Dispelling Milestone Myths with Baby Annabell Learns to Walk Doll

When I had my first child, almost seven years ago (I don’t know where that time has gone), I remember being so worried about milestones. Was she sitting up? Was she rolling over?

Now, with another two children in tow, I laugh at myself as a first-time mother. No more so because of all of them, Boo hit many of the milestones later than her subsequent brothers.

She was 14 months when she crawled and nearly 22 months when she walked.

I remember health visitors making me worry even more than I was already that my precious baby was not doing everything at the time when health professionals think they should.

When I look back, I feel a bit angry about it.

I acknowledge that there are situations where medical conditions or other problems can slow down developmental milestones but, a lot of the time, when children are behind, they catch up.

From experience of the three, I also believe that when a child excels at one area of development, sometimes another area can suffer.

For example, G climbed before he walked but mobility-wise, he was a little adventurer from about nine months old.

However when we went for his two-year development check, they said his speech wasn’t where it should be and I laughed.

At this point with Boo, I would have listened to them and whisked her off for speech therapy but I said I wasn’t worried (I wasn’t) and, being heavily pregnant with Baby J, she reluctantly agreed to ring me in three months time.

In those three months, G’s speech exploded-surpriseing me too and I am glad I waited.

It does prove my point that his mobility meant his speech was a little later and I stand by my assumption that if a child walks, they talk later or if they talk loads at first, it may take them a little longer to walk.

With J, I had trouble having him on the floor as much as his siblings because if he was put on the floor, his big brother would make a bee-line for him and either roll on top of him or commit some other violent act.

He rolled over later than G but, at just nine months, is well on the way to crawling.

The point is that every child is different-even if they are siblings. The big two had two front teeth at six months. Baby J still has no teeth.

If you are a first time parent and are worried about another child doing something before yours, try not to. They really all do things differently.

It is all worth noting that some other parents lie about what their children can do. I don’t know why. Maybe it makes them feel better but it is worth remembering to take things people tell you with a pinch of salt.

Zapf Creations has brought out a new Baby Annabell Learns to Walk doll and is challenging parents everywhere to dispel all of the milestone myths.

The doll is really impressive and crawls just like a real baby. She has realistic baby sounds too-so much so that Hubster muted the television one night as I forgot to turn her off and she was cooing in the toy box.

She sits up and then walks while you hold her hands-bringing it back what it’s like to have a baby who is learning to walk.

Boo loved the doll because she was imitating what we have been doing with Baby J and, while it is only suitable for children three years and over, I do hope the baby might copy Baby Annabell so we have a crawler soon.