Question
My child is 1 year and 3 months old and is learning to walk. However, I’ve noticed that my child’s left foot is severely turned outward, which is what we commonly call ‘pigeon toes.’ The right foot is normal. How can I correct this? I’m really worried.
Answer
Children’s bones are still soft, and at this stage, walking is just to train their leg muscles and balance. At this age, the baby’s legs do not have enough strength to support the full weight of their body, so they cannot maintain a standard posture like older babies when walking. Also, it’s not possible to determine if they have bow legs or pigeon toes based on their walking posture at this point. As long as the baby is not constantly tripping over inwardly turned legs, there should be no problem. But don’t let this period’s baby walk too much; otherwise, it could indeed lead to bow legs. There’s a simple way to determine if a baby has bow legs: lay the baby flat on the bed and bring their legs together to see how much gap there is between the two legs. If there is a noticeable curve in the baby’s legs now, it’s important to seek medical attention promptly. If there is no obvious curvature, you can bring the baby’s knees together and gently roll them like rolling dough to stimulate the growth of the baby’s legs.