These Boots Were Made For Walking – A Child’s First 97 Steps

Summary: A Toddlers Transcendent Stair Climbing Experience leads to Bedtime Nirvana

My daughter’s always been a powerhouse of gross motor skills. The very first time she picked up a spoon she held it like an adult. Same with a pencil. No gorilla grips for her. So when she started walking I was not that surprised that she did stairs foot over foot – going both up and down. This was unusual as most first walkers do one step up, then they bring the other foot up, then they go to the next step. On the way down most first walkers shuffle on their butt until they get confident they won’t fall to their death. However, my daughter would just blast down foot over foot. Sensing she needed some extended walking time, I took her to Blue Ball park. She’s probably one years old.

childs first 97 steps

Connecting the lower park to the upper part is a set of stairs. After some playtime by the slides we end up at the base. She sees the stair case and just charges them like it’s a carnival ride. I’m serious, she was on a mission.

Foot over foot she goes. The distance is so wide she can barely reach the next step – so I give her my hand for balance. She’s not having it and shakes it off. She insists on using the top railing, which is quite a stretch for her, but she’s made her intentions clear – no assistance,  I’m going solo daddy.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,…she starts knocking them out.

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty…still going strong.

Fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three…impressive!

Seventy-four, seventy-five…seventy-six….seventy-seven……a bit slower now.

As she gets into the nineties she’s seriously dragging but still determined.

She get’s to step ninety-seven and just stops. She has a glazed look in her eyes and she’s looking a bit wobbly.

“So this is what a toddler looks like when they hit the wall?” I think to myself. It’s something you rarely see.

“More?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

Curious, I count the remaining steps. One hundred and twelve total. Just fifteen steps short.

What a puss.

Just kidding.

I chickened out there. I should had just left it as “what a puss”. Much funnier.

But I suspect if she had any concept of numbers and one-to-one correspondence, she would have knocked out those last three and made it an even hundred.

Anyway, we get home and I tell my partner about our daughter’s amazing feat (feet).

That night she fell asleep early, slept in late, and didn’t get up once. She slept like the proverbial baby even though I’ve never seen anyone’s baby actually sleep like one.

The next morning she hobbles into the kitchen.

“Fuck my legs hurt. That was way to many steps to do for a first try. Next time I better ease into a new training routine that intense.”

Not really, she couldn’t speak yet. But the look in her eyes told me everything.

That’s it for now.

File Under: Baby’s First Steps – Toddlers Gross Motor Skills Development – A Toddler Pushes Her Physical Limits and Goes for the Burn


One Response to “These Boots Were Made For Walking – A Child’s First 97 Steps”

Leave a Reply