Once baby starts to pull themselves up, either on furniture or with help from an adult, it’s only a matter of time before they begin to walk. This stage - when the child can toddle from one person to another, often swapping between crawling, standing and toddling whilst supported - is known as cruising.

You can help your child develop their cruising skills by gently pulling them up into a standing position and holding their hands as they start to take those all-important first steps. You can also help them to strengthen their leg muscles by holding them standing up on your lap and helping them to bounce.

It’s important to not try to make your child walk before they’re ready. Babies start to walk at different stages, from around nine months to two years or even later and there’s no ‘right’ time to start. Some babies crawl so efficiently that they don’t feel the need to start walking; others seem to bypass crawling altogether in favour of toddling. So be patient - your child will let you know when they’re ready.

However, if you think there’s a problem with your child’s feet, ask a health professional or go to a local Chiropodist or Podiatrist for advice.

At the cruising stage, the bones of the foot have started to harden from the soft, cartilage-like structure that babies are born with and are turning into bony tissue. The shape of the foot is also starting to change and will become less like a soft, flat baby foot and resemble a more adult one. But the bones are still forming. There are still wide gaps between them and the shape of the foot is transforming. So you need to be especially careful, nurturing and protecting your child’s growing feet with well fitting shoes that are suitable for this stage of walking development. It’s easy to bend the feet out of shape and cause future problems with the choice of incorrectly fitting shoes. You should have your baby’s feet measured every two to four months.

Click here for more information about cruising baby’s development

Shoes for Cruising

At this stage, you should look for shoes that have well protected toe and heel guards as well as textured soles and sides to help your baby grip as they alternate between crawling and cruising. The soles should be lightweight and very flexible to allow your child to feel the floor and be able to bend and flex their feet as much as they want.

There should be 10mm growing room, meaning there is sufficient space for the toes to move and grow but not so much that your child trips as he learns to pull himself up.

Choose shoes with natural, breathable materials that have easy fastenings. Be sure to look for a choice of widths and half sizes, plus well-trained fitters.

Remember to make sure that socks and tights fit well and replace them as your child grows. There should be no rough seams and they should not be too small as this restricts the feet, or too big either, as then they could ruck up and cause blisters and corns.

Click here to see the full cruising range at Clarks