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What changes in infant walking and why
Karen E Adolph1, Beatrix Vereijken, Patrick E Shrout
1Department of Psychology, New York University, NY 10003, USA. Karen.Adolph@nyu.edu
Insights
Walking skill improves with age and experience, with practice being the key factor for infants. Greater experience leads to longer, narrower, and straighter steps, enhancing balance and muscle control.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Biomechanics
- Motor learning
Background:
- Walking skill development is crucial for infant mobility and independence.
- Factors influencing walking skill acquisition include physical growth, age, and practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the contributions of body dimensions, age, and walking experience to the development of walking skill.
- To analyze kinematic changes in walking patterns across different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Recruited participants across three age groups: infants (9-17 months), kindergartners (5-6 years), and college students.
- Utilized kinematic measures from footprint analysis to assess walking skill.
- Compared improvements in step length, width, straightness, and consistency.
Main Results:
- Walking skill demonstrated characteristic improvements with increased size, age, and experience.
- Key improvements included longer, narrower, straighter, and more consistent steps.
- Evidence of a narrowing base of support and enhanced control over the path of progression.
Conclusions:
- Walking experience emerged as a stronger predictor of improved walking skill than chronological age in infants.
- Practice and motor learning are critical for overcoming physical limitations like weak muscles and poor balance in early walking development.
Abstract:
This study compared the relative contributions of growing body dimensions, age, and walking experience in the development of walking skill in 9- to 17-month-old infants (N = 210), 5-6-year old kindergartners (N = 15), and college students (N = 13). Kinematic measures derived from participants' footprints showed characteristic improvements in walking skill. As children became bigger, older, and more experienced, their steps became longer, narrower, straighter, and more consistent. Improvements reflected a narrowing base of support and increasing control over the path of progression. Although both infants' age and the duration of their walking experience contributed to improvements in walking skill, experience was the stronger predictor. This finding suggests that practice is the more important developmental factor for helping infants to conquer their weak muscles and precarious balance.
