Malnourished children will be slow to walk?

This is an automatically translated article.

1. Causes of slow walking

The conditions for a child to walk include the child's muscles and skeleton to be strong enough, the nervous system, especially the brain, to develop. Babies start learning to walk between the ages of 12 and 15 months. But there are some 17-month-old babies who can't walk yet, which worries many parents. In fact, depending on the condition of each baby, the time to walk can vary from the 10th to the 18th month. Children are slow to walk if after the age of 20-22, the child still cannot walk. It is important that at this stage, your baby still knows how to coordinate hands and feet flexibly.
There are many reasons that lead to slow walking. In particular, child malnutrition is an important cause, adversely affecting the health of children.

1.1.Nutritional status

Malnourished children will lack vitamin D and calcium, so their bodies are stunted, limbs are weak, muscles and bones are weak. Children are not strong enough to stand up to learn to walk, leading to a condition where children are slow to walk.
On the contrary, overweight children are also the cause of slow walking. When overweight, the body weight makes the leg muscles weak, it is not easy to move, making it more difficult for children to learn to walk, leading to delayed walking.

1.2. Premature babies

Premature babies often have not fully developed the organs in the body, including the motor system. This is the most common cause of slow walking in children. Babies born prematurely, so their bodies are weak and difficult to stand, and walk slower than children of the same age. However, not all premature babies will be slow to walk. The status of a child's delay in walking depends on the number of weeks of pregnancy at birth and the individual condition of each child.

1.3. Congenital – natural

Children who are slow to walk can be caused by congenital and natural causes. This is also a common cause. The main problem lies in psychology, children are afraid of falling, afraid of pain, so they are shy and don't want to go or they just like to sit and lie down.

1.4. Child's personality

Each child will have a different personality, some are active but some are quiet. In fact, there are many children who can walk but just like to play by themselves, do not like to communicate. This leads many parents to misunderstand that children are slow to walk. In addition, parental care is also the cause. Children who are overprotected by their families, often let them lie down or hold them, so they have little chance to learn to walk, they will be slower to walk than other children.

1.5. Musculoskeletal problems

Children have diseases that cause weak muscle tone such as muscular dystrophy, leg bone deformities (especially the joint connecting to the pelvis), leg muscle atrophy,... Musculoskeletal problems make young limbs young very small and weak, without reflex movements. Therefore, when children have musculoskeletal problems, they will delay walking.

1.6. Cerebral palsy and other brain disorders

Infants with cerebral palsy have many different causes such as chromosomal abnormalities, congenital brain dysfunction or sequelae of brain damage caused by interventions at birth (eg Forcep procedure). In addition, meningitis, hydrocephalus or epilepsy occurring before learning to walk are also the causes of the child's brain not developing, especially the motor brain area. If the advanced center of the motor system is not complete, the child will be slow to walk or even unable to walk.

1.7. Visceral diseases

Visceral diseases such as vitreous bone disease, congenital heart disease, congenital arteriovenous fistula, congenital biliary atresia, atrophic hepatitis,... may not directly affect the motor nervous system. activity, but it affects physical development and physical strength, making children weak and not strong enough to learn to walk. This leads to children walking slower than children of the same age.
Watch now: Warning signs for children who are slow to walk

2. Measures to improve the problem of slow walking children

2.1. Nutrition

Supplement children with 4 important groups of nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, iron, and calcium for healthy development.

2.2. Stretching legs and arms for children

Parents should regularly perform movements to stimulate the children's limbs such as stretching from the armpit to the hand and from the thigh to the foot from 3 to 5 times a day, then let the child stretch the limbs by themselves. The manipulation of limbs for children will help increase circulation to the muscles, increase the reflexes of tendons and bones, increase contractility and increase leg muscle mass, limiting the condition of children who are slow to walk.

2.3. Stimulating children to be active

Parents can use toys that children love and then keep them out of reach of children on a wide floor. This will stimulate the baby to crawl, crawl, go to get the toy. In order for the stimulation of children to be effective, it is best for parents not to leave the toy too far away, which will make the child quickly bored. Every time the child is close to touching the toy, the parents can move a little further away, repeat about 2-3 times like that, then let the child touch once to keep the child interested, avoid letting the child touch after much. times will make children quickly bored and give up.

2.4. Create space for children to learn to walk

Parents should give children a safe and large enough area for them to freely move, crawl, and learn to walk. At the same time, it is possible to arrange additional fulcrums such as a table, a chair or a bed, and a handrail on the wall to help children become more confident to learn to walk, especially for those who are shy, afraid of pain, and afraid of falling.

2.5. Supporting children

Supporting the child means that when the child tries to practice a certain movement, the parents can support the child to perform it successfully, helping the child feel interesting in the movement. For children who are slow to walk, support also helps children no longer feel panic when they learn to stand or walk. Parents can slightly raise the armpits so that the child feels safe and easy to walk. In the first stage of learning to walk, parents need to stay by the child's side, try letting go of the arm so that the child can practice 1-2 steps. then the child falls into the lap. Parents should often encourage, praise and hug their children to make them more confident.

2.6. Let your child play with other children

Letting your child play with other children of the same age who have the same or better motor abilities will help attract and stimulate the child to follow. This is also one of the effective measures to improve the condition of children who are slow to walk.
There are many reasons why children are slow to walk and the main cause is malnutrition. Therefore, mothers need to consider building a suitable diet for their children, and at the same time supplementing with necessary micronutrients such as: Selenium, Chromium, Vitamins B1 and B6, Ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C). ,... Especially the biological zinc to improve taste, help children eat well, reach the correct height and weight, and exceed the standard, good immune system, strengthen resistance to reduce minor illnesses and develop holistic fitness.
However, the improvement of malnutrition can take place in a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for their children, either through food or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow children to use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of functional foods.
Best when there is a situation of stunted children, malnutrition, slow walking, mothers should coordinate with a pediatrician to create a nutritious menu, enough zinc for the baby to help them develop comprehensively in each level. year old.
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents should regularly visit the website vimec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric and nutrition experts of the National General Hospital. Vinmec when needing advice on children's health.