A young child gradually learns to stand and then begins to walk, taking one small step at a time. The mother delights in this achievement. Everyone in the household admires it. “Look, the baby has started walking!” they exclaim, encouraging the child. The child, too, walks with enthusiasm. It loses balance and falls, gets up again, walks again, falls once more, rises again, and continues. In this way, with remarkable perseverance, patience, and effort for one so young, the child learns this activity through its own attempts. Within a few days, the child is able not only to walk but also to run. Walking then becomes an ordinary part of life, and the elders no longer pay any special attention to it.

By the time the child is about two to two-and-a-half years old, it begins to understand instructions. It develops an eagerness to do things. The adults ask it to fetch something, hand an object to someone, or put something in its place. The child gladly sets out to do these small tasks. But on the way, it may stumble, bump into something, drop the object, or accidentally kick something lying on the floor. At that moment, walking is no longer regarded as an achievement. Instead, everyone begins to scold the child. One says, “Why do you walk so carelessly?” Another says, “Why are you walking with your head held up like a camel?” Someone remarks, “You should tie a lantern to your feet so that you can see where you’re going.” Another complains, “This is always the same with you—you keep falling here and there. Every day someone has to bandage you. Why can’t you walk carefully?”

The poor child has already been hurt by stumbling, hitting its head, or falling. It is disappointed because it had eagerly tried to do the task but failed. On top of that comes this barrage of criticism from the elders. The child is left thoroughly embarrassed and disheartened.

The next time the child is asked to bring something or put something somewhere, it no longer undertakes the task with the same enthusiasm. The previous experience is still fresh in its mind. This time it is warned, “Carry it properly. Don’t be careless.” Another says, “Be careful. Don’t fall again like you did yesterday.” Someone else says, “Walk with your eyes open. Can’t you see what’s in front of you? It’s as though you’re blind.”

Such constant warnings only increase the child’s diffidence. They make the child somewhat nervous and confused. As a result, the number of little mishaps during these short walks seems to increase, and accordingly the elders’ reprimands also become more frequent. There are even more instructions to “walk carefully” and “keep your eyes open.”

The poor child becomes bewildered. It does not understand what is meant by “walking properly,” nor does it know how it is expected to “be careful.” It has never walked with its eyes closed, so it cannot understand why people constantly say “open your eyes.” Consequently, instead of improving the child’s ability to walk and carry things from one place to another, these reactions only increase clumsiness.

In truth, when a child begins to walk at the age of one to one-and-a-half years, it has not yet fully mastered the act of walking. That is only the beginning of the learning process. It takes until about the age of three or four to acquire the skill completely. By then, the muscles of the legs and the sensory and motor nerves have learned the elementary movements required for walking. Yet many difficulties still remain.

At the age of two-and-a-half or three years, a child’s body is comparatively heavier in proportion to its legs. The bones of the legs are still soft, and the body has not yet developed complete balance. A person who has only recently learned to ride a bicycle may know how to cycle, yet in a new situation suddenly becomes frightened, loses balance, and falls. The same thing happens with children. Someone may suddenly come in the way, or an object may be lying in the path. The child, startled by this, metaphorically lets go of the handlebars of the bicycle of its mind. Naturally, it loses balance and falls.

Often the child begins walking while looking straight ahead, but in trying to maintain balance, suddenly bumps into a round table or a chair. The reason is that it has not yet learned to walk in a straight path from where it started.

All these are skills that the child still has to learn. Instead of teaching them, we keep saying, “Walk properly,” “Keep your eyes open,” or “Why are you so careless?” Children of this age need to be taught how to walk.

An excellent way to teach children to walk is to place a wooden plank in the courtyard, which is about three or four inches thick, five inches wide, and fifteen to twenty feet long. In cities, where it is not possible for every household to keep such a plank, playgrounds for young children should have one. Adults should first demonstrate how to walk on it. They should show the child how to walk with the hands held at the sides or behind the back, placing one foot directly in front of the other. If the right foot is placed first, the heel of the left foot should touch the toe of the right foot; then the heel of the right foot should touch the toe of the left. Walking in this manner requires maintaining one’s balance; otherwise, the foot slips off the plank. By walking repeatedly, children gradually learn to balance themselves well. In time, they not only walk on the plank with confidence but also begin to run on it.

In places where there are railway tracks and no train is due, children sometimes try walking along the rail. This, too, is a good exercise, except that the rail is somewhat narrower. If the parapet of the house verandah is not too high, children may also be allowed to walk on it. But if they have first learned on the wooden plank, they will soon be able to walk confidently even on the parapet without holding on.

One point must be remembered while teaching children to walk. Once the child has been shown how to walk and has begun walking, adults should not keep talking to it. If the child is walking on a parapet or some other raised surface, one should not say, “Be careful, you’ll fall,” and thereby help it lose its balance. At that moment, the child’s attention needs to remain fully concentrated on the act of walking. Instead of helping, such instructions become harmful. Very often children fall precisely because adults call out, “You’ll fall.” Show them once or twice how to walk, and then let them learn it for themselves.

Once they have mastered walking on the plank, they should be shown how to walk along a line. Children enjoy this as a game, and it develops the habit of walking in a straight line while maintaining balance. If you draw chalk lines on the floor at home, they will help the child. It will then be less likely to bump into cupboards or tables while walking.

When children have become proficient at walking with their hands at their sides, they should be introduced to the next game—walking while carrying objects. They may carry a book, slate, school bag, tumbler, bowl, vessel, or any similar object while walking on the plank. In the beginning, they should be given objects that will not break if dropped. Eventually, however, they should also be allowed to carry objects such as cups, bowls, glasses, and bottles that may break if struck or dropped. Carrying such delicate objects teaches them to walk with greater care and precision.

If the child loses balance and falls, or if the object falls and breaks, one should not regret it. We willingly spend hundreds of rupees on a child’s college education. Then, if a few glasses break while the child is learning careful movement, we should regard that as the fee for that learning. Even if one or two objects are broken, if the child eventually stops falling, stumbling, and bumping into things, and is able to move confidently from place to place, that is no small achievement. Moreover, inexpensive clay pots and similar objects can also be used.

At the same time, the child should not feel that the object is of no value and that it does not matter if it breaks. The child should understand that the object must be carried carefully, that it will break if not handled properly, and that breaking it is undesirable.

Once the child has become accustomed to carrying solid objects, it should be taught to carry liquids in bowls, cups, or similar vessels. Children are often asked to bring water. Adults say, “Babu, please bring some drinking water.” While bringing it, the child spills some, and then all the familiar scolding begins. Instead, when the child wants something to play with, show them the game of filling a small vessel with water and carrying it along the plank or the straight line. In this way, they become capable of helping with household tasks while also developing their skill.

If this practice is continued, children of four or five years of age become capable of carrying cups of milk or tea, and even serving curry or lentils with remarkable neatness. At that age they are eager to perform such tasks. Today, in many homes, parents take away bowls of ghee or milk from their children’s hands, saying, “Don’t carry that—you’ll spill it.” In doing so, they may save a spoonful of ghee or a ladleful of milk, but they lose a valuable opportunity for the child’s education. By repeatedly saying, “You’ll spill it,” or “You can’t do it,” they create in the child a lack of confidence in its own abilities. If one were to calculate the loss this causes, it would far exceed the value of the spoonful of ghee or the ladleful of milk that was saved.

While teaching the game of carrying water, one should keep a cloth ready to wipe up any water that is spilled. In fact, this should be made one of the rules of the game: after carrying the bowl of water from one place to another, any water spilled on the floor must be wiped with the cloth. Naturally, if the game is played outdoors on dusty or earthen ground, this will not be necessary.

Thus, children of about two to two-and-a-half years should be taught—or rather, allowed to learn—how to maintain balance while walking, how to walk in a straight line, and how to carry objects from one place to another. We should demonstrate the activity and then allow them to master it through their own efforts. Different children take different amounts of time to acquire these skills. They should be allowed as much time as they need.

One should never humiliate a child by saying, “Look how easily that boy has learned. You still can’t do it. You’re so foolish,” or by making similar comparisons. Nor should competition be encouraged by saying, “Let’s see who reaches first,” or “Let’s see who finishes first.”

When a child has learned to walk gracefully and skilfully, there is no need even to praise it. Let the child experience the satisfaction of having accomplished something well. That joy is reward enough. It should not be clouded by praise or blame, nor by competition or rivalry.

(First published in Shikshan Patrika, Year 1, March 1934)