Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Independent Walking

Defining the Concept and Its Importance

Walking is the process of shifting weight from one foot to the other, with at least one foot contacting the surface at all times. Walking enables a child to move their body from one space to another using two feet, in other words, bipedal locomotion. Independent walking, or walking unassisted, is the most significant milestone in motor development of the early childhood years (0-6 years of age). The age range of walking independently for the first time can occur from 8 months to 13 months. The rate controller that determines the onset of independent walking is an infant's muscle strength. A smaller boned and thinner bodied infant will typically obtain independent walking earlier than an infant with a larger muscle mass. Independent walking is a fundamental gross motor skill, which is the ability to move with large muscle groups of the body or whole-body movements. There is a ‘window of opportunity’ for gross motor skills to develop to its mature form through involvement in play, as age alone will not automatically develop motor skills to maturity. The ‘window of opportunity’ for a child to develop a mature form of walking is around 4 to 5 years of age. There is an abundance of reasons why independent walking is so important for an infant's development as it contributes to the four domains of human development, such as motor, physical, affective, and cognitive domains. Independent walking is the primary mode of locomotor movements, such as running, climbing, jumping, leaping and skipping, a child cannot learn to run if they do not learn how to walk. Therefore, the stages of walking must be practiced and worked on with a parent or guardian at a young age.

When an infant starts walking independently, they can move around more freely, which opens up an abundance of opportunities for new experiences, such as developing their seven senses: vision, touch, taste, smell, hearing, proprioception (body position and awareness) and vestibular (balance). Independent walking affords the child a greater field of vision and ability to manipulate and grasp objects as their hands are free, which increases the opportunities for sensory integration, and organization, as they interact with different objects, tasks, and activities.Interacting with other people and objects allows the development of body awareness, which is a concept of proprioception, involving the understanding of the body’s positioning during movements and how to produce various movements. Independent walking allows for the young child to walk on different surfaces, allowing flexibility of environmental constraints, such as slopes, hills and rocks. Walking on different slopes and surfaces allows the flexibility of the movement pattern, such as balance, posture, speed and length of steps, which develops problem-solving skills in various environments. Over time, an infant will be able to walk independently using proper body patterns and will be able to practice on a variety of different conditions. As they get older, this is essential to other locomotor movements as you begin learning to balance and adjust to other extreme conditions like snow or ice. The role that intermediaries play is to know the individual constraints of the infant’s motor capability and adjust the task constraints, such as objects (i.e. toys), and environmental constraints such as play spaces, in order for proper development of independent walking. Whether an infant is developing slower than others, allowing practice is the primary factor for walking independently.

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

Independent walking should emerge around 8 to 13 months of age, where the movement pattern is very unstable and uncoordinated, which is characterized as the initial stage of walking. The walking pattern is at its mature form at around 4 to 5 years of age. If there are developmental delays in a child's walking pattern, it will restrict their ability to develop other fundamental movement skills, such as running to their full potential. It will reduce the chances of the child engaging in physical activity. The mature form of walking can also develop quicker if practiced at higher rates with a parent or guardian. The developmental characteristics of walking from initial to mature stages are centred around these qualitative changes stated by Gabbard (2018):

1. Base of Support: Wider in the initial stages to help the infant balance on two legs. The base of support narrows to shoulder width and lateral width of the trunk as the walking pattern matures.
2. Foot Contact: In the initial stages, feet are flat-footed on the ground surface. As walking matures, a heel-to-toe pattern emerges.
3. Foot Angle: There is a higher degree of out-toeing in the initial stages of walking. As the walking pattern matures, there is a decrease in the degree of out-toeing.
4. Knees: The knees are slightly bent in the initial stages of walking. As the walking pattern matures the knees move in a greater range of motion as the knees extend when the heel strikes the ground, followed by a slight knee flexion as the body moves forward over the supporting leg.
5. Pelvic and Spinal Rotation: There is very little rotation in the pelvis and spine in the initial stages of walking. As the movement pattern develops there is an increase in pelvic and spinal rotation, allowing full movements of the legs, and cross-pattern movement of the arms.
6. Arm Position: In the initial stages, the arms are in a high guard position (bent and lifted) to maintain balance. In the elementary stages, the arms start to lower, and a cross-pattern arm movement is initiated, but the swinging is very irregular and unequal. For example, both arms may swing forward in unison. In mature stages, the arms are lowered, move more freely, and cross pattern movement is well established by moving the opposite arm and leg together.
7. Step and Stride Length: In the initial stage, smaller steps are taken, and the length of the step (stride length) is very small. There is an increase in the step and stride length as the walking pattern matures and leg length and postural stability increases.
8. Walking Speed: In the initial stage, the walking speed is slow, and the steps per minute are more frequent. It is due to a lack of neuromuscular control. In the mature stage, walking speed increases and steps per minute decreases.

A contemporary issue is on the limited experiences in early childhood with engagement in natural play. Natural play involves moving in natural environments, manipulating and/or moving with natural objects, such as water, mud, sticks, leaves and pine cones. An infant starts to walk independently at a very immature level, which needs to be developed through practice in different environments in order to provide flexibility and expansion in their walking capabilities. Natural play provides environmental affordances allowing the children to walk around on various surfaces, such as upwards and downwards slopes, flat surfaces, logs, and rocks. Natural playscapes are constantly changing, giving children the opportunity to walk on different surface types such as slippery surfaces on a rainy day (i.e. muddy surface), or on a snow day (i.e. ice), or surfaces that provide higher levels of friction, for example, long grass). Walking on different slopes and surfaces challenges the child and allows problem-solving skills to develop. Children are not engaging in natural play as much as they should, mainly due to lack of free time in the parents or guardians and/or daycare care worker's schedules. It may be also due to living in urban areas where natural landscapes are not easily accessible. Therefore, it may be the cause of difficulty when developing this primary motor skill.

Educational systems are trying to implement natural play in their curriculums because research has proven that natural play provides better gross motor skill development and movement experiences. Parents and/or guardians can try implementing “nature walks” into their daily schedules, encouraging children to engage with the natural environment. By incorporating natural play into a child's everyday life, it will develop the primary locomotor movement, walking independently, to its greatest potential. It will guide the development of other fundamental motor skills to its mature, proficient form, allowing the child to participate in various forms of physical activity throughout their lifespan.Not only will a child gain from developing the primary motor skill of independently walking, however, will initiate improved sensory integration and improved capability of the seven senses at a young age.

Practical Applications of Walking Independently

Child is cruising by holding onto large objects in their vicinity.

Commonly, parents should be worried about their child's development, especially walking patterns and moving independently. Development of a child that is delayed will cause difficulties and a delayed timeline to develop other fundamental movement skills, for instance running. There are many different activities and games that a parent can initiate and practice with their infant or child to strengthen fundamental movements. Even though there are many activities that parents can undergo with their infant, they tend to have limited experiences early in childhood to engage in play mainly due to the parents' busy schedule resulting in lack of time. Due to time factors that may develop from a typical workday, it may be practical to take into consideration quicker activities that result in increased time with their child as well as benefiting their overall fundamental motor skills, especially a primary motor skill.

An activity called "Cruiser" is a fun and engaging way for infants to learn the fundamentals of walking and improve independence. Cruising refers to the infants beginning stages of walking or holding onto objects to move around. At the earlier age of independent walking, cruising will allow infants to mature in the environment around them. With the unstable and uncoordinated early stages of walking, cruising will allow for the infant to strengthen and develop this gross motor skill. Further down, the line will be able to integrate sensory practice into them being able to walk independently. The purpose of the cruiser activity will help in the development of base support, their feet contacting the ground, and working on foot angle relative to the ground. This activity is targeted to the earlier ages of independent walking, which is all dependent based on when the infant takes their first step. In the activity, the parent/guardian should find toys that an infant may be strictly attached to. It could include stuffed animals, blankets, etc. To begin, the parent/guardian should find an open area such as a living room or backyard. Make sure the infant can grasp and clench onto objects such as furniture around the room. It will allow for the opportunity for the infant to hold while moving around the room. The parent/guardian will begin by placing the object that the infant is attached to at a distance that is easily accessible, not too far away. The parent/guardian will encourage the infant to acquire their toy. The parent/guardian may support the infant if needed. From there, the infant should be holding onto the wall or other objects in the vicinity. During this time, the parent/guardian should support by using encouragement as the infant tries to pursue and acquire their toy back. The parent/guardian may support by giving extra help with their infant as they begin to move. Once the infant reaches the object, acknowledgement and supportive praise should be given to the infant. The activity can repeat if chosen to do so. To modify this activity, cruising can be done under all sorts of conditions. For example, slanted floors, hills, stairs, grass, hardwood floors, carpets, etc. The activity can also be completed independently by walking without hands grasping onto objects such as furniture for support. It may result in new experiences as the infant will build a greater field of vision and be able to hold objects in their hand while walking, which will increase sensory integration. Other modifications like push toys may help support independent walking, for instance, push cars and rolling toys.

Development of an infant playing with small balloons.

Another activity called “The Balloon Toss" is entertaining for infants that are at the earliest stages of standing and walking. The purpose of this activity is to develop stronger balance while standing up and independently walking. It allows the infant to develop the confidence of shifting body weight and moving around a given area.  The balloon is a highly vibrant colour that brings support to sensory development. This activity will help improve stronger support when two legs are standing, direct foot contact to the ground, and the angle at which the feet are moving. With the increase in practice, the heal-to-toe pattern of walking will begin to develop. Followed by a decrease of out-toeing based on the angle of the infants' walking pattern. Other walking characteristics that might improve through this activity are knee development in walking patterns, which may create a greater range of motion and an increase in rotation through the pelvic and spinal areas. The target age for this activity will range between the earlier infants of standing and walking to toddlers who can walk. The activity is best achieved when the infant is beginning to cruise and feels comfortable standing. To begin, the parent should find an open area for the infant to stand and walk around. Furniture and other large objects may be useful for children to learn the basics of cruising. The parent/guardian will blow up a balloon that has sufficient air, however, not too big so it can be grasped by the infant. The infant will be across the room where they can visually see the bright balloon. The infant should be attracted by the bright colour and would try to move to see the balloon. Pass the balloon over to the infant lightly. The infant can start sitting down, however, can move to a standing basis or a moving/walking basis. As the balloon is passed to the other side, the infant can try to hold the balloon or tap it back to the parent/guardian. If the infant is standing, see if the balloon can be kicked back or carried back to the parent/guardian. The parent can look into blowing the balloon into different directions so the infant can retrieve it by independently walking. To modify the activity, the infant may start from a sitting position. To improve the difficulty, the activity can start with the infant standing, walking or required to move quicker. It is also possible to change the conditions of the environment. For example, grass, rugs, carpets, hardwood floors, and other areas might be beneficial for the flexibility of independently walking and potentially diminishing task constraints.

Summary

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