London - When it comes to learning to walk, earlier is often thought to be better.
But parents who worry about when their baby will take to toddling have nothing to fear, say scientists.
They claim the age at which a child takes their first steps has little impact in the long run.
The study found that an infant who begins to walk at nine months is unlikely to be any more advanced later in life than one who is a late walker.
And a baby who sits unaided exceptionally early is not necessarily a brighter spark, according to the research published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.
After tracking the intelligence and co-ordination of more than 200 babies until they reached 18, Swiss scientists concluded there is little or no link between such early “motor milestones” and later development.
A spokesman for the team said: “The timing is really of no consequence. Children who start walking early turn out to be neither more intelligent nor better co-ordinated.”
The Zurich Children’s Hospital researchers followed the progress of 222 healthy babies born between 1978 and 1993. The children were examined seven times in their first two years and took regular tests of balance, co-ordination and intelligence up to the age of 18.
Their parents recorded the date at which the infants were able to sit without help and take at least five steps without holding on to anything. On average, the children first sat at six and a half months. But some managed the feat when younger than four months while others could not do it until they had passed their first birthday.
The typical age for walking was 12 months, but the results ranged from eight and a half months to 20.
Professor Mitch Blair, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK, said: “I regularly see parents who are concerned that their child is not yet walking, or learning to do so more slowly than their peers, and are worried about what that might mean for their development.
“The reassuring message is that the age at which children walk varies and there is no proven link between walking later and lower intelligence or poorer co-ordination later in life.”
He said parents should check with a doctor only if their child had not started walking by the time they were 18 months. – Daily Mail