The Crab

It's time for walkies...
Mmm, not quite, but we're practising. If you hold both of his hands he will totter along quite happily and doesn't put all his weight on your hands so he's trying to balance. I even tried this outside recently as I thought it was time for his shoes to be used for the purpose that they were originally intended and not just to make his feet look cute.
It didn't work. He saw a leaf on the ground and wanted to play with it. Nothing would persuade him to stand up on his feet and I didn't want him crawling along the pavement. When Joseph decides he's not going to stand up then there's nothing you can do about it, apart from stand there holding the hand of an unhappy child who will do nothing other than be permanently bent at the knee. You can carry on trying if you like, but the results would be a little to similar to those infamous American "nanny-cam" exposés for comfort. The poor child would end up hanging from my arm like an ungainly fashion accessory.
In the house things are a little more successful. When you hold both hands he walks quite well, but it's a bit tough on the back. If you hold one hand he's a little less sure, but will walk along in a sideways shuffling motion rather like a crab.
We have decided to be more pro-active with Joseph learning to walk. He's eleven months old now and I'd really like him to be able to totter about at his birthday party so we've been propping him up on a chair and trying to encourage him to take a brave bold step towards us.
He's managed about two steps in a row on one occasion, but nothing more successful than that. Mostly he just leans forwards to make a grab at our hands and then brings his feet into play when he's at a 45 degree angle. Several times he has reached out, missed and done a face-plant into the carpet.
Perhaps we're trying to hard. He's shown no inclination at all for wanting to balance on his feet on his own at all. Sometimes, if he forgets for a moment that he's got no support he can almost do it, but it inevitably ends up with him buckling at the knees and sitting firmly down on the floor with a thump.
He'll do it in his own time and whilst the encouraging might help I do wonder whether hurrying him into it is asking for trouble. I can remember the days when I could put him down and he'd still be there when I came back, how I didn't have to worry about leaving a pair of trainers by the door getting played with and covered in dribble and there was a time when he wasn't able to pull himself up and constantly get into things I'd rather he wouldn't.
With him walking a few things might be easier, but it's a whole new kettle of fish and I'm suddenly not too keen to hurry the last of his baby-hood away too quickly.