noted the dates too
- What it found
- The World Health Organization followed about 800 healthy children in five countries and measured when they first sat, crawled, stood and walked. Nearly all children walked on their own between about 8 and 18 months, and about half by their first birthday.
- Limits
- All the children were healthy and growing well, so the windows describe healthy children. The study stopped at 2 years.
A main source for the ages
Similarities and differences in child development from birth to age 3 years by sex and across four countries: a cross-sectional, observational study
Ilgi Ozturk Ertem, Vibha Krishnamurthy, Mphelekedzeni C. Mulaudzi, Yanina Sguassero, Hakan Balta, Ozlem Gulumser · 2018 · Lancet Global Health
- Children
- About 4,900 healthy children
- Where
- Argentina, India, South Africa and Turkey
- Ages
- Birth to 3½ years
- How
- Trained staff asked parents open questions about what their child could do, at health clinics
- What it found
- Found the age by which half of children reached more than 100 milestones. Most came at similar ages in all four countries, and for boys and girls. For example, half of children waved bye-bye by about 11 months and said a first word by about 9 months.
- Limits
- Only four countries and no rural areas, children from city clinics, and only healthy children (about half of those who came were left out for health reasons). It gives the age for half of children, not the full spread.
A main source for the ages
Age for onset of walking and prewalking strategies
Gunfrid Vinje Størvold, K. Aarethun, Grete Helen Bratberg · 2013 · Early Human Development
- Children
- About 48,000 children
- Where
- Norway
- Ages
- First two years
- How
- Parents' reports
- What it found
- About a quarter of children walked by 12 months, half by about 13 months and three-quarters by 14 months. About 85 in 100 crawled on hands and knees first, and about 7 in 100 bottom-shuffled.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary. Walking meant at least 5 steps alone.
A main source for the ages
Assessment of sex differences and heterogeneity in motor milestone attainment among populations in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study
WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group · 2006 · Acta Paediatrica
- Children
- About 800 children
- Where
- Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the United States
- Ages
- 4 months to 2 years
- How
- Compared boys with girls, and the five countries, in the same children
- What it found
- Boys and girls reached these milestones at the same ages. There were some differences between countries, probably from different ways of caring for babies, and Norwegian children were latest on average for all six.
- Limits
- Same children as the main WHO study, so it isn't an independent second source.
A study that questioned earlier findings
Intra-individual stability of rate of gross motor development in full-term infants
Johanna Darrah, Lynn Redfern, Thomas O. Maguire, A. Paul Beaulne, Joe M. Watt · 1998 · Early Human Development
- Children
- About 45 babies
- Where
- Canada
- Ages
- Birth to walking
- How
- Physical therapists tested the same babies every month
- What it found
- Healthy babies' progress jumped around from month to month, and nearly 1 in 3 had at least one month where they looked slow compared with other babies.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary.
A classic study on this
How Do You Learn to Walk? Thousands of Steps and Dozens of Falls per Day
Karen E. Adolph, Whitney G. Cole, Meghana Komati, Jessie S. Garciaguirre, Daryaneh Badaly, Jesse M Lingeman, Gladys L. Y. Chan, Rachel B. Sotsky · 2012 · Psychological Science
- Children
- About 150 babies
- Where
- New York area, United States
- Ages
- About 1 to 1½ years
- How
- Researchers filmed babies playing and counted their steps and falls
- What it found
- New walkers took about 2,400 steps and fell about 17 times an hour on average. Learning to walk takes a great deal of practice and plenty of tumbles.
- Limits
- Mostly middle-class families from one city.
A study that questioned earlier findings
Environmental Effects on Motor Development: the Case of ‘African Infant Precocity’
Charles M. Super · 1976 · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
- Children
- About 60 babies
- Where
- Rural Kenya
- Ages
- First year
- How
- Researchers studied babies and their families closely
- What it found
- Babies sat and walked early by American standards, and these were the skills their carers taught and practised. They weren't ahead on skills that weren't practised.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary, which gives no ages.
If you’re worried about your child, talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.
Last checked 2 November 2026