This is an English rendering of a Polish public-health reference. The care paths it names (112, night and holiday care NiŚOZ, primary care POZ) are Polish. This is not medical advice.

PL

This is not medical advice Life-threatening emergency (Poland): 112

Home › Development and developmental leaps

At what age does a child take first steps on their own?

Applies to age: 9–18 months

In short

In the WHO study, the 1st–99th percentile of the age of walking alone was between 8.2 and 17.6 months, and this window was described as normal variation among healthy children. What causes concern in development is worth discussing with a specialist, using the advice of a midwife, nurse or pediatrician.

Sources: WHO, NHS, Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw and othersChecked: Approved: October 9, 2026Report an error

What is normal

All claims: international norm

  • In the WHO study (Multicentre Growth Reference Study), the 1st and 99th percentiles of the age at which children reached the skill “walking alone” were 8.2 and 17.6 months, respectively.
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    The estimated 1st and 99th percentiles in months are: 3.8, 9.2 (sitting without support), 4.8, 11.4 (standing with assistance), 5.2, 13.5 (hands-and-knees crawling), 5.9, 13.7 (walking with assistance), 6.9, 16.9 (standing alone) and 8.2, 17.6 (walking alone).

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • In the WHO study, the age window for walking alone (9.4 months wide) was among the widest of the six milestones studied, together with the window for standing alone (10.0 months).
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    The six windows have age overlaps but vary in width; the narrowest is sitting without support (5.4 mo), and the widest are walking alone (9.4 mo) and standing alone (10.0 mo).

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • The authors of the WHO study write that the age windows they set reflect normal variation in the age at which healthy children reach milestones.
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    The windows represent normal variation in ages of milestone achievement among healthy children.

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • The data come from a longitudinal study of children aged 4 to 24 months in Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the USA (not from Poland).
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    As part of the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study, longitudinal data were collected to describe the attainment of six gross motor milestones by children aged 4 to 24 mo in Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the USA.

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • When children are just starting to walk, it is normal for them to walk with their feet apart and their arms stretched out to keep their balance.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    When children first start walking, it's normal for them to walk with their feet apart and their arms stretched out to help them balance.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • Baby walkers and bouncers encourage a child to stand on their tiptoes and, if used often, may delay walking.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    baby walkers or bouncers – these encourage babies to stand on their tiptoes and can delay walking if your baby uses them a lot

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

When to worry

All claims: international norm

  • The WHO age windows are recommended, among other things, to signal the need for appropriate screening when individual children appear to be late in reaching milestones.
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    They are recommended for descriptive comparisons among populations, to signal the need for appropriate screening when individual children appear to be late in achieving the milestones, and to raise awareness about the importance of overall development in child health.

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • Not walking at 18 months (like not sitting at 8 months) is sometimes listed among the possible signs of cerebral palsy, along with other delays in reaching milestones. It is a possible sign, not a diagnosis.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    delays in reaching development milestones – for example, not sitting by 8 months or not walking by 18 months

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

See a doctor

  • Polish care pathway: the Ministry of Health (MZ) regulation on guaranteed services in primary care (POZ), consolidated text Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2023 item 1427, Annex 1 Part III, items 3 and 4, provides for a medical examination at the 9th and 12th month of life that takes the pace of psychomotor development into account. These are the dates of the well-child checkups and an indication of who assesses development, not an age range for walking.
    Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Badanie lekarskie podmiotowe i przedmiotowe, z uwzględnieniem tempa rozwoju fizycznego (pomiary: masy i długości ciała, obwodu głowy i klatki piersiowej) i psychomotorycznego.

    Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]

  • According to the Patient Portal (Portal Pacjenta), a child's well-child checkup is carried out by a family doctor, a pediatrician or a nurse.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Badanie przeprowadza lekarz rodzinny, pediatra lub pielęgniarka.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [4]

  • The Patient Portal (from the MZ and the National Health Fund, NFZ) writes that what causes concern in a child's development is worth discussing with a specialist, and that it is worth using the advice of a midwife, nurse or pediatrician. The source does not link this consultation to the date of the checkup.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Warto jednak skonsultować ze specjalistą to, co Cię zaniepokoiło i korzystać z rad położnej, pielęgniarki czy pediatry.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [4]

international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

International norm

“International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

Sources

  1. WHO (who.int)
    License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Source: WHO (who.int). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. WHO does not endorse this site or its content.
  2. NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia)
    License: Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The summary is ours and is not attributed to the NHS.
  3. Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw (ELI: eli.gov.pl, api.sejm.gov.pl)
    License: Akt normatywny, art. 4 pkt 1 ustawy o prawie autorskim (nie podlega ochronie). Source: Akty prawne w Dzienniku Ustaw (ELI: eli.gov.pl, api.sejm.gov.pl).
  4. Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl)
    License: CC BY 3.0 PL. Source: Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.

See an error or outdated information? Report an error in this answer. Answer checked against the sources on October 20, 2026.

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