How to Encourage Baby to Stand

By Erin Smith
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) by 9 months, most babies will begin trying to stand on their own. Learn how you can encourage your child's standing skills with these simple day-to-day activities.
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Make His Crib a Safe Place

Baby will likely first begin to stand by pulling himself up in his crib. Crib railings are at the perfect height and are easy for him to hold onto. In preparation, move the mattress to the lowest setting and remove all crib toys to keep him from standing on them in attempts to climb out!

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Use Stairs to Teach Balance

The short height of a step makes it the perfect spot for practicing pulling up. Place Baby in a sitting position next to the step and encourage her to pull herself up using the edge of the step. You can use the same technique to teach herto crawl up and down the stairs once she starts cruising. Make sure Mom or Dad is always supervising this activity.

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Give Her Safe Furniture to Pull Up

Your little one will likely also try using furniture to pull into a standing position. Make sure furniture in the areas she frequents are sturdy pieces that can?t topple. Make sure that tall pieces such as dressers and bookshelves have been secured to the wall to avoid serious accidents. Furniture will continue to be important to Baby's development as she uses it to help support early walking efforts.Once this behavior starts, you'll want to make sure everything in her path is sturdy enough to support her.

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Signs Your Baby is Learning to Stand

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Put Her Toys Up High

Kaysh Shinn

Put a couple of your baby's toys on the cushion of the couch; when she pulls up on the couch, she'll be so intrigued with the toy that she'll stand there for a long time, helping her practice her balancing skills. Soon she?ll be standing on her own without realizing it!

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Bounce Baby Up & Down

BananaStock/ Jupiter

Stand your little one in front of you so he can bounce up and down. This activity is fun for both Mom and Baby -- and it will build his standing muscles!

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Play with a Push Toy

Fancy Photography/Veer

Encourage your baby to play with a push toy that will help him transition to walking. Baby will first use the toy to balance, then he'll begin to push it around as he masters standing and starts walking. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't recommend using walkers because they can cause your baby to get hurt, but activity centers and push toys are fine.

Copyright &copy 2010 Meredith Corporation.

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