Will walking too early cause harm to the baby’s leg development? Little Doctor Forum: Will walking too early cause harm to the baby’s leg development? As far as we know, whatever your baby wants to do is because their body is already equipped to handle it. Sometimes during the first few months of walking, your baby's legs may look like bow or sickle legs. This condition occurs in both late-walking children and early-walking children. When most children first learn to walk, their feet have a certain degree of splay. In the future, as their walking skills become more proficient, their toes will gradually move inwards. Some children are like Charlie Chaplin when they first learn to walk, with their toes pointing straight to both sides, but later they adjust to the appropriate angle. Children who start with their feet facing forward often end up with boxed feet. And boxed feet and bandy legs often exist in the same pair. Whether your baby's legs, ankles, and feet grow straight depends on a variety of factors, including your baby's innate development pattern. Some babies seem to have a tendency to become bow-legged and sickle-legged. For example, heavier babies are most likely to have this result. Other babies seem to be born with boxed feet and bow legs. I think this is especially likely to happen to babies who are particularly active and well-built. Another factor is where your baby is accustomed to placing his feet and legs. For example, we often see babies with varus feet always sitting with their feet under their bodies. It is thought that some babies develop boxed feet because their toes always face each other when they lie down.
Excerpted from "The Little Red Book of Children's Health - Infants", People's Military Medical Publishing House, 2008, edited by Wang Xinliang