My son started walking at the age of 9 months. I have been told that if your child walks early, then they will grow up to be bright. Does anyone know if this is true?? He is 13 months now, he knows 'car', 'dad', 'mum', 'bottle', 'nanna', 'nan-nan', 'ta-ta' and more words, and he says them with meaning. He can also say 'a,b,c' and he can build small block towers. He said 'dad' and 'mum' when he was just 4 months and he loves picture books and children's programmes... smile He also loves being around people and babies, even strangers.

Sounds like you have a very bright boy! I am not sure about the relevance of walking early on intellect - he may just be advanced in many ways. Early walking can (but not necessarily so) be a negative in that 'they' (being the so called experts) suggest that spacial awareness is actually better assisted when children crawl longer, ie. awareness of our surroundings and ability judge distances, mathematical abilities etc - for which studies have shown men to be tradititally more adept anyway. I would continue fostering your sons' love of learning and his obvious affection for those around him. You may find that as he grows these early milestones are caught up to by other children, or it could be he is gifted and you may have to choose which is the best way to guide him at some stage. Children have their own unique personalities and gifts - good luck.

Hi there, to be honest i really am not one to blieve all the stuff being said around. it does sound like your baby is a very very smart . good on u but best not to listen to stories cos i have a 22mnth old daughter, she started walkin at 11mnths. she never crawled was a lazy baby, now cannot keep her quiet or still. she is running around like crazy. she counts until ten, says a few letters of alphabet, and speaks sentences. she knows all caracters of the movie HI5, and can tell u colors. i used to think like u but my mom gave me examples and thinking of them it is true. just depends on the kid and if the parents spend lotsa time and read to kids the pick up alot and it just so happens we have kids who are quick at learning.
enjoy it, cos my daughter now has grown so fast i cannot keep up with her. she is learning to write her name and i just wish she could stay young.
and one good advice never use baby talk to your son, i always told her the right words and never the other way around. it teaches them good aswell. good luck and hope to hear how well he is doing.

have a good day.

Hi. Nice to see another kiwi here! My daughter started walking at 8 1/2 months and can say a lot of words and stack her stacking rings, she also tries to put shapes into the shape sorter and even tries to put them in the right hole and she is a week away from being 10 months. Except for the walking I can say she has learnt all of those things because I sit down and play with her all the time. I show her how things work and talk about them too. Congratulations on having such a fast learner.

Me again. I was watching something on TV and they were saying walking isn't a sign of being bright but being very alert at a young age is. To me it sounds as though your little one is very consious of his surroundings just like my daughter is. She worked out how to do things very early and I even caught her the other day trying to get the side of the cot down by unlocking the latches and pushing down on the side but she isn't strong enough thank goodness!!!!

My daughter is almost 6mths old and has been rolling back to front since she was 12 wks old, is this more common with 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on children? She is also saying the words dad and hello so i now know that this is not uncommon, thank you, and i think that it has been helped by our reading everything to her. Enjoy your baby's while they are bubs and watch your little miracles grow into wonderful little human beings.. Take care all smile

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[Edited on 24/08/2007]

I am with Kylee on this one, I have an 18 month old son who is still not walking due to low muscle tone and people are quite amazed to find out that he is a bright little boy. People forget that your legs are not connected to your brain, I have a friend who's daughter was walking at around 10 months and now aged 2 and a half, my 18 month old son almost says as many words. I think it is just luck of the draw as to when your child walks.

My brother in law ( now 20) was walking at 8 1/2 onths but isn't 'brighter' than his peers. He was advanced physically not mentally- climbed out of his cot before he was 1 yr old.

i hate how people compare children. i really do. your children are all individuals they are all completely different. who learn at different rates. enjoy them as they are. dont push them. love them, spend time with them. cherish them.

I just had to add my 'bit' in here.

It is not the age your child starts to walk, but their speech and vocab which can judge if they are going to be smart little people.

I was a tad concerned recently as my daughter is only starting to take her own steps by herself at the age of 14 months and read an article concerning this topic It stated more to the fact that early walkers can have problems with the development of their feet as the muscles may not have developed properly before they started walking.

Ella has a very wide vocab and has since a very early age. Now I am not worried about the walking issue as I'm just glad that I am starting to have conversations with her at such a young and precious age.

Our babies grow up so quickly, time spent loving and enjoying them outweighs anything else.

I Cannot beleive some of these babies are saying words from as young as 4 & 6 months!! surely someones exaggerating???