Most babies start bearing some weight on their legs around 3 months old, when you hold them upright with their feet touching a flat surface. This isn’t standing on their own. It’s a brief, supported push where you can feel them pressing down through their legs. Full, independent weight bearing (pulling to stand and eventually walking) comes much later, typically between 9 and 12 months.
Understanding the progression helps you know what to look for, what’s normal, and when your baby’s legs are genuinely getting stronger versus just reflexing.
The Stepping Reflex Comes First
Newborns actually appear to “step” if you hold them upright and let their soles touch a surface. They’ll place one foot in front of the other in a walking motion. This isn’t intentional and it isn’t weight bearing. It’s the stepping reflex, a hardwired response that disappears by about 2 months as the brain matures and begins replacing involuntary reflexes with voluntary movements.
After that reflex fades, there’s a brief gap where your baby won’t do much with their legs when held upright. That’s completely normal. The next phase, intentional pushing, takes a few more weeks to develop.
3 to 6 Months: Partial Weight Bearing
At around 3 months, babies begin putting weight on their legs when you help them stand. You’ll notice this when you hold your baby upright on your lap or on a firm surface. Instead of their legs collapsing underneath them, they’ll stiffen and push down. They still need you to hold most of their body weight and keep them balanced, but the effort is real.
Between 4 and 6 months, this gets stronger. According to the Mayo Clinic, babies in this age range may try to push themselves up or bear weight on their legs more actively. Head control improves, core muscles get stronger, and the whole chain of stability from trunk to legs starts working together. You might notice your baby bouncing when held in a standing position, which is a sign they’re experimenting with how much force their legs can produce.
7 to 12 Months: Pulling Up and Standing
The shift from supported weight bearing to functional standing happens gradually. Around 7 to 9 months, many babies begin pulling themselves up on furniture, crib rails, or your hands. This requires not just leg strength but also grip strength, balance, and the ability to shift weight from one side to the other.
By 9 to 10 months, most babies can stand while holding onto something. By 12 months, many are cruising (walking sideways while gripping furniture) or taking their first independent steps. The range is wide, though. Some babies walk at 9 months, others not until 15 or 16 months, and both can be perfectly normal.
Why Their Legs Look Bowed
If your baby’s legs look curved outward when they stand, that’s expected. Infants are born bowlegged because of their folded position in the womb, and this is considered normal in children under 18 months. The bowing actually starts to straighten once a child begins walking and bearing weight regularly, around 12 to 18 months. By age 3, most children can stand with their ankles apart and knees just touching. There’s no need to delay weight bearing because of how the legs look at this stage.
Activities That Build Leg Strength
You don’t need to “train” your baby to bear weight. The progression happens naturally through play and movement. But certain positions and activities encourage the muscles your baby needs.
- Tummy time: This builds the core and upper body strength that eventually supports standing. Babies who spend more time on the floor in various positions develop motor skills more fluidly.
- Supported standing on your lap: Letting your baby push against your thighs while you hold them upright gives their legs practice without any risk.
- Army crawling on carpet: The added resistance of carpet compared to smooth flooring strengthens the legs and hips.
- Squat-to-stand play: Once your baby is pulling up, placing a toy on the floor so they squat to grab it and then stand back up builds glute and thigh strength.
- Tall kneeling: Encouraging your baby to play while kneeling upright (not sitting back on their heels) challenges their glute and core stability. Holding a toy or blowing bubbles just above their reach can motivate this position.
Jumpers and Activity Centers
Stationary jumpers let babies bounce and push against the floor, which feels like great leg exercise. They can be fun in small doses, but there are real limits to follow. Most experts recommend no more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time, twice a day at most. Jumpers that hold a baby’s legs wide apart can put pressure on the hips and potentially affect hip development, so look for one that keeps the legs in a natural, relaxed position.
Stationary jumpers are safer than door-frame models, which carry a higher risk of head and neck injuries from swinging. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends stopping use once your baby reaches 6 months, starts rolling over, or begins trying to pull up using the sides of the toy. Most jumpers also have a weight limit of 25 to 30 pounds. Always adjust the seat height so your baby’s toes are touching the floor, not dangling or flat-footed.
When Weight Bearing Seems Delayed
Babies develop on their own timelines, and a few weeks behind the averages listed above is rarely a concern. But if your baby cannot take any weight on their legs when supported in a standing position by 9 months, that’s worth bringing up with your pediatrician. Pathways.org lists an inability to bear weight on the legs as a motor warning sign that may point to low muscle tone, neurological differences, or other conditions that benefit from early intervention.
Other signs that suggest evaluation include legs that stay completely limp when held upright, a strong preference for one leg over the other, or a noticeable regression where your baby was bearing weight and then stopped. Early physical therapy, if needed, is highly effective for most infants and often involves the same types of play-based exercises you’d do at home, just guided by a specialist.