Toddler This Week: 12 Months, Week 1

Your baby has hit the 1-year mark: Happy birthday! Many view the first birthday as the toddler turning point. Others consider your baby a toddler as soon as he starts walking — or, as the case may be, taking his first tentative steps. However and whenever he crosses the line into toddlerhood, it's a bittersweet transition — you miss your little baby even as you delight in your amazing child.

Many children take their first steps sometime between 9 and 12 months and are walking well by the time they're 14 or 15 months old. But don't worry if your child hasn't let go of the coffee table yet. It's also perfectly normal for kids not to take that first step until they're 15 or 16 months, or even later.

Encourage both cruising and walking by giving your child lots of opportunities to move without help and by not picking him up and carrying him too often. You can encourage a tentative walker by arranging furniture so there are safe and convenient handholds all along his path. Remove any dangers he might grab on to, such as a dangling tablecloth or electrical cord.

If your child is trying to toddle, he might feel more secure if he can hang on to one of your fingers, or if he puts his hands in the air and you walk behind him, holding his hands. A push toy provides walking practice, too. Just make sure it's stable and has a wide, secure base.

Two walking aids you don't need: walkers (the American Academy of Pediatrics says they're unsafe and actually discourage kids from learning to walk) and shoes in the house. Bare feet, socks, or the popular soft-bottomed "baby shoes" help a beginning walker practice balance and coordination. Reserve real shoes for protecting your toddlers' feet outdoors.

- BabyCenter.com