8 Month Old Walking...

I have 3 children. All have walked early. My youngest is 11 months and started walking at 8 months. She was even climbing up the stairs. She is now running. We did not take any extra precautions. She will eventually steady herself. That is why babies are short and flimsy.

They can trip over area rugs too... or if the rug bunches up with normal movement on it.

To totally master walking and the speed of it, can vary.
THEN the next thing they will do is 'run'.
And then this has to be mastered... and how the control their little legs and momentum.

They really are not coordinated yet, at this stage of learning to walk.

my dd was walking by 10 mo and I found that containing her to one area and using those connecting gym mats are great. she had her own "wing" of the house that was kid proofed to the max. when she started to get better at walking and her control she had the rest of the house minus the ares we did not want her in unless we were there. ie the kitchen and guest bedroom/bathroom or the stairs. and as for learing from their mistakes yeah that wont happen just yet we had two er visits for her falling and hitting her eye. now that she is 20mo she is reliazing not to do things again.

They all fall, no matter how early or late they start walking. It won't hurt to get a rug, but unless you cover your house in bubble wrap, she'll find *some* way to get hurt........they always do! lol It almost always looks and sounds worse than it is.

I feel your pain too...my third took his first step one day before 7 month.

I really think that area rugs would cause more falls with the change in floor height. Kids are built to fall, and there may be bruising but it will be ok. I bet it won't be long at all until she is steady and doesn't fall often. Mine was walking well by the end of 7 months. Just because she started early doesn't mean it will take her longer to learn. Welcome to the mobile too early club!

Yup, I agree that the rugs will bunch up and make it more annoying in the end. It's tough when they fall so much, but it's all part of walking. My son is 17 mos and still falls all the time! Arg! She'll catch on soon enough and b/c it's all part of the process she won't really mind when she falls unless she really gets hurt, but even then they only cry for a minute and then are on their way again! Hang in there!

We had one of those foam puzzle mats that took up a majority of our living room when our little one was learning to walk. It was only $25 at BuyBuyBaby but I'm sure they have them at target or babies r us as well. If you feel like you need something, and don't mind your house looking like a preschool, this would be a much cheeper and cushier option than area rugs.
Sorry-but I do have to agree with mostly everyone else, she will learn so quickly it's not worth the $100s it wil cost for a few area rugs.

PS I would not put down blankets unless you do the rug gripper things under them. That would just make the floor even more dangerous becuase of how slippery it would be.

first off, area rugs are expensive! Just checked one out the other day for my dining room and almost passed out at the price tag.

She will stabilize. I'm sure you're worried and that makes you an awesome Mama, but toddlers fall. That's why they call them "toddlers." :) (granted, your child is still technically a baby! Such an early walker!)

Just keep an eye on her best you can. It's great that you've put bumpers on some things, you've got one up on me! I haven't even gotten that far and my daughter has been walking for months!

What an anxious time for you – probably not so much for your daughter. Toddlers are short for good reason – they're closer to the ground. Natural development includes that all-important 'consequences' feedback loop. If you protect your daughter from all bumps and bruises, she won't really get the body-knowledge of understanding her limitations.

Yes, she will almost certainly get bruised. And of course you should head off big owies when you can. But if you prevent little accidents now, what are you going to do when she starts running? The accidents will be bigger, and harder for you to catch. As hard as it is, allowing her to learn what will probably happen when she ________ is nature's way of teaching common sense.

When my daughter, a very early walker, was growing up, she'd ask if she could try things, like climbing a mountain of sofa pillows. I'd tell her what the consequences might be, then let her take her chances. She learned I was usually right about the risks. This allowed her to take instruction gracefully when I told her no, that thing she wanted was really too risky. To this day, she remembers and appreciates that approach. She's now 40 and raising her own son.

a helmet, seriously!? wow lol. look, it doesn't matter that age they walk..... they always start off shaky and falling down more than walking. that's why they are low to the ground and made of rubber! (just kidding lol...mostly!!) she will keep getting steadier and steadier - in a month you'll wonder what you were worried about.

She's still going to face plant on rugs... and they really don't do that much to cushion. So unless you have extra money, I'd say don't bother. Perhaps if you were talking about coating your floors with 6" of foam I'd say yes. But area rugs aren't worth the money. Besides, in just a couple of weeks she'll be walking more confidently and you'll have forgotten this stage.

She'll just trip on the area rugs or pull them up on her own! She'll be fine! They all fall, doesn't matter how old they are when they start walking! Take a deep breath, you'll all make it through!

Our daughter was also an extremely early walker (6 mo.) You are correct, there was no stopping her.

We baby proofed as much as possible, but at this age, you either have to be right there with her or place her in a walker or a Doorway jumper. Her caregiver had carpet and a play area that was totally safe, but our house was just too small.

She loved being outside on the grass or in her walker on the driveway.. Otherwise we had her hold our finger. She also LOVED our baby backpack where she could stand and look over our shoulders. It seemed to keep her happy as long as she was moving and she could see.

She will master this fairly fast. We used the words "Hot" when she was about to get into trouble walking by something she might tip into. Like our coffee table. We did set up a gate into the kitchen, but we are lucky all of our rooms have doors that we can close off each and every room.

They make helmets that you can put on your baby for when they are learning to walk. If you are seriously worried I would go with that instead of the rugs.

Area Rugs could be more of a tripper for her. I was always a fan of watching carefully and not over baby proofing with my three boys.

I think the rug is a good idea to take some of the impact of the wood floor. Wooden floors can be very hard and why penalize the child because she is an early learner. She will still get the concept with less pain and in a safer way. All the best seems like you have a little explorer, fast learner.

an area rug is likely to just become another obstacle that catches her feet, and if you think about it really offers very little "cushioning" between face and floor. She is your first (from what you have written here) and it is likely that if she is up and running, it will NOT be months until she is more stable, particularly if she is trying to keep up with the "big" ones

Your post made me smile. As the mom of an almost 3 year old I've seen quite a few falls. I don't think any kid develops common sense before walking. As long as you have anything that will actually hurt her (ie corners of a firplace, metal corners, corners of your coffee table) covered up let her go. It's so hard at first to watch them falling all the time but there's nothing you can do about it. I really loved watching the movie babies because it was really interesting to see how people raise their kids other places. I think in America we're a little too paranoid. I have to vote with your husband sorry.

We have wall to wall hardwood and I didn't want carpet, but when my daughter started walking, I bought a decent remnant of carpet, had it bound and put carpet pad under it (its about 2 inches smaller all around than the rug). I LOVE IT!!! I have about 2 feet of wood showing all the way around the TV room. I find me and the kids play on the floor more. My son watches TV from the floor and no worries about scratches from all the toys.

I didn't want to give up my hardwood, but it was great for the baby and all of us. I intend to keep it until it wears out, which will hopefully be years, but if it is sooner, I can just roll it up!!

I don't know if I helped. We still have hardwood throughout our house and I love it, too!

I vote for no area rugs and just try to keep a close eye on her. She will learn faster than you know it!

I second the vote for a foam puzzle mat. We had the alphabet and numbers on the floor of her playroom, and it saved a lot of wear and tear on the baby. =)

Updated

I second the vote for a foam puzzle mat. We had the alphabet and numbers on the floor of her playroom, and it saved a lot of wear and tear on the baby. =)

I feel so bad for you with such an early walker. My 2nd walked at 10 months and I thought that was early! I would buy area rugs. In addition to softening her landing when she starts to actually play she will like to play on carpet not hardwood (assuming you want rugs because you have hardwood if not and your house is carpeted then don't worry about rugs she will be fine.) You can't babyproof too much in my opinion. You can never be too safe!

I vote "no area rugs", even though I understand where you're coming from. I think she'll learn quicker than you think she will. My oldest niece started walking around 8-9 mo, and I don't remember more than the usual number of falls and face-plants.

I vote no area rugs unless you really want them. She will learn in no time her boundries and get steady on her feet quicker than you think. So unless this is a change you have been wanting to make don't spend the money on it. So my overall vote is no on rugs.

dont waste the money. she will learn faster than you want her to! my daughter worked at 9 months and their was no stopping her